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A Morality of Conscience

We’re failing and it is in the application of the policies that drive this failure that our greatest failure lays.  The current morality of greed is driven by mistaken ideas and a bankrupt ideal, what is needed is a change to a morality of conscience. 

The System is Broken

I am accused, often, of confabulating meanings and attempting to redefine terms so that they fit with that which I am trying to articulate.  Indeed, I must admit that this is true.  But, it is not a failure of mine, but rather a failure of the English language in attempting to articulate that which is new. 

The English language, although great and varied, does not lend itself well to new ideas when the words used to describe those ideas are steeped in old traditions and worn out concepts.  Such a concept is capitalism.  Capitalism no longer means, as it once did, that every person has the right to try and better their particular circumstances through providing a good or service more efficiently than their competitors.  While this seems to be the way that many people understand capitalism, they simply do not understand the way that the system has been put together over time. 

Today, capitalism has but one goal and that is to eliminate competition by any means necessary, fair or foul.  There are some, perhaps many, which would argue against this idea, but the purpose of the capitalist ideal is to create a monopoly.  That is, to create the circumstances by which the product or service of the capitalist stands alone and competition is eliminated.  In the cause of this goal any means necessary are allowed.  Subversion of the government, elimination of competition, exploitation of the workers and lying to the consumers are all allowed or even demanded in the course of attempting to gain a position of market dominance. 

Some would argue against this, suggesting, inaccurately, that free market competition without government regulation will lead to the cheapest and most plentiful of products and services.  And in such a “free market” the invisible hand would, perhaps, lead to this very thing.  However, there can be, when humans are involved, no such thing as a “free market”.  A free market dictates that all competitors for the production of a good or service have the same access to the government, the same access to resources and a level field of play.  Of course, this in an ideal which has never been true and may not ever be true.  If such a free market existed, Wal-Mart and its ilk would be unable to drive out competition by an artificial (and temporary) reduction in prices.  It is, in essence, unfair competition, but this is the hallmark of free market capitalism.

Free market capitalism is not possible under any circumstance of which I can think.  As we have seen in the recent economic situation, given the ability to subvert the government under the guise of free speech, exploit the workers under the guise of competition and lie to consumer as a matter of course, those with the means of production will do so. And those with the means are then not only praised at the time they are held up as role models for others to follow.  That is, until the inevitable happens and intrinsic weaknesses within the system make the system collapse.  At that point, those with the means to do so, turn to the government to protect them from the very people they exploited to gain their wealth.

The system then protects itself because those with the means to do so have bought and paid for those who are supposed to regulate the system.  And the cycle goes on and on with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and no one benefits except those with the means to benefit from the system as it stands.

It is at this point that those without the means to do so begin to understand what is happening to them and demand that the government protect them from those who exploit the system to benefit themselves.  Usually, this is an exercise in futility, but sometimes another ugly thing raises its head and socialism results.

Socialism is an idea that, at first, makes perfect sense to any rational person, although there are many disagreements about what socialism actually means. At its heart, however, socialism argues that those who have should give to those who have not by the government using its power to distribute “wealth” throughout society “fairly”.  On the face of it, socialism seems like a good idea, but it is almost as evil as free market capitalism.

Socialism, in its purist form, punishes the creative spirit of the entrepreneur by creating a situation where the entrepreneur is penalized for being willing to take a risk at improving his situation in life.  Further, it rewards those who are unwilling to take risks by artificially improving their situation.  I will not argue here about the merits or lack thereof of the idea of “fairness” or “deservedness” as these concepts are moral constructs lacking in any “real” value.  However, it can not be denied that there are such things as basic needs that each individual requires.  We can argue about what constitutes a basic need, but we can not turn a blind eye to the fact that such needs exist.

In essence, socialism should not be regarded as an ideal, but rather a failure.  It is a failure of those with the means to live up to their responsibilities as articulated by the Founders of this mighty Republic.  The Founders did not say that one has the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness at the expense of others.  When those with the means to do so subvert the government by using their wealth, justifying the evil of subversion by calling it “free speech” they are doing so at the expense of those who do not have the same means that they do.  Instead, they should demand, through their means, that the government do what is necessary to create an environment of justice for all rather than an environment of exploitation for themselves.  They should not exploit workers for their own gain, but rather they should enrich their workers for the gain of all.  They should not attempt to eliminate competition, but rather welcome it for the many benefits that it provides.

What then are we to do?  If capitalism is evil in its purest form and socialism is also evil by its creation of a system of mediocrity what choice do we have?  It was hoped that this new Administration would provide guidance on these issues, bringing justice to our economic system.  In this, at least so far, it has failed miserably.  It has continued to reward those with the power to influence the system.  It has rewarded failure, incompetence and greed with money, power and influence.  It has propped up the failed ideals of a credit economy while attempting to institute all of the inevitable inadequacies of mediocrity inherent in socialism. 

The choice is clear.  We can not change the system by changing the system itself, because at its heart it is not the system that is to blame, but the people behind it.  We must change the ideals of those with the means to change the system.  It is not a revolution of the People that is demanded here, it is a revolution of ideas.  If one would allow me the liberty to say so, I would say that what is needed here is a new morality.  A morality of conscience that tells us that it is not to the benefit of anyone, in the long run, if one person benefits at the expense of many others. 

To this end, I would suggest that we move towards a kind of socialistic capitalism wherein those with the means to do so recognize that it is in their best interest to better the nation as a whole rather than themselves individually.  A kind of an ideal where exploitation of workers does not need to be corrected by the formation of unions, but where there is no exploitation to begin with, because it is recognized that exploitation benefits no one in the long run.  But, it must also be a place where workers recognize that there are demands on those with the means to do so that keep them from giving the workers everything they desire.  I dream of a place where no person goes without necessary medical care, but yet where any starlet can get the plastic surgery that she wants.  I dream of a just society where no child’s school is any less excellent than any other just because of the place where they happen to live.  I dream of a place where racial injustice is not fueled by financial inequality.  But, this place of which I dream can never be until we change the current morality of greed to a morality of conscience.