Jim Palombo

On Considering Capitalism… 

In my last report “The G-20 in Retrospect,” I discussed to some degree the development of what can be considered “eastern capitalism”, with China as its champion, as compared to “western capitalism” with the United States at its helm. In ensuing discussions with people who read the article, questions surfaced as to what capitalism actually is, and how one system could be so markedly different from another. Obviously these were fair questions, and neither is easy to answer in brief discourse. As I stated to the questioners, clear and concise responses may well require, at a minimum, a semester’s worth of discussion.

In the nature of the questions however, there is contained a very significant point which does not take as long a time to relay. It is a point in fact that I’ve been referencing for most of my professional career – some thirty years – in both academic and social service work. In short, our public is woefully ill-equipped in terms of understanding the nature of capitalism.  Additionally, we are woefully ill-equipped in terms of understanding our political and economic history relative to the notion of capitalism, especially as it was commingled with the advent of democracy.  And, we are also sadly in arrears in terms of understanding the basic tenets of both liberal and conservative political platforms and their respective ties to both democracy and capitalism. (Just think of your own education in terms of garnering an understanding of political and economic America.)

In consideration of my position, I am offering two pieces. The first, “Informed Consent,” is a   commentary on the nature of the “not understanding capitalism” problem. The second, I’ve termed “In continuance…” and it references points from the conclusion of my most recent book, Criminal to Critic-Reflections Amid The American Experiment. (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers).  Together, I hope these will serve to highlight a very serious situation, as well as what might be done to address it. With this in mind, please read on, and as always feel free to offer your own thoughts accordingly.

Informed Consent                                                                                                                                                 

(This piece was written in light of the “new hope” tied to the objectives of the Obama administration, and before the current economic crisis.)                                         

In this morning’s paper I again read a piece referencing Barak Obama as a socialist. As I often do, I shook my head in dismay. This is not because I necessarily agree that he is or isn’t. Rather, it is because I know that most Americans have little understanding of what this actually means. This realization comes after  twenty plus years in the post-secondary arena, addressing countless students at both undergraduate and graduate levels, and after hundreds of discussions with both public officials and private citizens. Said another way, it has become very clear that when it comes to understanding the principles tied to the concepts of socialism, communism, democracy and especially capitalism (after all, this is our American system) we are in a civic information/education depression. In fact, amid our economic and war concerns, this depression may indeed be our most drastic problem.

If one begins to consider this “non-understanding” situation it is not hard to imagine rather disturbing results. Simply put, in confronting both our national and international concerns, we cannot have a legitimate grasp of our current concerns nor our future options – we are to a great extent “in the dark.”

In terms of our national concerns like unemployment, the housing crisis, income disparities, crime, taxation and government regulation, if our citizenry is unable to measure these problems against a legitimate frame of analysis, then little could be expected in terms of addressing them.  Relative to our international concerns, imagine trying to comprehend and/or compare what those in Europe, the Middle East or China are doing if we don’t understand the political and economic structures under which they live. And how can it be possible for us to examine and justify our foreign and military strategies without this understanding? (Consider that this gap in understanding can also lead to all types of political chicanery – where politicians simply pander to public emotions, create half-truths and lies, and do or say anything to attract a vote. Certainly, the sense of this happening would simply make trusting our political processes and our government and the import of the vote all that more difficult.)

There may be a solution, a way “into the light” if you will. Given that the educational system has most of our population captured for a good number of years, it could be in that arena where we can develop a more comprehensive framework from which people can better understand and discuss political and economic America. We’ve done this with technological skills; why not with citizenship skills?  All we need is some help to make this happen.

Thomas Jefferson, in addressing the mandates of government, once said: “… Educate and inform the whole mass of people. Enable them to see that it is in their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”  It’s a tall order indeed — asking those in government to act on behalf of the people, not for the party, nor for the profit. But given our current state of affairs, it’s something we cannot avoid undertaking.  So let’s try and hold our leadership to the possibility.

In continuance…                                                 

As an example of how this might work, consider this. In elementary schools, children could be introduced to concepts developed by educators that better equip youngsters to think about issues of freedom and equality. This would be done (and is being done in some select areas) in the context of helping young people understand who they are and how they might relate to other people. As these youngsters passed on to their higher grades, they could then be engaged in discussions related to liberal and conservative politics and the concerns of democracy and capitalism.

The idea would be that as they developed a dialogue pointed in this direction – understanding social, political and economic America – individuals completing secondary school would have a more solid sense of what we can do in the country  and who might be legitimate candidates come voting time.

We could then continue this focused dialogue as individuals proceeded on to post-secondary processes. It seems it would not be difficult to implement mandated courses, perhaps a one credit course at the beginning of every year of college, where students integrated social, political and economic issues with the idea of fueling (or re-fueling) an ongoing and continually developing dialogue related to American citizenship.

We could also develop a similar process for the general community, holding adult classes and/or seminars for the same purposes, perhaps several times in the year, allowing for paid time to be taken from work to attend. (Some corporate responsibility perhaps?)

In toto, these processes would help develop dialogue between parents and children, students and non-students, over national concerns, helping everyone to learn together.

Finally, we could draw on those in the political and economic arenas who, even with their other interests, recognize the importance of an informed public. These individuals would have little trouble acknowledging the tremendous social energy it has taken to survive this far, and they should be willing to help with the efforts needed to carry this energy into the future. And in helping to create a new dialogue, these individuals will even have the chance to demonstrate a new form of leadership, a form hard to attach to in the country today.

In closing, consider that we have sent people to the moon and beyond, something only several generations ago seemed as far from possible as reaching the stars themselves. We have seen other tremendous advancements in technology which continue to take us beyond our imaginations. In this light, its seems hard to believe that we cannot figure out ways to come to a better understanding of America, that we cannot create a dialogue about who we are and where we are going. Rather than being seen as too difficult or impossible, this should be, in the interests of our national and international selves, our most important mandate.

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Just to note – Given what is said above, and in keeping with the notion of being actively involved with ideas, I have been attempting to organize a “symposium on capitalism.” In brief, this would be a non-partisan, two or three day conference with individuals invited from academia, social service, government, business, media, entertainment and the general public. The focus would be to: call attention to the concept of capitalism; create some viable plans to better educate the public – including developing research projects across disciplines and universities to study related issues; have a few commentaries or songs written and/or perhaps a film done relative to what this all may mean. In this context, I have reached out to many famous and not-so-famous people for assistance. And although nothing as yet has materialized, the networking continues. Certainly, if you find the idea of merit, feel free to join in with the effort.