The "left" and "right" Paradigm

[matski7]

Every generation or so, a major secular shift takes place that shakes up the existing paradigm. It happens in industry, finance, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, travel, communication, etc.

I would like to discuss the paradigm shift that is occurring in politics.

For a long time, American politics has been defined by a Left/Right dynamic. It was Liberals versus Conservatives on a variety of issues. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice, Tax Cuts vs. More Spending, Pro-War vs Peaceniks, Environmental Protections vs. Economic Growth, Pro-Union vs. Union-Free, *** Marriage vs. Family Values, School Choice vs. Public Schools, Regulation vs. Free Markets.

The new dynamic, however, has moved past the old Left Right paradigm. We now live in an era defined by increasing Corporate influence and authority over the individual. These two “interest groups” – I can barely suppress snorting derisively over that phrase – have been on a headlong collision course for decades, which came to a head with the financial collapse and bailouts. Where there is massive concentrations of wealth and influence, there will be abuse of power. The Individual has been supplanted in the political process nearly entirely by corporate money, legislative influence, campaign contributions, even free speech rights.

This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.

Consider:

• Many of the regulations that govern energy and banking sector were written by Corporations;

• The biggest influence on legislative votes is often Corporate Lobbying;

• Corporate ability to extend copyright far beyond what original protections amounts to a taking of public works for private corporate usage;

• PAC and campaign finance by Corporations has supplanted individual donations to elections;

• The individuals’ right to seek redress in court has been under attack for decades, limiting their options.

• DRM and content protection undercuts the individual’s ability to use purchased content as they see fit;

• Patent protections are continually weakened. Deep pocketed corporations can usurp inventions almost at will;

• The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have Free Speech rights equivalent to people; (So much for original intent!)

None of these are Democrat/Republican conflicts, but rather, are corporate vs. individual issues.

For those of you who are stuck in the old Left/Right debate, you are missing the bigger picture. Consider this about the Bailouts: It was a right-winger who bailed out all of the big banks, Fannie Mae, and AIG in the first place; then his left winger successor continued to pour more money into the fire pit.

What difference did the Left/Right dynamic make? Almost none whatsoever.

How about government spending? The past two presidents are regarded as representative of the Left Right paradigm – yet they each spent excessively, sponsored unfunded tax cuts, plowed money into military adventures and ran enormous deficits. Does Left Right really make a difference when it comes to deficits and fiscal responsibility? (Apparently not).

What does it mean when we can no longer distinguish between the actions of the left and the right? If that dynamic no longer accurately distinguishes what occurs, why are so many of our policy debates framed in Left/Right terms?

In many ways, American society is increasingly less married to this dynamic: Party Affiliation continues to fall, approval of Congress is at record lows, and voter participation hovers at very low rates.

There is some pushback already taking place against the concentration of corporate power: Mainstream corporate media has been increasingly replaced with user created content – YouTube and Blogs are increasingly important to news consumers (especially younger users). Independent voters are an increasingly larger share of the US electorate. And I suspect that much of the pushback against the Elizabeth Warren’s concept of a Financial Consumer Protection Agency plays directly into this Corporate vs. Individual fight.

But the battle lines between the two groups have barely been drawn. I expect this fight will define American politics over the next decade.

Keynes vs Hayek? Friedman vs Krugman? Those are the wrong intellectual debates. Its you vs. Tony Hayward, BP CEO, You vs. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO. And you are losing . . .

~~~

This short commentary was conceived not to be an exhaustive research, but rather, to stimulate debate. There are many more examples and discussions we can have about this, and I hope readers do so in comments.

But my bottom line is this: If you see the world in terms of Left & Right, you really aren’t seeing the world at all . . .

[drox]

Matski7 well done! I know you were hoping for a discussion. Unfortunately I think everyone is too wrapped up in the Dinar allure at the moment to shift to this topic. Nothing wrong with that at all but I wanted to make sure you knew I appreciated your well thought out piece. I believe there is a much deeper under-layer that is the culprit. Although everything you describe is the absolute truth it is not the moon but the finger pointing to the moon as they say.

These evolutions that occur are simply the survival and reinvention of the ego. We have allowed ourselves to the mercy of materialistic tendencies and role playing. We often find our worth in things, people, ideologies and thoughts. Well beyond the need things is the wanting of things. The ego truly wants to want. That is the insatiable paradigm that must shift in order to change our world in my opinion. Even when we give ourselves that which we want, the ego immediately wants something else. Thus, it became just a temporary manifestation and is truly insatiable if allowed to unconsciously continue. That is what inevitably puts us in a hole. We in the States find ourselves at a moment of truth don't we? We have pushed the want and the conflict almost as far as we can before it enters the red danger zone. We must reevaluate our beliefs and reboot or risk failure. Everyone must evolve.

A corporate, a political, or even a religious congregration of like minds forms a collective ego. That power in numbers has a direct influence on everyone. I suppose our conclusions lead to the same question... How do we empower ourselves and shape our own destiny? Will we choose to move forward through conscious steps or will we stay the course unconsciously and risk losing everything? Guess we shall see. Thanks and be well!!!

[delta22]

Great well thought out topic. But I believe Drox is correct with his statement that people are just too tied up with the dinar /rv to want to debate much less think about something else. Thanks again for a great piece.

[Heavyduty053]

Corporations have been buying and selling govt and judicial influence for decades, it's just that the american public years ago took a bigger stand against bigger govt, corrupt politicians, corporate greed and who's who buying votes for their election. Listen people when people running for office stand before you and offer their ideas on how they will correct the wrongs it is pure fiction most of the time and this is the reason why. When a politician is to appear before the people, they have already been briefed on the concerns of that area and their handlers have already been talking to the people before hand so their speeches are well written to say what the people want to hear. Therefore the people take away a thought that this person is really in tune with what going on. Thats not the case at all its about getting votes. Corporations steer monies over the table and under the table to buy influence when and if the day comes that their man or woman wins........Now do you think that these millions of dollars known and unknown is paid without a promise or agreement of payback. This is where the buying and selling comes into play. The American people have taken a i don't care attitude until election time then its strap on the Republican or Democrat band waggon and get their man elected. Have most studied this person habits, NO, have they checked him out to see if he is the right one for the office, No they want to proudly say that hey i helped my man get elected nevermind what this person's hidden agenda is. Once in office we all suffer because their ship has come in. People have lost touch with whats important for this country. You can't lay blame on one certain office or person because hey the "PEOPLE SPOKE". It has taken everyone one of them in Washington to get this country in a mess. Policies, precedures, constitutional laws they don't mean much in Washington they just rewrite amendments to get what they eant. You and me, we are just like one marble in a game, don't mean much until election. The jobs, the tax money, the civil rights, the piece of mind, the common sense in Washinton have been dwindling down for years right under our noses and the general attitude was let someone else worry with it, i don't have the time nor can i change it by myself so one by one people became numb....It was once said if you want to persuede someone into thinking differently do it over a period of time that way they will never know the difference........Fast forward to today---Here we are, no jobs, no money, no accountability in Washington and our rights are being stripped little by little. The people of this country suffer at the hands of the ones we put in office. Who fault is it, its ours for letting it get this way. .............Need i say more, you may agree or disagree but the truth is the mass of the people have become numb over the years to what should have been demanded of our leaders. The question is do you want to wake up and get involved or stay in the background and let them keep taking and taking until this proud great nation will be considered 3rd world in public opinion. We need to remind Washington that we are not stupid that we can think for ourselves and they better wise up and startr doing what is right and just for all then we will band together and disolve you of your position SOOOO hear we are.......Heavyduty053 JMO

[tommyboy]

Yes, the American people DO have to be involved. I recently read a rather remarkable statistic on DV that stated 50% or fewer people VOTED. Why is that? Too busy? If you don't vote IMO you don't have the right to complain about any direction our politicians take. I believe that if people are really concerned about the coming abolishment of civil liberties and rights ensured by our constitution they will vote for RON PAUL. Might sound like a broken record on my part, but I have never been so sure in my entire life that our wonderful country as we know it is being led down the path to destruction in the way our government is being run.

Listen to this: With elections coming up and the budget crisis looming, our representatives want to take a different course rather than assuming blame for any repercussions about the budget/deficit by actually changing the constitution to allow the president to address any future financial deficits by simply raising the debt ceiling ON HIS OWN AND WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL. That way at the polls the representatives could say how they were against any more debt but that the president did it all on his own, without their approval, and never mentioning the fact that they gave him this POWER.

Time to end all this before we find ourselves existing only to pay taxes so our government can give the money to all the countries they want and continue to add "earmarks" to bills to benefit themselves in their own districts to ensure being reelected, thus "playing the game" and becoming very wealthy in the interim.

Read about RON PAUL and I believe you'll agree that his time has come and he is just exactly what this country needs RIGHT NOW.

[Moses]

Link "A time for choosing"Link "A time for choosing"

Every generation or so, a major secular shift takes place that shakes up the existing paradigm. It happens in industry, finance, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, travel, communication, etc.

I would like to discuss the paradigm shift that is occurring in politics.

For a long time, American politics has been defined by a Left/Right dynamic. It was Liberals versus Conservatives on a variety of issues. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice, Tax Cuts vs. More Spending, Pro-War vs Peaceniks, Environmental Protections vs. Economic Growth, Pro-Union vs. Union-Free, *** Marriage vs. Family Values, School Choice vs. Public Schools, Regulation vs. Free Markets.

The new dynamic, however, has moved past the old Left Right paradigm. We now live in an era defined by increasing Corporate influence and authority over the individual. These two “interest groups” – I can barely suppress snorting derisively over that phrase – have been on a headlong collision course for decades, which came to a head with the financial collapse and bailouts. Where there is massive concentrations of wealth and influence, there will be abuse of power. The Individual has been supplanted in the political process nearly entirely by corporate money, legislative influence, campaign contributions, even free speech rights.

This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.

Consider:

• Many of the regulations that govern energy and banking sector were written by Corporations;

• The biggest influence on legislative votes is often Corporate Lobbying;

• Corporate ability to extend copyright far beyond what original protections amounts to a taking of public works for private corporate usage;

• PAC and campaign finance by Corporations has supplanted individual donations to elections;

• The individuals’ right to seek redress in court has been under attack for decades, limiting their options.

• DRM and content protection undercuts the individual’s ability to use purchased content as they see fit;

• Patent protections are continually weakened. Deep pocketed corporations can usurp inventions almost at will;

• The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have Free Speech rights equivalent to people; (So much for original intent!)

None of these are Democrat/Republican conflicts, but rather, are corporate vs. individual issues.

For those of you who are stuck in the old Left/Right debate, you are missing the bigger picture. Consider this about the Bailouts: It was a right-winger who bailed out all of the big banks, Fannie Mae, and AIG in the first place; then his left winger successor continued to pour more money into the fire pit.

What difference did the Left/Right dynamic make? Almost none whatsoever.

How about government spending? The past two presidents are regarded as representative of the Left Right paradigm – yet they each spent excessively, sponsored unfunded tax cuts, plowed money into military adventures and ran enormous deficits. Does Left Right really make a difference when it comes to deficits and fiscal responsibility? (Apparently not).

What does it mean when we can no longer distinguish between the actions of the left and the right? If that dynamic no longer accurately distinguishes what occurs, why are so many of our policy debates framed in Left/Right terms?

In many ways, American society is increasingly less married to this dynamic: Party Affiliation continues to fall, approval of Congress is at record lows, and voter participation hovers at very low rates.

There is some pushback already taking place against the concentration of corporate power: Mainstream corporate media has been increasingly replaced with user created content – YouTube and Blogs are increasingly important to news consumers (especially younger users). Independent voters are an increasingly larger share of the US electorate. And I suspect that much of the pushback against the Elizabeth Warren’s concept of a Financial Consumer Protection Agency plays directly into this Corporate vs. Individual fight.

But the battle lines between the two groups have barely been drawn. I expect this fight will define American politics over the next decade.

Keynes vs Hayek? Friedman vs Krugman? Those are the wrong intellectual debates. Its you vs. Tony Hayward, BP CEO, You vs. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO. And you are losing . . .

~~~

This short commentary was conceived not to be an exhaustive research, but rather, to stimulate debate. There are many more examples and discussions we can have about this, and I hope readers do so in comments.

But my bottom line is this: If you see the world in terms of Left & Right, you really aren’t seeing the world at all . . .

Interesting perspective, I will add the following for consideration.

The current battle is a Left and Right vs Middle paradigm. I think you would be shocked to find that there is really very little difference between those on the far left and those on the far right. Apart from a few social differences they are really the same critters and this sameness stems from their deep rooted belief that they know what is best for the rest of us and that if we would just accept that premise they could make our lives immediately better.

G.W. was NOT a conservative! This is why the press labeled him a "Neo-Con". "W" was a moderate, just like Dole and McCain. I supported Clinton about 45% of the time and W about 50% of the time. The current occupant I find revolting.

The war between Conservatism and Socialism has not begun, nor I fear will it ever begin. Some argue that the Financial implosion in 2008 was designed to break Capitalism,.. every indicator since that time has shown we are fast heading to the bottom of the tank, so their thoughts and analysis have credence. There have been no significant investigations into the Trillions of dollars that caused that event. Why?

Isolationism is not only a national phenomenon, it is also a local one. As Air Conditioning, TV, and the Internet have tied us to our couches, we have lost contact with our community. Our children believe that their individual experience is that of their classmates and are oblivious to anything different.

When this condition persists into adulthood it becomes a Normalcy Bias, and folks with this Bias refuse to believe that things could be any different then they currently are at present. There is a mountain of evidence that our world did indeed end in 2008 and we are currently coasting to a stop and with that stop there will be change. The danger of the change that is coming will slip past most until such a time that the reality of rapidly rising crime, fuel shortages, empty store shelves and starvation are upon them.

Normalcy Bias's are a form of denial.

On Corporations,....

I think if you dig a bit deeper you will discover that the word "Corporation" is a bogey man word. Lawyers and Laws which lead us to regulatory strangulation is the real problem. When the average among us have to have laws and regulations translated to us so that we can understand them,.. we are in deep trouble. Corporations are ruled by their legal and compliance departments. I have been in many board meetings that seem to be straight out of a Monty Python skit!

My opinion of the Supreme Court is that there are 4 pure Socialists, 3 Moderates, and 2 conservatives. The 4 pure socialists believe that we would be better off under a system that employs a "Just Master", or a "Benevolent Dictator" because the system of education and information that currently exists is not capable of producing beings capable of thinking for themselves.

Do we really have 3 co-equal branches of Government? Or do we have 3 co-conspiratorial branches of Government with a lapdog press?

You are spot on with your disdain for the left/right paradigm. We in the middle should be looking at an Up/Down paradigm. The only way to get that in place is to turn away from the the Federal Template that is being shoved down our throats and return to local/community --> county/parish --> State Model that we were designed for. Social and fiscal issues should be left to the lowest common denomniator to establish. The Federal template is a "one size fits all" model that can only ever end in ruin. In days past if a child failed the family would determine assistance, if a family failed the community would determine assistance, if a community failed the county would determine assistance and if the county failed the State would decide. Under our current federal template, the attempt to mitigate is failure is only achievable by diminishing achievement or success. That is NOT American. Those of us who have flirted with or tasted success will quickly attest that we learn more from our failures than we learn from all other items combined.

I would say that Reagan's speech called "A time for choosing" is more accurate for us here an now, then it was 40 years ago when he gave it.

Link "A time for choosing" http://reagan2020.us/speeches/A_Time_for_Choosing.asp

In closing, I would warn all who reads this that Change is coming, and there are few indicators to show us it will be as most expect, it would be wise of each and every one of us to have food and water put back for at least 2 weeks, longer if you can. Rising crime, escalating food prices, financial instability all are indicators that we are going to hit hard times ahead. At any given time there is only enough food in stores to last for about 72 hours. Our Grandparents had food stashed because they starved as children. If you do not need the food for an emergency, you can absorb it into daily use. If you do not have it,....

Thanks for the post topic!

[cisole]

thanks for the post matski7

[DinarDana]

Yes, yes, yes and eloquently said. Thanks for sharing and I would like to see this thread kept alive.