But there is an even larger problem that does not go undetected in this fine piece. It is the cause of the current economic crisis. These authors believe that the deepest cause of the economic and financial crisis that the U.S. has recently experienced is that the country stopped producing at a competitive price enough goods and services that the rest of the world wants to buy. The U.S. then tried to escape the consequences of this failure by living as if the failure had never occurred? It put a "fake credit democracy" and a " Fake Wall Street paper democracy" in place of the old fashion "small business and work-based democracy." The government then bribed, placated, and finally abandoned the people instead of using the nation's tax monies to re-equip them to compete in a globalized economy.
In order to fix this economic problem these authors call on the U.S. to do what the nation's most cherished ideals call for: democratize its markets and renew its institutional arrangements. So that more people can have more access to more markets in more ways; and so that they can then again stand on their own feet and make something of themselves.
In order to fix this economic problem these authors call on the U.S. to do what the nation's most cherished ideals call for: democratize its markets and renew its institutional arrangements. So that more people can have more access to more markets in more ways; and so that they can then again stand on their own feet and make something of themselves.
They claim, and I agree, that we cannot democratize the market economy unless we also deepen democracy throughout. Our problem is that we have allowed our ruling elites to move the nation away from more democracy, to much less democracy -- both within the political process and in the economic process. Finally they tell us exactly where the American democratic experiment has gone wrong.
The American religion of Possibility
Throughout most of its history what has saved America and underwritten American essentialism has been the notion of rugged individualism, a concept embodied in the familiar image of the self-made man. When these authors break that concept down into its irreducible components, it means nothing more than that through the maintenance of equality of opportunity the class struggle that once ravaged every other political system in the world, is held at bay in well-run democracies.
Therein lies the secret to America's two centuries of success: In the U.S., at least up until the present era, the "American religion of possibility" dictated that Americans could dream and make their dreams come true solely through their own individual effort. Through individual effort, the future always remained open-ended. Self-transformation was always a possibility. Everyone in the U.S. could lift himself up from the bottom by his own proverbial bootstraps and win the power needed to shape his own destiny.
Until recently, individual effort and the work ethic were the engines of self-empowerment, freedom, democracy and full independence. Today, with a "fake credit economy" and a "fake Wall Street paper bond market" taking the place of national investment in working people, our economy has been turned into a cheap and very unstable form of casino capitalism, one in which the rich are allowed to make up their own rules, and then rig the system in favor of their own greed and limited interests, so much so that when they win, we lose and when they lose, we also lose because they get bailed out with our money. in short, the U.S. has ceased to be a "well run democracy."
And if the complete truth were told, it has been rampant greed coupled with political cowardice that has hijacked our political system and widened the gap between the rich and poor and between American ideals and American reality. Right before our own eyes, we have seen this formula played out and change our nation dramatically from a vibrant democracy struggling to become a more oerfect union, to a way-station for rightwing Fascists inwaiting.
Throughout most of its history what has saved America and underwritten American essentialism has been the notion of rugged individualism, a concept embodied in the familiar image of the self-made man. When these authors break that concept down into its irreducible components, it means nothing more than that through the maintenance of equality of opportunity the class struggle that once ravaged every other political system in the world, is held at bay in well-run democracies.
Therein lies the secret to America's two centuries of success: In the U.S., at least up until the present era, the "American religion of possibility" dictated that Americans could dream and make their dreams come true solely through their own individual effort. Through individual effort, the future always remained open-ended. Self-transformation was always a possibility. Everyone in the U.S. could lift himself up from the bottom by his own proverbial bootstraps and win the power needed to shape his own destiny.
Until recently, individual effort and the work ethic were the engines of self-empowerment, freedom, democracy and full independence. Today, with a "fake credit economy" and a "fake Wall Street paper bond market" taking the place of national investment in working people, our economy has been turned into a cheap and very unstable form of casino capitalism, one in which the rich are allowed to make up their own rules, and then rig the system in favor of their own greed and limited interests, so much so that when they win, we lose and when they lose, we also lose because they get bailed out with our money. in short, the U.S. has ceased to be a "well run democracy."
And if the complete truth were told, it has been rampant greed coupled with political cowardice that has hijacked our political system and widened the gap between the rich and poor and between American ideals and American reality. Right before our own eyes, we have seen this formula played out and change our nation dramatically from a vibrant democracy struggling to become a more oerfect union, to a way-station for rightwing Fascists inwaiting.
Since the two major political parties have been bought and paid for, there is little political will to try to rise up against the combined rich and corporate behemoth. Both of these authors have elsewhere made comment about the present American leadership. One has vowed to "respect, protect and correct the current president. The other, one of Mr. Obama's Harvard Law professors, said in the run up to the 2008 election, that "President Obama must be defeated because he has failed to advance the progressive cause in the United States." "He has spent trillions of dollars to rescue the monied interests and left workers and homeowners to their own devices."
Both believe that Mr. Obama is not either a "take charge" or a "fight for what you believe in" sort of guy. In fact it is not clear to them that he believes in anything but what his Minister of 20 years says he believes in (what all politicians believe in) getting reelected. Twenty stars.
Both believe that Mr. Obama is not either a "take charge" or a "fight for what you believe in" sort of guy. In fact it is not clear to them that he believes in anything but what his Minister of 20 years says he believes in (what all politicians believe in) getting reelected. Twenty stars.
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