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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Capitalist America with a Social Conscience


Open to New Ideas

It has been ingrained into every American child that the American systems of capitalism and democracy are the only correct systems for the world, and that it is very difficult to think beyond those teachings when your country is as big and powerful as the U.S. However, the world is not a place like that where only one way is true and acceptable. The world is a diverse globe with many systems in which people believe. Others may criticize, and indeed there will always be room for improvements in all systems, but the challenge is to keep an open mind that can lead to a better style of living in each country.

I was one of the people who looked on with amazement over the battle to expand health care reform in the U.S. to ensure that citizens were not dying in the streets due to inaccessible health care. I could not see why there was even an argument at all over the basic philosophy.

America is a country that believes in the value of personal meritocracy. Study hard; work hard; gain the promotions and work your way to the very top and you will be revered and entitled to all the respect and reward that is a part of your position. There is fundamentally not too much that is wrong with that in theory, except that there is very little room at the top. Every society should have a healthy middle class, and even the lower class should be entitled to a respectable standard of living.

The rich take care of themselves, and they are very choosy about whom to invite within their ranks. The meritocracy about which we speak is usually the path forward that is lubricated through who one knows, rather than what knowledge is actually possessed. How a society takes care of its middle and lower class is the standard by which it is judged. The so-called trickle-down system can only work if there is enough to trickle-down. In these very difficult times it is somewhat debateable whether that theory is of any use.

These times call for more flexible thinking, the so-called “out-of-the box” creative thinking, and that means prejudice against other ideas will serve to defeat one even before starting. I’m not putting forward any particular ideas for acceptance by the panel of U.S. scholars who must resolve their country’s problems, but one idea that Spain has used as a form of financial stimulus program for several hundred years is a national lottery, the purpose of which is to put as much money as possible in the hands of as many people as possible.

These lotteries take place around Christmas and the beginning of the year, and winnings are tax-free and paid in one lump sum. The tens of thousands of winners use their new found wealth to pay off debts, buy new houses, cars, and generally to share it into the community.

The point I’m trying to make here is that such a lottery system as socialist as this will probably never get consideration within the U.S. simply because it is socialist. It certainly has far more merit than the one-person wins all type of lottery.

More information on this idea can be found at wikipedia.com/elgordo. In the meantime, keeping an open mind to new ideas can be one of the most positive things one can do.


Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael