[Texgreen] Explaining the dynamics of recent politics

[Craig MIller]

I guess it comes down to which, free business or political gov't, would serve
long term future interests.   Which one plans ahead more for protecting those
things in the world that don't have a voice?   Those things of value that aren't
consumers and don't have a voice in politics?  Who attends to those things and
will act ahead of time to sustain those things well into the future?   Which do
you think?   

If neither, a third paradigm needs to be developed to take over, because this is
the crux to preventing loss of value in the planet.  Be it spiritual,
environmental, peace, morality, ethics, charity, the arts, love, diversity,
fauna.  All the things that have no direct tie to money.  It's why we all take
up activism instead of a career making money.  

To me it can only be under business control if there is shareholder control with
ambitions beyond bottom dollar and maximizing returns.  And the gov'tal control
model only if monetary influence is removed.  

What do you think?

Craig Miller  



---- On Sun, 7 Jan 2007, Roger Baker (rcbaker@eden.infohwy.com) wrote:

Here is the explanation that seems to me to best explain the voter  
behavior expressed by the last few decades of American and British  
politics. It is in the form of this hour long British-produced  
internet video that anyone with a high speed connection can watch at  
this link:

http://tinyurl.com/w5pmw

Here Dick Morris explains how he successfully saved Clinton's second  
term by using the same Madison Avenue marketing strategies used by  
business to appeal to consumers, based on psychological focus groups,  
etc. It explains why Reagan and Thatcher prevailed. Clinton's labor  
secretary Robert Reich is featured with his own commentary a number  
of times, as well as various other political strategists and  
psychologists.

It explains what politicians have to do to get elected in a world of  
voters programmed to think along consumerist marketing lines in terms  
of feeding back their subconscious short-term self-interest goals,  
and the policy contradictions that lie therein.

The conclusions of this video seem to me important enough that I took  
the time to transcribe the concluding segments below, verbatim.   --  
Roger, Austin


"...New Labor is faced with a dilemma. A system of consumer democracy  
that they have embraced has trapped them into a series of short term  
and often contradictory policies. There are now growing demands that  
they fulfill a grander vision. That they use the power of government  
to deal with the problems of growing inequality and the decaying  
social fabric of the country.  But to do this they will have to  
appeal to the electorate to think outside their own self interest.  
And this would mean challenging the now dominant Freudian theory of  
human being, of selfish, instinct-driven individuals. Which is a  
concept of human beings which has been fostered and encouraged by  
business because it produces ideal consumers. Although we feel we are  
free, in reality, we like the politicians, have become the slaves of  
our own desires. We have forgotten that we can be more than that.  
That there are other sides to human nature:

ROBERT REICH: "Fundamentally here we have two different views of  
human nature and of democracy. You have the view that people are  
irrational. That they are bundles of unconscious emotion. That comes  
directly out of Freud. And businesses are very able to respond to  
that; thats what they have honed their skills doing. That what  
marketing is really all about; what are the symbols, the music, the  
images, the words will appeal to these unconscious feelings.

Politics must be more than that. Politics and leadership are about  
engaging the public in a rational discussion and deliberation about  
what is best. And treating people with respect in terms of their  
rational abilities to debate what is best. If it is not that, if it  
is Freudian, if it is basically a matter of appealing to the same  
basic unconscious feelings that business appeals to, then why not let  
business do it? Business can do it better. Business knows how to do  
it. Business after all is in the business of responding to those  
feelings." 
  
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