So okay, we'll throw out all the pesky realities that mire us in the status quo. All the reasons we can't do something. All the world-weariness and cynicism that makes us accept a society that is often less than it could be.
Take a deep breath, let out all the preconceptions.
What do we want society, and the economy, to look like?
Well...first of all you have to admit this is pretty subjective. As my brother likes to say, there is an "is...ought gap". That is, you can say "about 44 million Americans have no health insurance" or "33,363 Americans died of gun use in 2013", all of which are statements of 'is'. Facts. This is the case (unless the facts themselves are disputed, of course).
But what ought we to do about those facts? You can say this is the case, but what someone thinks we ought to do based on those facts can vary wildly from one person to another. We ought to have more accessible healthcare, and the government ought to provide it. Or the private sector ought to provide it. We ought to have stricter gun laws. Or we ought to make it mandatory to carry a gun. Or the good old classic - There ought to be a law!
These are actually subjective statements, based on what you value, and part of the reason why we have such heated discussions over these is that people come to such wildly different ideas about what ought to happen.
So, for example, I think everyone ought to have access to a good quality education, have the opportunity to succeed through their own efforts, etc, etc. But if you asked me why I believed that, it would depend on my personal beliefs. I have a hard time understanding why anyone else would think it's better NOT to let people have access to a good quality education (and really, most Americans agree that this ought to happen, support for a good education is a rather consistent polling point. It's just that people disagree very strongly on the best way of making this happen.)
As I said, with that ought I'm not saying anything about which particular path is best for achieving that goal. It's not based on a fact, per se. It's based on my personal values and beliefs. (Okay, yes...we can build up some evidence for why people should care about an issue. Evidence, for example, that a strong middle class provides stability and wealth to all, including the top 1%, and should be encouraged. Then again, stability is another subjective value. Yes, of course, most of us prefer stability to living in an unstable environment...but again, it's a value. The value of not worrying that you or your loved ones will be murdered, or die in poverty...something that seems self-evident. And yet there are always people who seem to thrive in chaotic environments. Who, to quote Littlefinger, believe that "chaos is a ladder". We again come to an ought that is subjective.)
So if we want to throw out all the pesky possibilities, and reach for the impossible, we have to first grapple with what, exactly, we ought to see in a better, more perfect society. And understand that will always be subject to debate.
Take a deep breath, let out all the preconceptions.
What do we want society, and the economy, to look like?
Well...first of all you have to admit this is pretty subjective. As my brother likes to say, there is an "is...ought gap". That is, you can say "about 44 million Americans have no health insurance" or "33,363 Americans died of gun use in 2013", all of which are statements of 'is'. Facts. This is the case (unless the facts themselves are disputed, of course).
But what ought we to do about those facts? You can say this is the case, but what someone thinks we ought to do based on those facts can vary wildly from one person to another. We ought to have more accessible healthcare, and the government ought to provide it. Or the private sector ought to provide it. We ought to have stricter gun laws. Or we ought to make it mandatory to carry a gun. Or the good old classic - There ought to be a law!
These are actually subjective statements, based on what you value, and part of the reason why we have such heated discussions over these is that people come to such wildly different ideas about what ought to happen.
So, for example, I think everyone ought to have access to a good quality education, have the opportunity to succeed through their own efforts, etc, etc. But if you asked me why I believed that, it would depend on my personal beliefs. I have a hard time understanding why anyone else would think it's better NOT to let people have access to a good quality education (and really, most Americans agree that this ought to happen, support for a good education is a rather consistent polling point. It's just that people disagree very strongly on the best way of making this happen.)
As I said, with that ought I'm not saying anything about which particular path is best for achieving that goal. It's not based on a fact, per se. It's based on my personal values and beliefs. (Okay, yes...we can build up some evidence for why people should care about an issue. Evidence, for example, that a strong middle class provides stability and wealth to all, including the top 1%, and should be encouraged. Then again, stability is another subjective value. Yes, of course, most of us prefer stability to living in an unstable environment...but again, it's a value. The value of not worrying that you or your loved ones will be murdered, or die in poverty...something that seems self-evident. And yet there are always people who seem to thrive in chaotic environments. Who, to quote Littlefinger, believe that "chaos is a ladder". We again come to an ought that is subjective.)
So if we want to throw out all the pesky possibilities, and reach for the impossible, we have to first grapple with what, exactly, we ought to see in a better, more perfect society. And understand that will always be subject to debate.
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