Another commentator on responsibility in the market

I heard this today while in the car.  It seems to me to pull together a lot of what we've been discussing about the repercussions of irresponsibility in capitalism, as it pertains particularly to the mortgage crisis. 

NPR Commentary Transcript

Calling all thoughtful citizens

Sometimes it takes me a while to figure out the point of things and to express it clearly.  I knew that the biopic on John Adams had struck something in me.  I tried at the time to figure out what it was.  Poorly.  I think I now have it figured out.

What amazes me about it all is that it was such a small number of young idealists who pushed through seemingly insurmountable obstacles and created a republic and a free market.  It took hope, belief, courage, and teamwork.  And it changed the course of world history.  

What is that saying I see so often by Margaret Mead?  [pause while I look it up].  "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

What we need now, in my humble opinion, is a small group of thoughtful citizens.  Compassionate with each other and with those around us.  Compassionate in our capitalism.  I don't know that it will create a world revolution, but maybe it will help just one person.  Or two people.  Or a handful.  Or a city.  Maybe it will catch on.  

It is also my opinion that the self-governance for which people like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson fought cannot sustain itself without self-discipline and attention to the high ideals that formed the basis for it.  Otherwise, we give the government the justification to intervene to protect the many from the tyranny and overstepping of a few.  Which, in turn, gives the government the opportunity to overstep.  It is an endless cycle of selfish opportunism.  The only way to stop that cycle is to behave in the opposite manner: to be responsible for ourselves and responsible toward others.  

That's this one citizen's opinion.  

It could have turned out differently...

This entry isn't really as much about capitalism, per se, as it is about the freedom part of the free market.  

I've been watching the historical rendering of David McCullough's John Adams.  I just watched the portion addressing the Boston Tea Party and the restraints placed upon Massachusetts after the revolt, including removing the independent governance of Massachusetts, removing the enforcement authority of the Massachusetts courts, imposing a quasi-martial law, and the economic strangling imposed when the Crown stopped all exports and imports from Massachusetts not approved by the Crown. 

It's not all pretty or romantic.  The frustrations of the people, as throughout history, resulted in barbaric acts--tar and feathering, public beatings, inappropriate vilification, and misplaced heroes.   And despite the high-mindedness of a few individuals, they couldn't bring themselves to abolish slavery at that time.  It wasn't perfect, by any means.

What strikes me, though, is how it all could have turned out so differently.  It was only a small group of young idealists who met for the Congress, including John Adams.  They were young and had only known governance under the monarchy.  Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.  John Adams was a lawyer and worked his own farm (without slaves, incidentally) while trying to care for his wife and 4 children.  They still had hope for peace under and loyalty to the Crown.  Adams even had been asked to be a representative for the British.  Adams became involved in the Congress only when the Crown overstepped and began strangling Massachusetts, economically and forcefully.  And they were all labeled treasonous and subject to hanging for their rebellion against the King.

It could all have turned out so differently.  The irrational reaction of anger could have driven the new government into a very different set of governing documents, or the fear of something different could have postponed action until it was too late.  But these young men (and, in Adams' case, his wife Abigail) fought against the tyranny and followed integrity in their governing responses.  It was a delicate balance.

I suppose this is relevant to this blog because it was the economic strangling by the Crown more than any dictatorship-like brutality or slavery that caused our country and its principles to come into being.  --The right to earn a living and care for our families and have the dignity of self-governance.  It was the overstepping and greed of the monarchy that sparked the revolt.  And it was that overstepping that caused the common, government-less men and women to fight back together, just for the right to care for themselves.

It humbles me to read the writings of these men (and of Abigail), the integrity and courage of their responses in government and in war.  They could have quietly stood by, but they didn't.  They sacrificed their comfortable positions with the monarchy and their families' safeties (Adams' family was 5 miles from Boston and on the front lines), and they did so with level-headedness.  They were so young--many of them younger than I--and yet they had wisdom I'm not sure I have.  

It could all have turned out so differently.  As we sit in our McMansions and go through our drive-thrus and buy $300 dollar jeans, we would do well to remember that and to remember that these people were fighting for the right to purchase sugar and flour and other basic staples for the winter cold.   We would do well to sacrifice some of our comfort and our own greed in memory of that.

Economic Darwinism

I came across this article today. I am still digesting it, but I thought others might be interested.

Economic Darwinism