Suddenly politics in this country appears to have taken a turn toward democracy and away from markets.
As we develop in a book just published by Oxford University Press, discussing economic inequality. Regulation of Wall Street proceeds apace after the investment banks and mortgage lenders sank the American economy with their recklessness as they now write multi-billion dollar checks for their malfeasance. If indeed the tide has turned, the country is emerging from a cycle deemphasizing government that dates back to the election of Ronald Reagan.
It is too early to know for sure whether the country will once again embrace government as leader and partner in order to address pressing problems that markets have caused or are unable to address. Certainly the poisoning of drinking water in Charleston, West Virginia, the latest highly visible crisis attributable to the failure to engage in effective regulation, should help add momentum. But Tea Party-backed governors and legislatures are still in control in many of the states, and they’re so eager to please the right-wing constituencies that they’ve turned back federal dollars that would pay for health insurance for their poorest, uninsured citizens. (Although, to be fair, we are starting to see some pushback.)
What we do know is this. There is a deep ambivalence in America in that citizens see the virtues of capitalism and the promise of democracy, even though those two values can, and do, cone into conflict. In Achieving Democracy, we argue that the last 30 years of neoliberal government has dulled our sensitivity to the positive role that good government regulation can play in our lives. For a long time, many of the loudest voices in our political system have seen value only in markets. This is not unusual; it has happened in prior anti-government cycles as well. Eventually, however, the flaws of relying only on a market system to achieve the country become too obvious too ignore.
Government, however, must learn from its mistakes. Conservative complaints about ineffective government are often excessive, but it cannot be denied that government at times does not work. We therefore see the need for government to be more experimental; ready to abandon what does not work, and substitute other, smarter approaches. This is not something that government does very well, for understandable political and practical reasons. But it is essential to achieving an appropriate mix of markets and government. At the same time, decisions must be based on actual evidence of government performance, rather than ideology.
Our approach, based on the pragmatism of John Dewey and later philosophical pragmatists, measures the effectiveness of government based on America’s traditional commitment to democratic values. Any policy that we adopt should be for the public good. More precisely, the public good can be represented in policies that expand democratic participation both in markets and in politics. The legacy of the New Deal has been to create a middle class that could participate in the economic marketplace. The middle class, with the helping hand of government, was able to purchase cars, own their own homes, and send their children to both elite and non-elite colleges. The legacy of the Great Society has been to expand political participation along racial, gender, and ethnic lines.
In 2014 we confront a stagnant economy, a weakening middle class, and social problems in health and education among others. As we debate the minimum wage and as we consider immigration reform, we can apply a democratic litmus test. Does raising the minimum wage and expanding immigration opportunities promote or hinder the basic American political commitment to democracy and to capitalism? The answer to that question reveals the better public policy choice. If public policies favor the wealthy few and contribute to income inequality, then those policies must be recalibrated for the benefit of the many.
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Sidney A. Shapiro | January 30, 2014
Suddenly politics in this country appears to have taken a turn toward democracy and away from markets. As we develop in a book just published by Oxford University Press, discussing economic inequality. Regulation of Wall Street proceeds apace after the investment banks and mortgage lenders sank the American economy with their recklessness as they now […]
Joseph Tomain | January 27, 2014
Recently, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a report entitled Energy Works for US: Solutions for America’s Energy Future. The data and references in the report are largely accurate, as far as they go, and the report promotes energy efficiency, which is a welcome step. Ultimately, though, the report is unreliable because it has too […]
Rena Steinzor | January 22, 2014
As people across the country and around the world watched the tableau of 300,000 West Virginians give up their drinking, cooking and bath water for days on end because an untested toxic chemical was spilled by a company that was co-founded by a twice-convicted felon, the ever-present John Boehner (R-Ohio) had pungent advice for President […]
James Goodwin | January 22, 2014
It’s time to put to bed an unfortunate myth that’s been floating around the last few weeks. The myth goes something like this: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)—the opaque bureau within the White House charged with approving agencies’ draft regulations before they can be released to the public—has succeeded in improving the […]
| January 20, 2014
In the wake of the toxic chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia that contaminated the city’s water supply, citizens across the country are wondering if it could happen to them. Given gaps in our environmental and chemical regulation regime, the answer is a resounding yes. For the past year, I’ve been investigating problems of chemical […]
Rena Steinzor | January 17, 2014
For the past week, 300,000 people in and around Charleston, West Virginia, have been unable to drink the water that came from their taps, because of the toxic byproduct of feeble regulation and non-existent enforcement. Thousands of gallons of a coal-cleaning agent seeped into the local water supply after it oozed out of an antiquated […]
Anne Havemann | January 14, 2014
As congressional negotiators reconcile the House- and Senate-passed Farm Bills, they are considering two provisions that would cut off access to information about federally subsidized farm programs and threaten public health and safety. The Farm Bill will provide farmers with billions of dollars in federal subsidies, crop insurance, conservation payments, and other grants. The vast […]
Rena Steinzor | January 13, 2014
Today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent its benighted poultry-processing rule to the White House for final review. The millions of consumers who eat undercooked chicken at their peril and the beleaguered workers in these dank, overcrowded, and dangerous plants can only hope the President’s people come to their senses over there and kill this […]
Joseph Tomain | January 8, 2014
In his 2013 book, The Bet, Yale historian Paul Sabin uses Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon as foils to explain today’s dysfunctional and polarized politics surrounding energy development and environmental protection. In 1980, Ehrlich and Simon bet each other on the price of five minerals (chromium, copper, nickel, tin, and tungsten.) Ehrlich, a neo-Malthusian, and father […]