Thursday, February 28, 2013
Law, Business, and the American Dream
Reading Posner this week made me think about laws place within America since the 19th century. As industrialism took power it seems that more legal measures were taking into account businesses and monopolies. This is not to say that there weren't social movements advocating equality for all members of society, but for what general purpose? It seems that people want to have equal obligations so that they can succeed in capitalistic endeavors. Products and advertisements, which became much more prevalent in the 20th century, revolve in the scheme of big business and shifting the focus of how Americans view happiness and success; most now through material goods or celebrity-status. Today towards the end of class we talked about the corruption within Supreme Court decisions and how congress can hardly compromise anymore. This I ultimately feel is based on the society we are living in. As people become greedier and equate their happiness towards material and wealth, so do our politicians (for they are emerging from the same pool of citizens). This collective greed is then making policies that are failing the economy, in a large part due to corporate funding which gives corporations control, and with it the integrity and values of America.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's disturbing to think that some persons value fame, status, and money, more than community, empathy, and civic responsibility. But that's what this article, http://chronicle.com/article/Millennials-Are-More/131175/ and others suggest, that we are living in a me generation. I wonder if the principles that most Americans aspire to are direct descendents of industrialization and corporate America. The task of identifying sound moral principles underlying American integrity and values seems a difficult one. The American dream means a lot of different things to many, and is often most reflected by ends not means.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with both of you that our nations values certainly have changed, and that may be a result of corporate America and our industrialization. We are now much less community oriented as our nation grows, and that also could be caused like Tom said, by the politicians who have come from the same pool of all citizens. With all of that being said, I do not see this changing at any time soon. DO any of you have an idea of how to create change?
ReplyDeleteBuy local and not from corporations when possible in terms of food, but other products as well. Educate others and try to collaborate instead of pointing fingers. Switch from big commercial banks to small local ones. Don't associate yourself with being a liberal or a republican, just simply stand by what you hold of value. Don't accept cash over your fellow man's well-being. It's hard to make change when all the odds are against you, but strength in numbers is the best choice of action. Most individuals get swept away if they don't collaborate and the media only reports what's good for their ratings and good for the interest of ignorance on important matters. They'll report about the sequester (and any other issue), but they'll be blaming people and talking about how bad it will be rather than focusing on how to solve the problem. A lot of people are in ignorance (not by choice, but sometimes) of what is really going on. We can't really know what the government is doing behind our backs, especially when it's practically controlled by corporations' interests (same with the media too).
ReplyDeleteReading Kant now . . maybe we do need some sort of social antagonism, such as the economy failing, to regain control of the values in our lives. That might be the only way for real change to occur, if the comfortable American way gets shaken up a bit . . or a lot. Until then it will be a battleground of pointing fingers and fear until someone comes and takes it all. At this point it will probably be corporations, but maybe Mother-nature will come and stir up a few more cities and people will wake up to the destruction of not only our country, but the planet as well.
I probably sound crazy, but we do live in a pretty crazy world right now. It might be hard to change things and we might fail, but it's still worth fighting for.