While I was aiming my comments primarily at business leaders in my community, I think your idea of encouraging and honoring reciprocity (and power sharing) between young people and their teachers, coaches, and mentors with the goal of better supporting self-motivated transitions into decent employment and effective participation in our social institutions is a very important one. Thanks for your comment.
Yes...and fascinating that you didn't mention education in your closing list as a way to develop an "ethical culture." Reading your essay, I couldn't help wanting to raise my small voice to say: "Students in schools sacrifice involuntarily, and with very little clear reciprocity of sacrifice by those compelling them, especially now that k-12 education qualifies you only for a life of poverty, where before there was at least the possible legitimacy of the claim 'Get your high school diploma if you want a job.'" I think the goals you have can only be reached if we bring children up to understand sacrifice and reciprocity in a democracy and in a free-ish market. I DON'T mean teaching these themes explicitly in civics class. I mean practicing reciprocity with young people, especially adolescents, as they grow up, valuing their sacrifice (partly through wages for sharing what they are learning in their communities as teachers and coaches) and respecting their poltical power by restraining our economic and physical power over them (physical--using police and threats of police to control adolescent behavior) by making room for real political decision-making by autonomous youth collectives. They create their own political programs and execute them without adult approval (consider school attendance, disrupted learning time, ignoring academic assignments or goals, social media challenges, etc.). We should support them creating political programs that lead to more effective social institutions--and part of what they will demand is access to meaningful, decently paid employment that helps them achieve their education, rather than distracting them from it (like fast food and mall menial labor).
Very good point. There’s a big difference between reciprocity and power sharing in political economies where conflicting parties share a commitment of some sort to democratic governance and, in marked contrast, political economies that have been captured by the evil forces you enumerate. While the first scenario may call for sacrifice and extended reciprocity, the second calls for rebellion. Thank you for your important clarification.
The LA mayoral primary was not stolen. It’s just math. LA is something like 70% Democrat, 30% Republican so Pratt was only gong to get like 30% of the vote. So the Democrat voters, if motivated by eliminating the Republican must decide to evenly split their votes for Bass and Raman. If they vote one sided for Bass, Pratt beats Raman so ironically a vote for Bass helps Pratt. On Election Day, the organic results were something like 45% Bass, 30% Pratt, 25% Raman. So the 45-25 split of the Democrat 70% is too lopsided to lock out Pratt. So rational Democrat voters “hold their vote” and watch the results and see this imbalance so otherwise Bass voters vote for Raman - it’s the rational voting approach if your motivated by enduring democrats in the top 2. Mail in ballots enable this - watch the results play out all day and learn that you need to switch your vote to Raman and just make sure you get to the post office on time.
Unfortunately for Pratt LA voters decided that going more left was the way to go to moving forward rather than to the right! And why would they pick a total novice to lead the city anyway? A lot of voters have had a bad experience with that. Hey I think outsiders are fine, look at Platner in Maine! Pratt did about as well as a generic republican so I guess he did fine 😎
I appreciate this articulation of sacrifice as a means of ensuring elasticity and resilience in a social contract and democracy. However, to overcome fascism, racism, and sexism in America we also need to take some very firm stances and have a willingness to rebel against institutions and actors that refuse to change or recognize people’s humanity, dignity, and agency. We will not create a new culture if a new governing majority is willing to compromise away these tenets on its way to power.
While I was aiming my comments primarily at business leaders in my community, I think your idea of encouraging and honoring reciprocity (and power sharing) between young people and their teachers, coaches, and mentors with the goal of better supporting self-motivated transitions into decent employment and effective participation in our social institutions is a very important one. Thanks for your comment.
Yes...and fascinating that you didn't mention education in your closing list as a way to develop an "ethical culture." Reading your essay, I couldn't help wanting to raise my small voice to say: "Students in schools sacrifice involuntarily, and with very little clear reciprocity of sacrifice by those compelling them, especially now that k-12 education qualifies you only for a life of poverty, where before there was at least the possible legitimacy of the claim 'Get your high school diploma if you want a job.'" I think the goals you have can only be reached if we bring children up to understand sacrifice and reciprocity in a democracy and in a free-ish market. I DON'T mean teaching these themes explicitly in civics class. I mean practicing reciprocity with young people, especially adolescents, as they grow up, valuing their sacrifice (partly through wages for sharing what they are learning in their communities as teachers and coaches) and respecting their poltical power by restraining our economic and physical power over them (physical--using police and threats of police to control adolescent behavior) by making room for real political decision-making by autonomous youth collectives. They create their own political programs and execute them without adult approval (consider school attendance, disrupted learning time, ignoring academic assignments or goals, social media challenges, etc.). We should support them creating political programs that lead to more effective social institutions--and part of what they will demand is access to meaningful, decently paid employment that helps them achieve their education, rather than distracting them from it (like fast food and mall menial labor).
Very good point. There’s a big difference between reciprocity and power sharing in political economies where conflicting parties share a commitment of some sort to democratic governance and, in marked contrast, political economies that have been captured by the evil forces you enumerate. While the first scenario may call for sacrifice and extended reciprocity, the second calls for rebellion. Thank you for your important clarification.
Interesting thought! Thanks.
Gleaning might be the ancient analogy of ESG corporate governance… interesting 🤨
The LA mayoral primary was not stolen. It’s just math. LA is something like 70% Democrat, 30% Republican so Pratt was only gong to get like 30% of the vote. So the Democrat voters, if motivated by eliminating the Republican must decide to evenly split their votes for Bass and Raman. If they vote one sided for Bass, Pratt beats Raman so ironically a vote for Bass helps Pratt. On Election Day, the organic results were something like 45% Bass, 30% Pratt, 25% Raman. So the 45-25 split of the Democrat 70% is too lopsided to lock out Pratt. So rational Democrat voters “hold their vote” and watch the results and see this imbalance so otherwise Bass voters vote for Raman - it’s the rational voting approach if your motivated by enduring democrats in the top 2. Mail in ballots enable this - watch the results play out all day and learn that you need to switch your vote to Raman and just make sure you get to the post office on time.
Unfortunately for Pratt LA voters decided that going more left was the way to go to moving forward rather than to the right! And why would they pick a total novice to lead the city anyway? A lot of voters have had a bad experience with that. Hey I think outsiders are fine, look at Platner in Maine! Pratt did about as well as a generic republican so I guess he did fine 😎
I appreciate this articulation of sacrifice as a means of ensuring elasticity and resilience in a social contract and democracy. However, to overcome fascism, racism, and sexism in America we also need to take some very firm stances and have a willingness to rebel against institutions and actors that refuse to change or recognize people’s humanity, dignity, and agency. We will not create a new culture if a new governing majority is willing to compromise away these tenets on its way to power.