I was listening to a Robert Reich interview last night. He was talking about his new book, and aside from the economic issue I think it dealt with another interesting issue: that tension between the myth of American individuality and the practicality of group dynamics.
Reich's premise is that the current recession can be linked directly to disparity between the have and have nots. And it makes sense in a structural way. The more parity in income the more participate in the economy. If the wealth is concentrated in the hands a few then the economy stagnates because money does not circulate.
There are more layers to what Reich was saying, but it's interesting to me when something so common-sensical is so media hidden. I'm not claiming a conspiracy, so although there is some high level manipulation going on in the end I think what's at play is a distrust of the common good.
I think this it has to do with our current sense of the individual being more important than the whole - the rugged American individuality. Yet this is a myth of one because most of our achievements have been communal. We work best as a whole.
I don't think any amount of government or business can fix the issue until our media starts to promote the structural superiority of working as a whole for a common good.
