Too much government?

What do our friends on the right mean when they say there’s “too much government”?

Is it that they want to keep as much as they can of what they earn? I’m sure we all want this. But, let's face it, compared to other industrially-advanced democracies, Americans pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than citizens of almost any other country.

Perhaps part of the answer is that the Right hate being taxed for things that they don’t see as directly benefiting them or people like them. If this is so, we have lost the sense of common purpose that is at the heart of citizenship in a democracy.

Perhaps another part of the answer is that over the past 30 years or so, we have learned to place material self-interest above all else.

Perhaps another part of the answer is that we have been brain-washed into thinking that an unregulated (or lightly regulated) Market will mean prosperity for all. Well, it certainly means more profit for corporations but... The 2008 Crash resoundingly proved that this not necessarily the case for all of society.

We live in an age of insecurity and insecurity breeds fear. Some will stroke these fears to divide us and to gain political power. We needn’t let them.  It is time for progressives to retake the high ground in this debate. It will be a difficult and long-term effort. But, after we are done licking our wounds from the mid-term elections, we should stop cowering in the shadows, reframe the debate and articulate a truer vision of what America can be.

A great starting point for the discussion is Tony Judt’s “Ill Fares the Land” (The Penguin Press, 2010). If you haven’t already read it, go out and buy a copy. This excellent book describes how we got to where we are now (income inequality, the growing gap between the rich and the rest), the effects of inequality (it can be correlated against social immobility, health problems, crime, and mental illness) and what can be done about it.

In a clear and understandable way, Judt also discusses the current state of social democracies, contrasts Keynes and Hayek (the intellectual godfather of the conservative “Chicago School”), describes how “Great Societies” were built from the end of WWII through the ‘70’s and how they have been unraveled over the past 30 years most notably in the US and the UK.

The next few postings will examine and develop the concepts presented in Tony Judt’s book. Stay tuned and join in the discussion.