Would moral philosopher Adam Smith agree with Brookings? Unabashedly, yes. A “contemporized” Smith would proclaim American capitalism thoroughly run amok. Elaine Kamarck and others (Jim Sawyer included) are pushing hard against short-termism, pseudo-capitalism, even vulture capitalism. Evidence of why this is urgent? When I began college the ratio between executive pay and worker compensation was […]
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Old ideas keep America on course but they also solidify and stagnate. Eventually the old overwhelms elected officials, business leaders and policy-makers. They get hemmed in by the historical tried and true. But now we’re living and working in the dynamic 21st Century. One old idea that should remain burnished brightly however, is moral philosopher […]
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Our “first economist” was a moral philosopher. Scotsman Adam Smith (1723-1790) lived and wrote about two questions: What should a (moral) individual do? What should (moral) society do? Now, Smith’s economist followers have shrunk him into two modern categories: micro and macro. Sadly, each is pretty much devoid of his ethical perspective. Micro describes individual […]
Read MoreRe-education of America’s elite business class is essential. America must shift from the pursuit of self-interest narrowly conceived, toward pursuit of self-interest rightly understood, enhancing of the common good. Too often, the MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree has been used as a rite of passage toward the launch of sophisticated pseudo-capitalist schemes. Now, it […]
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Pseudo-capitalism can be stopped through disincentives to rigging and gaming schemes. Dynamically targeted taxation and regulatory strategies are the answer. A generation ago, these might have been included as important arrows in the quiver of what was then-called industrial policy. Stay tuned for specifics on how to do this. Jim
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We must come together to construct a planning vision of what we want now, what we want next year, and what we want for the next generation. Vision and mission statements must provide guidance as we search for pathways toward the future. Through effective democratic planning, America must reframe the over-arching challenge to capitalism, which […]
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“We The People-Type Planning” Has Become Essential to America’s Survival. We’re not talking here about planning ala 19th Century Marxist Socialism. Our world has changed dramatically over two centuries since Marx lived and wrote. Advancing technology, high finance, global trade and much more are but the most visible aspects calling us to be both pro-American […]
Read MoreNew data from PRRI show that amidst the major shifts in public life due to the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are more likely to view President Donald Trump favorably. Nearly half (49%) of Americans say they hold favorable views of Trump, including 24% who say they have very favorable views. President Trump’s unfavorable views now stand […]
Read MoreNew data from PRRI show that amidst the major shifts in public life due to the coronavirus pandemic, Americans are more likely to view President Donald Trump favorably. Nearly half (49%) of Americans say they hold favorable views of Trump, including 24% who say they have very favorable views. President Trump’s unfavorable views now stand […]
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Robert Kagan says we’re all too ripe for further shocks, not unlike those besetting our great-grandparents in the Twentieth-Century’s first half. Kagan, a neoconservative with the Brookings Institution, says the COVID-19 crisis puts America in danger of a “double-whammy.” The reason? Our international relationships under this president have frayed. Under Trump, we’ve offended historical allies […]
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