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In recent months i've been flirting with the idea of socialism, though there are many ways in which i disagree with that philosophy.
For example, it has been well and conclusively demonstrated that central planning is a disaster. A national economy is too organic, too complex, to be steered by decisions from the top. Rather i would like to see something bottom-up, where priorities are defined by what people need, rather than by what experts gather and determine what people should need.
This is the respect in which the market is supposed to work -- and where U.S. society goes wrong is in failing to protect the function of the market from oligarchical forces.
I also feel strongly that government should avoid any course which is disempowering. Government is at its worst when it plays "Momma." Individual empowerment should be enhanced, not subtracted from.
This value is commonly touted in American political philosophy -- the "pursuit of happiness."
To give one perspective on this, i want to cite Robert Schmitt's depiction of the Marxian concept of freedom:
In other words, people are free if they have real say in the direction or future of society. In the United States, people have the freedom to do what they want to do with their time, to pursue what interests they want, but we do not have real freedom to shape the future, to make our voices heard against the ubiquitous ethical bankruptcy of our institutions. Our political processes are largely engineered to silence the common voice and to preserve the resource entitlement of our society's elites.
How should a society uphold individual empowerment on one hand, while at the same time confirming that there is no right to exploit others? This is a powerful and important question.
( Read more... )
For example, it has been well and conclusively demonstrated that central planning is a disaster. A national economy is too organic, too complex, to be steered by decisions from the top. Rather i would like to see something bottom-up, where priorities are defined by what people need, rather than by what experts gather and determine what people should need.
This is the respect in which the market is supposed to work -- and where U.S. society goes wrong is in failing to protect the function of the market from oligarchical forces.
I also feel strongly that government should avoid any course which is disempowering. Government is at its worst when it plays "Momma." Individual empowerment should be enhanced, not subtracted from.
This value is commonly touted in American political philosophy -- the "pursuit of happiness."
To give one perspective on this, i want to cite Robert Schmitt's depiction of the Marxian concept of freedom:
People are free... if they can and do choose deliberately how to organize their social and economic institutions with a view to making themselves and future generations into the most desireable sorts of persons. A human being is free if he "contemplates himself in a world he has created." Introduction to Marx and Engels, p. 119
In other words, people are free if they have real say in the direction or future of society. In the United States, people have the freedom to do what they want to do with their time, to pursue what interests they want, but we do not have real freedom to shape the future, to make our voices heard against the ubiquitous ethical bankruptcy of our institutions. Our political processes are largely engineered to silence the common voice and to preserve the resource entitlement of our society's elites.
How should a society uphold individual empowerment on one hand, while at the same time confirming that there is no right to exploit others? This is a powerful and important question.
( Read more... )
