"Social convertibility" is a pretty phrase, but it doesn't begin to explain why "the American Dream" feels like a mirage. For that we need two words that never appear in this column: "democracy" and "capitalism." These aren't identical. Democracy is a political system. Capitalism is an economic one. They *can* work together, as long as democracy -- which allows all citizens a voice in what's going on -- is in charge. Left to its own devices, capitalism will eat democracy alive. Indeed, U.S. history documents its continuing attempts to do so.
Our history also documents democracy's ongoing efforts to fight back. That's a big part of what the Civil War was about. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw continual attempts to rein in capitalist excesses, both by government (e.g., the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890) and by the people (often organized in labor unions or civic associations or within political parties). After capital crashed the worldwide economy in 1929, the U.S. lucked out: it eventually responded with FDR and the New Deal, part of whose mission was keeping capital under democratic control. In the following decades, thanks to the brave and tireless efforts of African Americans and their allies, democracy continued to grow . . .
Until the Reagan administration and its successors (including Clinton -- we can't let the Democratic Party off the hook) freed up capital and hamstrung unions, all the while using racist dog-whistles to keep all too many white working people in line. The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision (2010) gave capital the upper hand and helped make Trump I possible. Trump II looks like the endgame. Are we finally waking up to what's been going on for decades, capital running roughshod over democracy? The cost is already terrible -- but on the whole this reality-check about "the American Dream" might turn out to be a benefit in the long run . . .
If we start taking democracy seriously and doing our bit to keep it alive.
Nicely done, the use of the Myth of Sisyphus is appropriate. One weakness of the myth, from an economics POV, I believe, is that while most of us strive to reach the top, we don’t all start at the bottom of the mountain. Likewise the mountain grows taller driven by tectonic forces like who owns and controls the mountain. Often, as we find our strength to meet the growing challenges diminishing, we loose momentum and convince ourselves “it is about the journey” not the mountain top. The closer we approach the top the more we can see that many who reach the top are not the most praiseworthy individuals. So perhaps step one should be to ask oneself, “am I climbing the right mountain?” To this I would add that the aspirants who climb other mountains often feel they never reach the top.
Too many people in theUnited States are poor, and the numbers are growing. Too many things don’t work as they should. Opportunity is selective snd limited. And the believable path has been washed out,replaced by a steep and treacherous incline with yawning chasms on either side. We are a “precariat” indeed. A nation of ‘em.
......what a great image.....that picture says it all.....we have all become like Sisyphus....but unlike him, we are sentenced this punishment because of the crimes and evil doings of others....
The Sisyphean myth can also be seen in the plight of Black folk in this country with the latest setbacks in voting rights, where it feels like the operative is now “one step forward, two steps back.” I weep for the growing insolvency of the nation, materially as well as morally. We are being led off the cliff by sociopathic oligarchs who don’t realize that their bunkers and island hideouts will not save them from civilization’s collapse.
Thank you for sharing the plight of Sisyphus. That boulder never reaches the top of the hill. If anything, it rolls backwards smashing our dreams. There is a song about high hopes, where we get up, shake it off, and do it all over again. Those high hopes are disappearing. Your excellent article describes it well. Thanks, again, Brian. Well, said.
"Social convertibility" is a pretty phrase, but it doesn't begin to explain why "the American Dream" feels like a mirage. For that we need two words that never appear in this column: "democracy" and "capitalism." These aren't identical. Democracy is a political system. Capitalism is an economic one. They *can* work together, as long as democracy -- which allows all citizens a voice in what's going on -- is in charge. Left to its own devices, capitalism will eat democracy alive. Indeed, U.S. history documents its continuing attempts to do so.
Our history also documents democracy's ongoing efforts to fight back. That's a big part of what the Civil War was about. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw continual attempts to rein in capitalist excesses, both by government (e.g., the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890) and by the people (often organized in labor unions or civic associations or within political parties). After capital crashed the worldwide economy in 1929, the U.S. lucked out: it eventually responded with FDR and the New Deal, part of whose mission was keeping capital under democratic control. In the following decades, thanks to the brave and tireless efforts of African Americans and their allies, democracy continued to grow . . .
Until the Reagan administration and its successors (including Clinton -- we can't let the Democratic Party off the hook) freed up capital and hamstrung unions, all the while using racist dog-whistles to keep all too many white working people in line. The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision (2010) gave capital the upper hand and helped make Trump I possible. Trump II looks like the endgame. Are we finally waking up to what's been going on for decades, capital running roughshod over democracy? The cost is already terrible -- but on the whole this reality-check about "the American Dream" might turn out to be a benefit in the long run . . .
If we start taking democracy seriously and doing our bit to keep it alive.
Nicely done, the use of the Myth of Sisyphus is appropriate. One weakness of the myth, from an economics POV, I believe, is that while most of us strive to reach the top, we don’t all start at the bottom of the mountain. Likewise the mountain grows taller driven by tectonic forces like who owns and controls the mountain. Often, as we find our strength to meet the growing challenges diminishing, we loose momentum and convince ourselves “it is about the journey” not the mountain top. The closer we approach the top the more we can see that many who reach the top are not the most praiseworthy individuals. So perhaps step one should be to ask oneself, “am I climbing the right mountain?” To this I would add that the aspirants who climb other mountains often feel they never reach the top.
Too many people in theUnited States are poor, and the numbers are growing. Too many things don’t work as they should. Opportunity is selective snd limited. And the believable path has been washed out,replaced by a steep and treacherous incline with yawning chasms on either side. We are a “precariat” indeed. A nation of ‘em.
......what a great image.....that picture says it all.....we have all become like Sisyphus....but unlike him, we are sentenced this punishment because of the crimes and evil doings of others....
The Sisyphean myth can also be seen in the plight of Black folk in this country with the latest setbacks in voting rights, where it feels like the operative is now “one step forward, two steps back.” I weep for the growing insolvency of the nation, materially as well as morally. We are being led off the cliff by sociopathic oligarchs who don’t realize that their bunkers and island hideouts will not save them from civilization’s collapse.
Thank you for sharing the plight of Sisyphus. That boulder never reaches the top of the hill. If anything, it rolls backwards smashing our dreams. There is a song about high hopes, where we get up, shake it off, and do it all over again. Those high hopes are disappearing. Your excellent article describes it well. Thanks, again, Brian. Well, said.