Culture
“Nihilism,” according to the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, is “not only the belief that everything deserves to perish; but one actually puts one’s shoulder to the plough; one destroys.” A nihilistic culture is defined by the drive to destroy, by the will to power. And that definition now describes the American nation. The evidence for this? Consider
Capitalism
In a global society defined by consumption rather than production, voters loathe price increases and are ready to punish rulers who preside over them. Perhaps America elected a dictator because Frosted Flakes hit $7.99 at the grocery store. How do we move to a different model? A world defined by consumption is not sustainable. And
Capitalism
Wealtherty is the state or condition of prosperity in abundance of possessions or riches, plus concomitant political power and influence, and resultant risks to the democratic process. This articulation assumes that the social (of social policy) is made up of richer and poorer people. It assumes that there is such a thing as morally and
Democracy
“The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.” All of us have the right to contribute to candidates and campaigns, but rather few of us have the capacity to do so on a scale that ensures our interests will be represented in the political system. Forty
Capitalism
The term neoliberalism is often criticized because it is used in various ways and understood differently by different people. It’s a slippery concept, but one could also say that about liberalism or democracy or conservatism. Each of these words is tricky and takes on different shapes in different times and places, and that’s true of
Democracy
Social democracy is a system of political thought and action that calls upon the government to provide certain social and economic rights or entitlements necessary to the well-being of all members of the community.