In a British Radio Show called “The News Quiz” a few months ago, one of the panelists elicited loud laughter from the audience by saying of capitalism, “Recent events show that, while capitalism is a great idea in theory, it just can’t work in practice”.
The joke, of course, was that this is the exact comment that has been often made about communism ever since its collapse. The switching of communism for capitalism was funny because it seemed to tell a huge truth while making fun of the very arrogance that had caused the statement to be true.
At least, it was true inasmuch as capitalism has failed as a religion, which of course doesn’t mean that it has failed as a revisable set of ideals founded broadly on individual liberty, the importance of social and economic opportunity, freedom of choice, and the importance of property rights.
Indeed, it may be the case that every system that has ever failed has done so precisely inasmuch as the system was a religion – an ex cathedra arbiter of truth in the areas of existence in which it claims to know best and therefore cannot adapt.
The capitalist religion that has been proven to be (let’s be generous) incomplete, is one in which its high priests have been allowed to veto, as matter of policy (whether made by Corporate Boards of Directors, the Federal Bank or the Executive etc.) common-sense limits, because they seem superficially to be at odds with the fundamental doctrine of the ideology, when in fact many are suggested only to limit the very actions that undermine the principles on which the system is based.
The view that the current financial meltdown is as much the end of an age as was the collapse of Soviet communism is not limited to radio comedians.
Indeed, a survey of the stories on Watching America, the site that translates foreign news about the USA, reveals a notion that has appeared more in the global media during the last few weeks than ever before. That is the notion of the “Grand Bargain”.
Gordon Brown is using that exact phrase; so are the Canadians. The Russians and the Chinese have much to say on what that bargain should look like in the wake of the failure of the system that has been for decades synonymous with America, or at least the American Way.
In fact, while Gordon Brown talks daily of the need to establish a new economic world order, riding the zeitgeist and getting a lot of play in the media because of his standing in the inner circle of Western capitalism, much of what he is saying, new to our ears, has been said for a long time outside the G20.
Today, the chattering classes in countries both rich and poor are talking of how the future will look, or should look. The fact of these discussions alone demonstrates a grand global political and economic discontinuity – a fracture and necessarily, therefore, an opportunity. It is quite a time!
Despite the fact that the fracture is generally seen as being caused by irresponsible behaviors of American corporations and individuals, the USA happens now to be run by the world’s-favorite-president-Obama, so not all of the lights have gone off in the shining city on the hill.
Therefore, America can still, if it can strike its own grand-bargain with itself, determine what the world will look like in an age after corporate-capitalism-as-be-all-and-end-all, in a new age of participatory-capitalism-as-means-of-delivery-of-opportunity-and-fairness.
What is this bargain that America needs to strike with itself? It is an exciting one – because we have been brought to a point where the left and the right have more to agree on, should they wish to do so, than ever before.
Broadly, there is consensus that we are in a crisis and a change of direction must be made. The honest right is traditionally concerned with not socializing risk or reward, but supporting a just society and economic playing field in which consequences of actions and decisions are felt by those who take the actions and decisions – for good or ill. The honest left is traditionally concerned with ensuring that everyone should enjoy a minimum of social and economic welfare, with protections to ensure the same.
Today, screwed as they are by the failure of economic individual rights and responsibilities (that right-wingers are concerned to see hold sway), and put in the kind of economic hardship (that left-wingers are concerned to eliminate), the “people” can see that the future enforcement of the right’s sense of economic responsibility and refusal to hand out to those that don’t deserve it will help massively to afford them many of the social and economic protections that the left is keen to grant.
As is so often the case, both sides of the argument hold a critical piece of the solution. It is rare that so many people find themselves in a shared experience that rightly offends both ends of the political spectrum. But that is where we are. And that’s good for political change – and grand bargains.
With Middle America, and even the silent moral majority – a common-sense majority who may not know how they got into this mess but know rewarding failure when they see it –behind them, the left and the right can serve both of their interests by establishing a revised capitalism that will never need another bailout – in the form of taking from working and middle class taxpayers to shield others from the consequence of their actions. That offends the left, and it offends the right.
Moreover, regardless of whether the current bailout makes sense or not, the long-term cost of today’s situation paid be by innocent future generations while legal entities that do not deserve to be helped will receive great benefit – again offending the left and the right. .
The system of The West should be the system of the People of the West, not of its high-priests. Not only is that very idea – the idea of fairness, of equal opportunity – enshrined in capitalism, but never have those of us that participate in it been so disillusioned by the elders.
For America’s sake, then, let’s get excited about this nexus. Let’s talk about phasing out protectionist subsidies that prevent countries on whom we force financial liberalization from selling their goods into our markets; let’s talk about taking the power to print money out of the hands of a private cartel, misnamed the “Federal” Bank; let’s require financial institutions, if they wish to lend money at huge (in some cases, infinite) leverage, pay for the bailout insurance that they are currently provided for free, and if we’re feeling really daring, let’s look at the responsibilities that must be met by a corporation if it is to have the rights of a person.
(Robin Koerner is the publisher of WatchingAmerica.com, where article from around the world on the global financial crisis are posted daily).
Robin Koerner is a British-born citizen of the USA, who currently serves as Academic Dean of the John Locke Institute. He holds graduate degrees in both Physics and the Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge (U.K.). He is also the founder of WatchingAmerica.com, an organization of over 100 volunteers that translates and posts in English views about the USA from all over the world.
Robin may be best known for having coined the term “Blue Republican” to refer to liberals and independents who joined the GOP to support Ron Paul’s bid for the presidency in 2012 (and, in so doing, launching the largest coalition that existed for that candidate).
Robin’s current work as a trainer and a consultant, and his book If You Can Keep It , focus on overcoming distrust and bridging ideological division to improve politics and lives. His current project, Humilitarian, promotes humility and civility as a basis for improved political discourse and outcomes.