"Whether...a change from the supremacy of natural science to a new social science will take place...depends on one factor: how many brilliant, learned, disciplined, and caring men and women are attracted by the new challenge...."
-- Erich Fromm, To Have or to Be, 1976, p.161 FOR DEMOCRATS & LIBERALS |
||
As a Democrat, who may or may not also consider yourself a "liberal," you probably fancy yourself a person with a great concern and sensitivity for other people, and for the planet. Your heroes and mentors might include such persons as Bill or Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Edward Kennedy, Tom Harkin, Jesse Jackson, Al Franken, or in the realm of older figures, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Hubert Humphrey or Tip O'Neill. Your media outlets of choice might include MSNBC, National Public Radio, or Pacifica, and broadcasting from these studios might be personages that find your favor such as Alan Combs, Rachel Maddow, or Reverend Al Sharpton. Moreover, perhaps you find great appeal in groups working for change such as GreenPeace, Human Rights Watch, or the Peace Corp. Or you may be drawn to this political sector because Democratic and liberal thinkers, philosophers, commentators, and theorists often excel at describing or detailing the wretched state of society, and the corporate liability responsible for this condition. Authors such as William Greider come to mind, as well as political figures like Ralph Nader. Mr. Nader, in particular, offers a trenchant, detailed, resolute, and comprehensive analysis and description of the problems of society, especially American society. As a Democrat or perhaps "liberal," it is likely your intention to improve the condition of our world, and you feel that a Democratic or liberal philosophy embodies this intention, and a political approach embodying this philosophy can achieve this goal. Perhaps you're especially idealistic, and you want to go even further, and "change the world." Of course, all these impulses speak well of you, and are to be commended. The problem, however, is that good intentions alone, whether on the part of political leaders, activist groups, or the citizenry itself, each of whom wishes and intends to do good, are simply not enough to facilitate any sort of meaningful social or economic change. If they were, we would not find ourselves in the year 2007 with the palette of serious problems that we do, including, but not limited to:
(See our Learn the Issues area for analysis and discussion of these and other social and economic problems.) We must acknowledge the unyielding reality that good intentions alone are insufficient to bring about the dramatic improvements this country and our planet requires, across the many different kinds of serious problems we suffer. Alright, then, if intentions don't matter, what does? Capitalism Without question, the culprit is the laws and rules of our capitalist system, capitalism for short; this what we must pay attention to. Though most people don't realize it, the way capitalism works is what is almost wholly responsible for the kind of life we lead and indeed, the very way we experience our existence as human beings. It is important to understand that the problems of our society are structural in nature, meaning they are rooted in the very structure of our society, the economic structure, specifically. Their resolution, therefore, requires the creation of a new structure--not a modification of the existing structure, which is all capitalist politicians--Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Liberal, Conservative--can do, since they remain committed to preserving capitalism. Once you begin to understand this reality, you'll concomitantly begin understanding why optimistic and elevated or flowery-sounding speeches, usually informed by good intentions to be sure, may be enjoyable and inspiring to listen to--but that's where their utility ends. The ideas they contain and convey will do almost nothing to solve the social and economic problems that have existed throughout the entire history of capitalism. If they had that kind of power, it would have happened already, and we'd already be living far more simply, peacefully, and happily, basking every moment in the organic joy of existence, itself. Regarding groups like GreenPeace, mentioned above: we're not saying that groups like this do no good whatsoever. But we are saying--and this is the reality--that relative to the colossal size of most of the problems we're talking about, the improvements these groups effect are very small, and often impermanent. New regulation, for example, even when occasionally passed, is often less significant than we might think, because after passage, industry is continually using its powerful influence to have the new laws reversed or diluted. And oftentimes they succeed; when a new presidential administration enters office, for example, it often eviscerates or even repeals the laws passed under its predecessor administration. Thus, even the small gains these groups struggle to achieve--usually for years--are actually reversed, again, because the changes and improvements were not structural. If you wish to act effectively on your great concern and sensitivity for other people and for the planet; if you wish to act in a manner that will actually improve the condition of our world, indeed even change it, you must begin paying attention to, and learning about, the laws and rules of our capitalist system. It is inescapable. Luckily, you will find such detailed educational material at this website, on our homepage and especially on our pages of Detailed Q & A. Remember, a structural problem requires a structural solution. The replacement of capitalism with a Cooperative System is a structural solution--anything else, is not. For structural change, you must come to a group like One Human Family (or similar groups). Thus, you may certainly continue to enjoy and find stimulation or inspiration in the words of such persons as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or Jesse Jackson. But to actually solve the problems of the planet, it is imperative that you begin ignoring their prescriptions for change. Or at least begin to internalize their categorically tentative and inadequate character. This is because, though the afore-named individuals certainly hold and display a desire to move the world in progressive and positive directions, they all--with the exception of Dr. King--completely support the capitalist system, the cause of our problems in the first place. To his credit, near the end of his life Dr. King began to realize that the normal operation of capitalism was so pernicious, and so overwhelmingly responsible for the misery of the human race, including but not limited to the problem of racism and civil rights, that he began advocating what he referred to as "...a modified form of socialism."Thus, as Dr. King knew, Democratic and liberal solutions will simply never bring about any sort of large-scale social or economic change. How can they? These "solutions" merely tinker around the edges of our system, while our problems---many, serious, and apparently intractable--come right from dead-center, meaning right from the natural and normal daily operation of capitalism, the economic system Democratic and even liberal leaders and thinkers support. One Human Family The good new is that there is a global movement for structural change, and One Human Family is at the forefront, thereof. As a Democrat or even a liberal, someone with a positive impulse toward people and the planet, we urge you to continue carefully reading through this website, to fully acquaint yourself with the Cooperative program. It is the only solution. |
||
NOTE: If you do, indeed, feel the impulse to "save the world," we provide more discussion specific to this notion! |
||
~ Advocating Economic & Personal Change ~ One Human Family |