A fascinating and interesting critique of economics today, left and right. Most will not read it as it is long and well argued. Its argument goes against the narratives so deeply held by libertarians, the right, and much of the left. Venture in if you dare.
An emotional cycle that repeats itself....
"(1) anger at right-wing government precedes (2) hope in a new Left and (3) election of a new government; (4) disgust at that government’s compromises gives way to (5) protest at betrayals, leading to (6) refusal to vote which produces (1) anger at right-wing government."
"The problem was that neither Obama nor Occupy was able to give the idea of fraternity any real substance. For Obama, it seemed to imply campaign contributions; for Occupy, endless discussions. Neither could connect it to the imperatives of our changing economic climate or to the day-to-day decisions and actions that together constitute society. This, not their idealism, was their failing. If fraternity is to be more than a utopian fantasy or a pious palliative, it will need to find expression in an ethic that can be lived out in everyday life, in institutions that are within our grasp, in a vision of a future radically better than the present yet recognizably rooted in its conditions."
See more at: http://thepointmag.com/2012/politics/socialism-can-believe
"A final word on politics. As in economics nothing is certain save the certainty that there will be firm prediction by those who do not know. It is possible that in some election, near or far, a presidential candidate will emerge in the United States determined to draw into the campaign those not now impelled to vote. Conceivably those so attracted - those who are not threatened by higher taxes and who are encouraged by the vision of a new governing community committed to the rescue of the cities and the impacted underclass - could outnumber those lost because of the resulting invasion of contentment. If this happens the effort would succeed." John Kenneth Galbraith 'The Culture of Contentment'
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower
An emotional cycle that repeats itself....
"(1) anger at right-wing government precedes (2) hope in a new Left and (3) election of a new government; (4) disgust at that government’s compromises gives way to (5) protest at betrayals, leading to (6) refusal to vote which produces (1) anger at right-wing government."
"The problem was that neither Obama nor Occupy was able to give the idea of fraternity any real substance. For Obama, it seemed to imply campaign contributions; for Occupy, endless discussions. Neither could connect it to the imperatives of our changing economic climate or to the day-to-day decisions and actions that together constitute society. This, not their idealism, was their failing. If fraternity is to be more than a utopian fantasy or a pious palliative, it will need to find expression in an ethic that can be lived out in everyday life, in institutions that are within our grasp, in a vision of a future radically better than the present yet recognizably rooted in its conditions."
See more at: http://thepointmag.com/2012/politics/socialism-can-believe
"A final word on politics. As in economics nothing is certain save the certainty that there will be firm prediction by those who do not know. It is possible that in some election, near or far, a presidential candidate will emerge in the United States determined to draw into the campaign those not now impelled to vote. Conceivably those so attracted - those who are not threatened by higher taxes and who are encouraged by the vision of a new governing community committed to the rescue of the cities and the impacted underclass - could outnumber those lost because of the resulting invasion of contentment. If this happens the effort would succeed." John Kenneth Galbraith 'The Culture of Contentment'
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower
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