By Madeleine KandoI remember this science fiction story as if I had read it yesterday. Theodore Sturgeon's novel is about a next generation human being that is made up of different individuals to make one 'super human'. A retarded boy with telepathic powers becomes the brain, two mute telekinetic twins become the body, and a retired army captain with amnesia becomes the conscience of this new being.This is the kind of leap that we, as a Western society need to make if we want to survive: joining forces with others to create a next generation consciousness which will solve a lot of our current problems. Think about it: our current financial, social and ideological problems stem from an overabundance of 'self'. I would even call it 'selfishness'. The economic crisis is a result of a financial system that puts the self and profit for the individual (or company or shareholder) above all else.
I see the man in shabby clothes driving to the supermarket, where he buys shabby food to feed his shabby family. His shabbiness is the price he pays for living in a society where rules are few, the sky is supposedly the limit and individual freedom is cherished above all. Nobody told this shabby man that the sky is the limit for the lucky few who have strong wings. For this shabby man, as for the majority of the flock, grazing the surface of the land is all that they will ever accomplish. The sky will always be a far-away unattainable goal. But others will not feel sorry for him. They will say: 'if you are shabby, it's your own doing. Get with the program or get out. It's not our fault that your wings are small and weak. You should have been more selfish and looked out for your own interests better.'
The irony is that with all its focus on private wealth, unfettered Capitalism has dug its own grave. The world is no longer capable of sustaining the selfish model. Too many people with too few resources. A 'More than Human' entity with the ability to pool its resources is the only option.
Social Democrats seem to be standing on a higher rung of the ladder towards the evolution of this 'more than human' super-being. They have accepted the fact that living your life to pursue things that are only good for the 'self' are ultimately going to bite you in the ass.
Some will argue that a more socialized economy would become "stagnant." That because of too many regulations the workforce would lack flexibility and adaptability. That the welfare state is "unsustainable" in a global economy. And that as our population ages we will become underproductive. But you only have to look at more ‘socialized’ societies to see that they are not stagnant, and that they often provide their citizens with a better quality of life. They work less hours so they can spend more time with family and friends. Societies based on the ‘self’ are doomed to fail. We can no longer afford to look out for just the individual and disregard the group.
As the protagonists of 'More Than Human' struggle to find out whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it: will our society be able to give up its tradition of individualism and replace it with a mentality of belonging? Is Capitalism meant to survive or is it meant to destroy itself? Time will tell...
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2 comments:
Right on, Madeleine! I could not agree with you more. Although your insightful piece is in the "social" category of this blog, its main assertion aligns with a comment I just sent to Tom in the "political" section. I was sharing an article about a recent conference in Grenoble on the evolution of democracy. "....the two latter components of democracy - equality and regulation - have been neglected in favor of the extension of individual rights." ("The Democracy Factory"
http://www.truthout.org/051509F?n)
The "happiness surveys" always show that people in Europe are much happier than Americans. Since it's more regulated, Europe doesn't have such extreme financial disparities as we do, and the whole group pays for the basic necessities together (health care, education, daycare). That proves, in my view, that Europe is more evolved and more civilized than America.
Obviously, being politically engaged isn't optional anymore for Americans because politics affects our happiness completely. Democracy simply doesn't work on its own, without an engaged and informed citizenry, and a commercially-free press. So those are two huge problems right now in the U.S. I think we now live in a corptocracy. Your 'shabby man' is a perfect allegory for where we stand in America today, but many Americans don't want to face it because it would mean they would have to get involved and meet these huge challenges. They would have to spend a couple of hours every week being "activists" -- organize community meetings, rallies, and street demonstrations, as well as regularly contact their local, county and state representatives. A huge step forward would be publicly funded elections, as you have in Europe, so that our Reps in Congress wouldn't be so beholden to the very interests who donated to their campaigns. This passed in a few states so far (ME, AZ, CT and a few others), and it has allowed more women and people of color to run for office. Right now, I would need $100,000 just to get my name on the ballot if I wanted to run for Congress in NY State. And, during my campaign, I'd have to focus exclusively on fundraising, instead of connecting with people about issues that matter to them. The press is another huge challenge. Europe invests far more into public media (media that is not supported by private commercial interests) than American does.
Capitalism: Is it good or evil?
It is relative: if you start out as a healthy, affluent person you probably think that that is the norm. If you do not get healthier or richer, you probably would think: mmm… why don’t I get healthier or richer? You never think: ‘what if I was sick and poor?’ and then see yourself as ‘positive’ just because you are healthy and affluent now. Should you be transported to the Middle Ages and someone would ask you there: ‘Are you happier now then when you lived in the 21st century?’. What would your answer be?
Capitalism is still the best system to guarantee a baseline to build a happy life. If I had to work in the fields all day, not be able to rely on medical assistance when I am sick, generate my own electricity, print my own books, carry a gun to fend off burglars.. Yes, we have a lot of unnecessary, trashy products in our ‘free market’ economy. But we also have systems that guarantee a baseline of a comfortable life.
Under the Communist Regime, Hungarians wanted to move to the West, East Germans to West Germany, Cubans to the US. If Capitalism is so bad, why did people not want to move to the old USSR, the old East Germany, to Cuba? And if you don’t like the Capitalist model, the KGB is not going to put you in jail. You don’t have to get smuggled out of the country. You just drop out.
Marx was dead wrong: the working man does profit from his labor. The problem is that people take their comfort for granted and want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If Capitalism is not the perfect answer to people’s notion of a ‘happy life’, then let them give us an alternative.
I am waiting with great anticipation.
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