Recently, disgraced former President Donald J. Trump was convicted of 34 separate felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up campaign finance violations. These crimes and Trump’s conduct over his career in politics and business expose a shameful side of political and economic life. Holding elected office is a position of public trust, but so is the concentration of economic power.
What does justice require? What do we owe each other in society? A flippant answer from the unthinking is that we owe nothing to anyone but ourselves. Most people know we have a duty to ourselves, our family, and our fellow people.
I would say, at a minimum, we must regard everyone as more than a mere means to an end, but as valued human beings who are worthy of consideration. I believe every working person deserves a fair share of the gains they produce. But this does not go far beyond motivating with promises of personal gain. That alone is not justice. It does not require treating anyone as more than a means to an end.
Beyond giving a fair share to working people, we must recognize that there are needs that individuals have difficulty meeting themselves. For example, we cannot and should not require children, individuals with a disability, or the elderly to work beyond their capacity. Children should not work. Their duty is to prepare themselves for adulthood. Those with a disability or who are elderly generally have a lower capacity to do work to support themselves. Aside from that, everyone should have a comfortable retirement at a decent age.
I believe everyone has a right to a decent standard of living. I know, that is a shocking statement. Nevertheless, a few would still protest that those who do not work should not eat. Aside from the fact progressives have already won this argument with the construction of the welfare state, as inadequate as it is, this position is never held consistently by conservatives. If one reflects a little more, an inordinate amount of the gains of society go to a few shirkers through what is euphemistically called “passive income.” These are gains acquired without sustained effort.
Consider further the great deference given to wealth without effort. In practice, our society believes that returns to wealth is more important than a working family’s opportunity to either own a home or pay reasonable monthly rent. Not only can wealth stack upon itself with little to no effort, such individuals hold and exercise power which perverts the social order.
The fact our society more closely approximates an aristocracy rather than a democratric republic as time progresses is not an accident. For decades, much of the modern day aristocratic class has worked to distort our democratic republic into a machine for concentrating wealth and power away from ordinary working class families and into their own hands. Our democracy is giving way to corporate feudalism. It bears mentioning that one should not measure an individual’s virtue by their bank account balance. Not every rich person is a devil and not every working class person is an angel.
Even without looking into the research literature, ordinary working people can see the effect in our politics. As our economy serves the few and power to determine their future recedes from the people, the calls for political revitalization and shared prosperity are in the political wilderness rather than the village square.
I see a few red flags in politics our people can recognize as hallmarks of failure. First, virtue as an essential feature which individuals either have or lack. One’s virtue is judged by conduct, not who they are. Second, the sense that disagreement is morally wrong. Third, promoting fear of others, usually linked to xenophobia, which has long been a tool for dividing the working class against itself. Fourth, denigrating our democratic institutions. This can show up as the idea that there is some nefarious plot by institutional actors even when there is no evidence to support such assertions. As we revitalize democracy, these institutions will be the cornerstone of a new and better social order. Fifth, grandiosity where a leader claims to embody the will of the people. The sentence, “I, alone, can fix it,” comes to mind.
This impoverished, impoverishing, and disempowering politics is not destiny. No single individual will save our democracy and bring justice to the people. When the people come together to fight for justice, they can win. I believe the people will ultimately reject the politics of failure and embrace political and economic empowerment, which will benefit workers and the dispossessed. We will do better when we work together a build a community which embraces shared prosperity. Solidarity!
GuamMinimumWage.org 