Ben Tarnoff — Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and the death of democracy

Peter Thiel gets it. Capitalism and democracy are antithetical.

The Guardian
Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and the death of democracy

Ben Tarnoff

ht Kevin Fathi

William R. Neil — “The continuing tension between Neoliberal economics and democracy”

Today’s Neoliberalism had nearly silenced serious left dissent by the late 1990s, or successfully isolated it in remote academic corners. Bill Clinton’s two terms in the 1990s are proof of that. And there is the continuing tension between Neoliberal economics and democracy: notice the desperate, barely concealed attempt by the Republican Right to shrink the franchise, using as one of its main levers the racial stigmas from “The Great Incarceration” and the yet to be proven accusations of voter fraud.

This political “shunning” of the left happens even in the supposedly liberal Ivy League. The late political theorist Sheldon Wolin (1922-2015), shortly before his death, in an interview with Chris Hedges, spoke of the silent treatment he was given by the faculty at Princeton University when he placed a copy of his new magazine “Democracy” on the faculty lounge coffee table. He was shunned. Perhaps they did not like where he was going with his last book, or could see it coming much earlier: Democracy Inc.: Managed Democracy and the Specter of Inverted Totalitarianism (2008). Here is that interview, Segment Seven from a nine part series at the RealNewsNetwork.…

Real-World Economics Review Blog
“The continuing tension between Neoliberal economics and democracy”

William R. Neil

John Keane — Capitalism and Democracy

Like I've been saying, capitalism and democracy are antithetical. This is equivalent to saying "economic liberalism" and "political liberalism"  in place of "capitalism" and "democracy."

The only way that economic liberalism and political liberalism have been compatible historically is in bourgeois liberalism, in which only the bourgeoisie (ownership) class) are considered to count.

According to defenders of the ‘free market’, more than a few of whom are dogmatic market fundamentalists, political democracy is an unwanted parasite on the body of economic growth. Democracy whips up unrealistic public passions and fantasies. It distorts and paralyses the spirit and substance of rational calculations upon which markets functionally depend; understood as government based on majority rule, democracy is said to be profoundly at odds with free competition, individual liberty and the rule of law. What is therefore required is ‘democratic pessimism’ and (Friedrich von Hayek’s famous thesis) the restriction of majority-rule democracy in favour of ‘austerity’ (cutbacks and restructuring of state spending) and limited constitutional government (‘demarchy’ ) whose job is to protect and nurture ‘free markets’ protected by the rule of law.

Other scholars, political commentators, policy makers and politicians stake out the contrary view. They maintain that since markets are never ‘naturally’ free but always, in one way or another, the creature of laws and governing institutions, market failures and market ‘externalities’ require political correction. Well-designed political interventions that draw democratic strength from popular consent are needed to redistribute income and wealth, to repair environmental damage caused by markets and to breathe new life into the old ideals of equality, freedom and solidarity of citizens.…

The Conversation
Capitalism and Democracy [part one]
John Keane | Professor of Politics, University of Sydney

Chris Dillow — For worker democracy

For me, EU referendum raised a question which nobody has so far asked, namely: if there was a case for a referendum, isn’t there a far stronger case for worker democracy?

Many of us were appalled by the atrocious standard of debate in the referendum. Robert Harris called the episode “the most depressing, divisive, duplicitous political event of my lifetime.” Perhaps Thatcher and Attlee were right: referendums are a “device of dictators and demagogues.”

Which brings me to the question. If you think the referendum was a good idea, you must surely think worker democracy is a far better one. I say so for three reasons:

Worker democracy would be either social democracy or democratic socialism, with government of, by and for the people.

Stumbling and Mumbling
For worker democracy
Chris Dillow | Investors Chronicle

Fred Block — Karl Polanyi and twenty-first century socialism

Polanyi’s views were the exact opposite of his contemporary, Joseph Schumpeter, who famously defined democracy as giving people a choice over which elite group would rule over them.…

In contrast to the Marxist tradition, Polanyi defined socialism in terms of the extension of democracy into the economic realm. He wrote: “Socialism is, essentially the tendency inherent in an industrial civilization to transcend the self-regulating market by consciously subordinating it to a democratic society.” Buried in this brief definition are a series of ideas that could be useful for building an alternative to the current dysfunctional global economy.…

And that extension also means abandoning the free market idea that the workings of the economy should be off-limits to democratic decision making. Polanyi’s argument was that free market advocates were always disingenuous in their arguments in favor of laissez-faire. His view was that imposing free markets on society always required extensive state coercion. That was what he was getting at with the fictitious commodities; they do not just emerge naturally; they have to be created every day through the exercise of governmental powers. Under laissez-faire, these government powers are used to enhance the power and wealth of the ownership class.…

Polanyi was hardly naïve. He recognized that those with wealth would resist this deepening and extension of democracy just as propertied elites had often resisted the expansion of suffrage and other democratic rights. Moreover, he was contemptuous of those who imagined that the coming of socialism was somehow preordained or inevitable. He believed that building socialism required an organized socialist movement that was able to create institutions of popular democracy through which people could learn how society works and become empowered citizens.…

Out of paradigm with MMT, but many useful social and political insights about an incremental transition from oligarchic capitalism to democratic socialism.

Open Democracy
Karl Polanyi and twenty-first century socialism

Fred Block

Yanis Varoufakis ONLY EUROPE’S RADICALS CAN SAVE THE EU – Newsweek op-ed on the Spanish election outcome —

Yanis Varoufakis
ONLY EUROPE’S RADICALS CAN SAVE THE EU – Newsweek op-ed on the Spanish election outcome

The REAL Problem Facing America

Tonight is the third Republican Presidential Debate. It will be broadcasted live from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The Liberty to Vote is a Great Blessing of a Democracy

Freedom Focused is NOT a political entity, nor does it endorse political parties or candidates. We do, however, encourage everyone to attend to their civic duty to get informed and participate in the political process -- one of the greatest gifts and liberties we possess as citizens of a democratic republic.

Our Country currently faces grave troubles. One of the avenues of addressing societal challenges is politics. As such, it behooves every American to stay informed, support candidates you believe in, and then let your voice be heard at the voting booth.

So far, I have had a chance to watch both Republican debates as well as the first Democratic debate. I enjoyed watching both party debates, and learned a great deal in doing so. The day after one of the debates, a Focus Group was queried as to their thoughts on how a particular debate played out.

With relation to one candidate whose personal and professional character was being scrutinized by the questioner, a member of the Focus Group said (to cheers from his comrades): "we need to move past little personal infractions because our Country has much bigger issues to deal with."

When I heard this man's comment, I thought about the work we are undertaking at Freedom Focused. As a corporation, we believe that the "Quality of the Individual is Supreme" -- a principle taught over a century ago by President Theodore Roosevelt. As such, we are dedicated to developing principle-centered leaders who possess sterling individual character.

All politics aside, the man in the Focus Group man could not have articulated a more eloquent inverse of what the REAL problem is in our country. Little did he -- and his colleagues know -- how backwards his formula for problem solving really is, yet sadly, much of the Country agrees with him, and has for several decades now. It seems almost no one wants to take personal responsibility for their individual, or our collective, problems. Likewise, nearly everyone is eager to blame others while making excuses for, and covering up any evidence of, their own character deficiencies.

It ALL begins with the Individual

You cannot solve macro problems by allowing micro problems to go unchecked. Nor can you save the outside of something by permitting its inside to rot. The only way to sanitize and fix the outer vessel of a person, couple, family, neighborhood, school, organization, state, or nation, is to cleanse and sanctify its inner vessel.

Cleaning the inner vessel through character development is where our focus lies at Freedom Focused. As an organization, we are dedicated to the "Quality of the Individual."

 If you'd like to learn more, please peruse some of the archived articles on this blog, sign up to receive future blog posts by adding your e-mail address in the white box on the right hand side of this page that says, "Follow by E-mail," and check out our website at www.freedomfocused.com

And don't forget to do your civic due diligence to stay informed, including watching ALL of the Presidential Debates as you seek to cast well-informed votes this coming November, as well as in next year's Presidential and other elections.

SAL Book: The Cause of Freedom Part 1

My country, ’tis of thee,

Sweet land of liberty,

Of thee I sing;

Land where my fathers died,

Land of the pilgrims’ pride,

From ev’ry mountainside

Let freedom ring!

I love my country—the United States of America. It is a great country. In the history of the world, there has never been another country like it. I am proud to be an American.

Over the course of my young life to date, I have had the privilege of living in five different States in all four time zones in the Continental U.S. I have visited 49 of the 50 States in addition to the District of Columbia, the Territory of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nearly everywhere I traveled in this blessed land of promise, I have been edified by the beauty of her landscapes, the achievements of her architects, builders, and entrepreneurs, and the warmth, character, and goodness of her citizens.

Growing up, I was richly educated in American history, political science, and patriotism. I received my lessons at home, at school, at church, in the community, and from personal reading and study. As I read and learned, I came to admire, even to reverence men and women such as: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John & Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, and others like them.

My education and experiences have led me to believe that the United States is an exceptional nation. This belief is not rooted in any conceited notion that Americans are existentially superior to citizens of other countries; we are not. It stems, rather, from the recognition that America was built on certain true and virtuous principles that empowered us to become a shining example of liberty, democracy, and the rule of law to the rest of the world.

The Flag Goes By

      Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of colour beneath the sky:
      Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines
Over the steel-tipped, ordered lines.
      Hats off!
The colours before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State:
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;
March of a strong land’s swift increase;
Equal justice, right, and law,
Stately honour and reverend awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong
Toward her people from foreign wrong:
Pride and glory and honour,—all
Live in the colours to stand or fall.

      Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
And loyal hearts are beating high:
      Hats off!
The flag is passing by![2]

By: Henry Holcomb Bennett
(1863-1924)

The United States is not perfect. It has its faults, both historically and presently. Without any doubt, her most salient collective sin was slavery, whose historical horrors and lingering effects of prejudice, disenfranchisement, and inequality have been a tremendous historical blight on our national character.

Blacks are not the only group to be unfairly treated. The inhumane relocation of Native Americans to reservations throughout our history, and the unjust internment of Japanese Americans during World War II provide two other prominent examples.

The persecution of my own ancestors, who were among the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mainstream Mormons) in the early-mid nineteenth century, is well documented. My people experienced little aid or mercy from State or Federal governments, despite the religious freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, as well as other would-be protections of the law. When Church founder, Joseph Smith, Jr., petitioned President Martin Van Buren in 1839 for redress of wrongs inflicted upon his people, the President callously replied: “Your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you. ... if I take up for you I shall lose the vote of Missouri.”[1] This persecution climaxed on June 27, 1844, when my third-great grandfather, Hyrum Smith, was murdered with his brother Joseph (my third-great uncle) by an angry mob after receiving assurances of protection from Thomas Ford, then Governor of the State of Illinois. Other inequities, injustices, governmental neglect of, and persecutions to, early members of the LDS Church have been carefully chronicled.

Despite these historical wrongs, I am grateful my parents and church never taught me to hate those who persecuted my ancestors; nor was I taught to badmouth or begrudge any erstwhile, unjust actions by the U.S. Government. Instead, I was taught to forgive, to venerate the sacrifices of my forbearers, and to model their courage, integrity, and character in my own life. I was taught to internalize the good and discard the bad. I was also taught that the United States, despite Her flaws, was a great nation that operated under a divinely inspired Constitution.

One of the things that has made the United States such an exceptional nation is the value Americans place on self-reliance and self-improvement, as well as our collective pursuit of redemption. We strive to right past wrongs, and in many ways, have been extraordinarily successful in doing so.

For example, in the main, African Americans live in a world unrecognizable from the one their ancestors inhabited in past generations and centuries. While things aren’t perfect yet, I am encouraged by the progress we have made. I can’t imagine a better indication of this progress than the convincing victory of an African-American President not once, but twice. Anyone with any grasp of history—regardless of one’s political persuasion—had to pause and glory for a moment at the tangible evidence of progress evinced by Barack Obama’s Presidential inauguration in 2009. We have even had a Presidential election featuring an African American and a Mormon—an unthinkable scenario a hundred years ago—or even one generation ago!” Such improvements and redemption are among the many reasons the USA is such a remarkable nation.

Since the United States’ rise to superpower status following the fall of the Axis Powers in World War II, our nation has exhibited unprecedented magnanimity, generosity, and imperialistic restraint compared to all erstwhile Superpowers. For those opposed to conquest and colonialism, which we at Freedom Focused are, compare the United States’ 1945-2015 record to the Soviet Union, Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, and Rome (Superpowers of the last two millennia). There is no comparison. The United States is the only country in world history that, upon reaching Superpower status, chose the moral high road by curbing further expansion of empire by force. For nearly 70 years now, we have possessed the hard power to dramatically expand an American Empire had imperialism been our quest. Instead, Americans have consistently chosen to be a model for liberty, democracy, and international magnanimity through humanitarian and other aid. No country on Earth gives, serves, and protects like the United States of America. Nearly everywhere we go, we provide good examples for the rest of the world to see, and in many cases, replicate. The world is infinitely better—and safer—because the USA exists.

Sadly, a culture of ignorance, irresponsibility, and partisanship has poisoned some Americans to the point that many question the fundamental goodness and greatness of the United States. As a result, they focus on limitations and grievances where, in fact, endless blessings and opportunities exist. Ever focused on the United States’ past sins and present imperfections, many have myopically rationalized away the brilliance and exceptionalism, not to mention the extraordinary opportunities and potential that still exist in the greatest country on the Planet.

We do not live in a perfect nation or world. But pessimism, with the focus it places on the past rather than the present or future, was not what made America great, nor will it be what rescues us from our present slump.

America is an exceptional nation in part because of the brilliance of Her founding document—the Constitution. This document has afforded America the honor of being the first successful self-governing democracy in modern times. This work—the oldest operational constitution of its kind—has served as a model for over a hundred other countries around the globe that have created similar constitutions since 1787.

Adhering to the principles of our Constitution has led directly to the unprecedented peace, prosperity, and power the U.S. has enjoyed over the past two centuries. In the words of four-time British Prime Minister William Gladstone, the U.S. Constitution is, “The most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.”

Whatever weaknesses democracies may exhibit, they are vastly preferable to autocratic or oligarchic alternatives. In the pithy parlance of Winston Churchill: “Democracy is the worst form of government on Earth… except, that is, for all the others.” Simply stated, the Constitution of the United States, when honored and upheld with integrity, works wonders in an imperfect world. It is the cornerstone that created, and will yet maintain, the unprecedented power and greatness of The United States of America.

AMERICA FOR ME

’Tis fine to see the Old World, and travel up and down
Among the famous palaces and cities of renown,
To admire the crumbly castles and the statues of the kings,—
But now I think I’ve had enough of antiquated things.

So it’s home again, and home again, America for me!
My heart is turning home again, and there I long to be,
In the land of youth and freedom beyond the ocean bars,
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is full of stars…[3]

By: Henry Van Dyke
(1852-1933)

Next Post: Wednesday, November 26, 2014; Chapter 7, Part II: Gateways to Liberty & Freedom 

Notes:

---

[1] Garr, A.K. (2009). Joseph Smith: Campaign for President of the United States. Ensign. (quoting LDS Church History).  URL: https://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/02/joseph-smith-campaign-for-president-of-the-united-states?lang=eng
[2]Bennet, H.H. (The Flag Goes By) from the book Poems Every Child Should Know: A Selection of the Best Poems of All Time for Young People. (1915). Edited by Mary E. Burt. New York: NY. Grosset & Dunlap. (Google Books Edition). Page 133-134.

[3] Dyke, H.V. (1920). The Poems of Henry Van Dyke. New York: NY. Charles Scribner’s Sons. (Google Books Edition). Page 314.