Citizens’ Action Network
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Most intelligent, well-informed people in the world now realize that something has gone terribly wrong on our historical journey toward peace, freedom and greater humanity. To Wit:
Despite 150 years of amazing technological progress half of the world still lives in primitive poverty.
Despite having fought and won “The War to End All Wars” (as World War I propagandists labeled that war at the time), AND its sequel (World War II), AS WELL AS the inevitable prime-time spin-offs (The Cold War, et al), war remains the largest and most profitable business in the world, dozens of wars rage simultaneously around the globe at all times, and even Americans (who enjoy the most powerful and technologically advanced military in world history) feel frightfully insecure.
Despite having conquered many natural diseases (i.e., polio, smallpox, anthrax, etc.) we now live in fear that these and many other man-made epidemics will be purposefully promulgated.
Despite learning to grow and store enough food for all of humanity, 30% of the planet’s people remain starving or malnourished, while a handful of transnational corporations jockey to patent (and thereafter completely control) the genetic material of staple crops.
Despite scientific proofs which have dispelled 99% of earlier superstitions and fantasies, a majority of our planet’s inhabitants are still willing to fight and kill each other over who worships the proper diety.
Despite massive capital markets involving investors with all levels sophistication, the public routinely discovers scam after corrupt scam involving unimaginable sums of money, and nearly incomprehensible levels of personal and political depravity, even (especially?) in the supposedly highly-regulated markets of the so-called ‘first world’.
Despite our phenomenal understanding of life’s intricate web, we continue to desecrate our environment at an astounding rate, and can not even reach a political consensus regarding necessary (self-imposed) limits of destruction.
A final example hits the heart of this Viewpoint article: Despite 225 years of immense economic and military success, the political system of The United States of America has failed to live up to its longstanding promise — “a democracy by and for the common citizen”. Instead, it has become a tool of domination for the international elite, which operates behind a masquerade of well-researched slogans and well-practiced hypocrisies. Indeed, it can be argued that this failure is central to all of the other contradictions cited above: Having grown bloated and corrupted by its own power, Washington, D.C., is the modern Rome, but now roads lead around the entire planet and so its diseases spread globally.
Must we, the kind and caring citizens of the human race, allow our governments to repeat the predictably tragic fate of every empire in history? Are collapse or totalitarian hegemony our only alternative futures? Or is there a way we can re-balance the political and economic equations which drive our macro world through our micro motivations?
The Noble Experiment
The political system of the United States of America has been called “A noble experiment in democracy”, a phrase which itself seems to snigger in disbelief, much as Plato did 2500 years earlier when he defined Democracy as “a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike.” (Note Plato’s clear presumption that, as Orwell’s Animal Farm characters also said, ‘some are more equal than others’). Apparently the learned and wise students of humanity have long doubted that a truly democratic form of governance could succeed, even as they paid proper verbal homage to its intuitively popular and attractive notion.
Putting aside the personal contradictions and hypocrisies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, these great men did take a serious crack at creating a political architecture which would divide power, create checks and balances, and perhaps provide for the controlled chaos necessary for perpetuating a true and stable democracy. Given the fact that world’s elite and powerful interests have been waging constant battle against both the spirit and letter of the U.S. Constitution even since its preliminary drafts, it is clear that Jefferson and Madison succeeded admirably in their task.
The structure of America’s Constitution is clever. The Executive (president) is modeled after corporate and royal experience: A single leader with vision to drive and coordinate a plan. The fixed number Senate is presumed to serve the interests of the elite. The expanding House is presumed to serve the interests of the common person. All three must reach agreement before laws are enacted. The Judiciary serves as a final arbiter of whether those other bodies are acting in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Constitution, so in reality they must also consent to major policies. Further, much particular power rests within similarly triforcated institutions at the State level, also overseen by State judiciaries. Thus, power is theoretically spread across a large number of players in society, limiting the chances of a successful coup by a minority supporting some fanatical tyrant.
Still, just as in an any game or contest, the players soon learn the optimum strategies for competing, ultimately aiming to find systematic ways to “beat the house”. Jefferson himself realized that routine modifications would be necessary to counter this inevitability, and so he argued for flexibility, even periodic anarchy, to reinvigorate both the spirit and the strategic strengths of the democratic system. In his own words, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Considering the growing list of global contradictions (such as those cited above), the time has come to heed Jefferson’s urging and make important modifications to our systems of governance. We can now see obvious flaws and loopholes which are employed deviously by all manner of power brokers wishing to subvert the agreed goals of humanity in favor of their own selfish ends. Only by studying the lessons of democracy’s history, and acting immediately to appropriately re-balance the competing powers, may we actually continue with our noble experiment in democracy. Otherwise, our collective reality we will continue to grow ever more removed from our dreams, draped instead within propaganda and self-delusion.
Engineering Obsolesence
Even as the U.S. Constitution was being debated and created, the richest and most powerful dynasties in Europe were vying for positions of influence and profit within the resource-rich Americas. Thus, international bankers and financiers, who had loaned moneys to the American revolutionaries and otherwise helped to topple England as the world’s superpower, relied on Alexander Hamilton to protect their interests during the formation of the new U.S. government.
While the common man lives crop to crop and hand-to-mouth, the elite can afford to bide their time. Why risk exascerbating revolutionary tendencies by pushing the elitist agenda too early in the life of a young republic? Why risk the beheadings and asset seizures suffered by royalty such as France’s Marie Antoinette when you can slowly reassert business as usual through time honored practices of taxation and usury? Indeed, Hamilton graces the $100 dollar bill as homage to his role in retaining private capital’s privileged position within the newly independent economies of the 13 now united states of America.
The U.S. Constitution was and is a consciously designed dream. For its true believers, it embodies the collective dreams of humanity through the ages: freedom, peace, security, opportunity, justice. For the cynical elitists it is simply a wonderful smoke-screen of propaganda; a quasi-religious facade behind which they can re-take the historical high-grounds of power, privilege, control, hegemony, non-accountability; a document engineered to become obsolete, just like the widgets and gizmos produced by their factories.
How could we expect to have justice within a system where political control and favoritism can be open purchased through monetary gifts to politicians and even judges? How could we expect to have freedom within a system where the elite require our endentured servitude to create their wealth and power? How could we expect to have peace or security within a system which pays lavish riches for weapons and war, and relies on such muscle to subvert indigenous people and control natural resources? How can we expect to have opportunity within a system where the rich routinely squash and control any competitive threat using all means at their disposal? Even during the construction of the U.S. constitution, its framers understood that ‘liberty and justice for all’ would be impossible if the population being governed was not ‘eternally vigilant’ in holding tightly the reigns of democratic power. The powerful simply trusted that the common person would usually be far too busy in his own life to restrain the relentless drive of the greedy and ambitious.
History has recorded a parade of many well-respected thinkers who have publicly doubted the ability of the common man to govern himself democratically, or even at all. Within this view, America’s “noble experiment in democracy” has been doomed to a predictable end from the outset, the only question being how long it might take for its failure to become obvious even to the common man.
It has come to the point where overt corruption is evident everywhere one chooses to shine a light, and not just in third world countries. Oil interests have controlled U.S. domestic and foreign policy since at least World War II causing outrageous amounts of damage to enviroments, economies and populations. The machinery of the Cold War has diseased the very core of America’s democracy. The entire U.S. banking system was deregulated and then swindled out of more than $200 billion by a cadre of unpunished insiders in the 1980’s. In the 1990’s the U.S. financial markets were deregulated then overtly manipulated by insiders who made billions for themselves, while investors ultimately lost trillions when the artificial bubble burst. The U.S. energy industry was deregulated then consumers were massively swindle in the opening years of the new millenium. Corporate officers, directors, bankers, and “independent” auditors and analysts have been routinely colluding to manipulate stock prices, hide deceptive business practices, steal assets, and otherwise swindle investors. Meanwhile, lawmakers have accepted massive campaign bribes to look the other way, or even provide agressive political and legal protection for the crooks. It has become apparent that these behaviors are more like “business as usual” rather than rare exceptions. Is the warranty period up on our U.S. Constitution just as its engineered obsolescence becomes all too obvious? Must we finally accept that we are fools and dupes, lazy and ignorant, incapable of handling the responsibilities commensurate with maintaining true freedom and democracy?
Redesigning Checks & Balances
Before resigning ourselves to living out our days as disillusioned cynics, hedonistically leveraging every advantage within the limits of our imagination, we should probably consider the other face of the coin: A notable list of charismatic characters has asserted the plausibility, even the inevitability, of humanity’s transcendence. In this view, we are all on a swerving path toward ever more perfect forms of union and social contract.
Once there was no law other than that of the jungle. Then came extended families and tribes making possible stable settlements, agriculture and animal husbandry. Then, massive civilizations created trade and technologies, intellectual explorations and even purely aesthetic and spiritual pursuits, although overt slavery was still an acceptable practice. Spirituality and art continued to evolve, as did philospohical musings and convictions, eventually eliminating overt slavery as an acceptable relationship between peoples.
Today, religious fanaticism is still apparent but is widely discouraged as inappropriate; Slavery has been forced underground, although it is still tacitly practiced (most clearly as endentured servitude, but more commonly through large-scale economic and political devices); women and children have rights and protections, and these continue to grow globally each year; the environment is being considered and debated; democracy and popular control is the only politically-correct and openly sanctioned form of government, all others are derided as unenlightened and due for change, at least rhetorically. Looking across the millenia, we can clearly see we are making progress toward our social transcendence of our animal biology: We are becoming more enlightened and tolerant as groups, more secure and free in our persons.
It is just as obvious that humanity only moves forward along a slow and painfully twisted path, often detoured, sometimes regressing, always struggling against both our common biological shortcomings and the consciously manipulative rhetoric of the self-absorbed ‘leaders’ of society. It is in these long moments of retrogression that we begin to feel hopeless, like we are drowning in a sea of evil. When we consider the vastness of such seas it is easy to simply sink into the depths, becoming thereafter part of problem.
To draw a refreshing breath of inspiration we might reconsider history’s timeline: Millions of years to become primitive groups; many thousands more to create stable settlements; many hundreds more to understand and embrace concepts of freedom and equality; and finally many decades to begin to understand the various risks we pose to our own future. Moreover once an ideological genie of truth and justice (such as liberty or democracy) has spilled from history’s bottle its self-perpetuating nature inevitably alters humanity’s course for the better. Given these ever-accelerating rates of social evolution we could be very close to some historical breakthroughs.
The single largest threat to humanity’s progress along this path is growing domination of our planet and our people by truly soulless trans-national corporations. Consider that such corporations now account for 21 of the world’s largest 100 economic entities: ExxonMobil is number 45 on the list, which makes it more powerful than Pakistan (a country with nuclear weapons capabilities) and 54 other nations. Consider that such corporations routinely play one government against another to drive down wages, freedoms and environmental restrictions while securing massive taxpayer subsidies and insulations from liability. Meanwhile, the divisions between rich and poor continue to grow relentlessly with each passing year, with billions of people now suffering daily around the globe.
It is important that we seize the day, especially since, over the past 100 years, the development of our sciences, technologies, and bureaucratic institutions have outpaced the ethical, psychological and political development of our populations. What is needed? A candid analysis of all ways in which democracy can be subverted by elite self-interests; then devlopment of renewed checks and balances which inherently counterbalance greed, unlimited ambition, and the corrupting influences of power and money. As has been often suggested, a framework of “Liberty & Responsibility” is well-suited for defining the appropriate boundaries between self-interest and social obligation, and thus for crafting effective solutions to our world’s problems.
This suggestion is not subversive, nor radical, nor even un-American. It is specifically in keeping with the intentions and admonitions of Thomas Jefferson. It is specifically provided for within the Constitution of the United States. Demanding that we ‘Change The System’ in the face of obvious threats to the long term health of our country and our world is, in fact, the moral and patriotic duty of every single citizen. To swallow facile rhetoric meant to appease and placate, to delude oneself that there is no systematic corruption, to shrug that there is no solution, or pretend that the impetus should come from elsewhere, is to shirk our responsibility within our society and our humanity. People from all parties and persuasions can and should join together toward this common goal: Change the system to eliminate the predictable corruptions and overt hypocrisies now clearly in evidence. Like the rules to any game or competition, if properly redesign our Constitution’s checks and balances, the players will be forced to readjust their strategies and thus their actions in predictable ways. If our rules remain unchanged, allowing corruptions and subversions of our democracy, then we will perpetuate a world of corruption antithetical to our stated goal of democracy.
Obstacles and Strategies
The present system of governance has become firmly entrenched specifically because it pays routine dividends to the most powerful interests in our world. We can expect that these interests will fight with all of their might and resources to retain their privileges under the present system. The only changes they desire are ones which increase their hegemony. Given that these entities are increasingly corporate rather than individual (or even political), we should assume that anyone within these corporations who might have developed a crisis of conscience would be easily eliminated, marginalized or simply out-voted: Thus there is a soulless, economic rationality driving the decisions, policies and collective behaviors of those entities which stand in the way of humanity’s continued transcendence. The weapons of domination which will be arrayed against change include money, the military, laws, religions and other institutionalized social structures. These entrenched powers are the major obstacle laying between the world we inhabit today and the humanity we desire for our future. These forces will always need to be reckoned with, but they will NOT necessarily always have the upperhand.
Another obstacle which will always confront us is our human nature: Owing to our basic biological needs for survival and procreation we exhibit behaviors which become inherent ‘flaws’ once our social system develops beyond a small tribe. For example, we tend to be self-centered and greedy, valuing ourselves and our specific offspring over the needs of our collective society (as contrasted with a colony of ants or bees). Development of various religious and philosophical concepts has helped us attempt to transcend such purely biological motives. For example, The Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) and the Social Contract (I agree not to steal from you, nor you from me, and we further agree to collectively punish anyone who breaks this agreement, thus our system of laws) have helped us instill a concern for the rights of others even as we strive largely to meet our own needs. While humans are far from perfect in applying these principles, these examples demonstrate the large degree of success humanity has had at socializing itself, thus partially transcending biological urges to the betterment of everyone. However, we are also well aware that some people will only pretend to agree to the Social Contract, using every means possible to avoid keeping their promise while simultaneously hiding their trespasses. We can assume the obstacle of our “human nature” will always be with us, so we must design a system which guards against it both internally (limiting it within our own nature) and externally (uncovering and stopping those who would deceive us).
What strategy could possibly defeat both the massively entrenched powers-that-be AND the darker aspects of human nature? Simply put: The answer is “none”, since the question itself is flawed. Do sailors try to defeat the tide? Would we attempt to eliminate winter or summer? What strategy can we propose to end night in favor of day? The universe itself shows us time and again that the ONLY viable strategy is balance, working strategically WITH inherent nature rather than trying to eliminate it. Social organization is no exception. The winning strategy is “to achieve balance”: To compose a system which makes it impossible for greed and self-interest to monopolize (or even oligopolize) power. But what does this mean?
Beyond previously articulated suggestions (i.e., eliminating money in campaigns, reformation of corporate law), the power and economic influence of ‘for-profit organizations’ must be precisely counterbalanced by ‘for-democracy organizations’. Moreover, the funding for this counterbalance MUST come directly from the for-profit firms. This system might be properly labeled as a “Citizens’ Action Network”. Under such a system, private citizens and citizens’ organizations would have direct economic incentives to counter the efforts of corporate interests.
For example, today, how many people can take the time to fight against corporate lobbyists? Almost no one. Who has a personal economic interest in any specific law equal to the economic interest of the corporation which benefits from that law? No one. Because the current system overwhelmingly favors narrow special interests over the good of the community we experience a neverending parade of scams perpetrrated against the public: Massive subsidies for municipal stadium and private sports franchises; Massive wage subsidies for corporations; Massive infrastructure subsidies for real estate developers; Forced privatization and pillage of public utilities (such as communications, electricity, and now even water); Specific tax breaks and guaranteed profits for particular corporations; and literally thousands of other specific examples. All of this occurs routinely and repetitively because Company X can spend $100,000 to make political decisions go its way, and reap millions in return, while almost no citizen or group can afford even a fraction of that sum (or time) to oppose it.
A Citizens’ Action Network might would like this: Every time a corporation spends a dollar on lobbying efforts, it MUST also pay a dollar into the C.A.N. fund. Every time a citizen or non-profit group uncovers corporate or legislative corruption, 50% of the assets seized and forfeited are paid to that person or organization. This would also apply whenever a for-profit entity attempted to advocate legislation which would subsidize a for-profit activity: The first non-profit organization to expose the proposed subsidy would earn a reward equal to 50% of the subsidy, to be paid from the assets of the organizations which would have benefitted from the subsidy. Likewise, 10% of the taxpayer savings from uncovered governmental fraud would go to the investigating person or group. In this way, millions of people will instantly have a huge and ongoing incentive to root-out corporate fraud and subsidies at every level of government.
Yes, that IS a radical proposal! To actually make for-profit scam artists (and their shareholders) suffer the risks and penalties associated with subverting democracy, to make them pay for hypocritically undermining “free markets” and “the land of opportunity” for their own selfish ends, IS a radical idea. Our crazy society has made the passive acceptance of lying, cheating and corruption the “normal” point of view, and any truly effective counterbalancing solution is deemed “fanatical”. THAT ALONE shows how sick our society has become and how badly real change is needed.
The real power in any society rests with the collective will of the masses. If we put away our opiates (television, drugs, alcohol, religion, electronic games, etc.) and focus on the reality of our circumstance we will quickly realize that we DO have the power to mandate dramatic change. If we choose to construct an inherently balanced system we CAN do so. Then, just as in every revolution which came before, the world will be a much different place thereafter.
The Citizens’ Action Network is a Liberty & Responsibility idea whose time has come!
Summary & Conclusions
The world is on a steady march toward corporate hegemony. It has gotten to the point where Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp will be running a ‘Survivor’-type show to select a U.S. Presidential canadidate (it’s true, and he’s not even an American!), “Operation Enduring Freedom” is labeled upfront as a possibly perpetual war, and an array of specific energy companies were shown to be fixing prices at hugely inflated levels while paying off both major parties at all legislative levels. Meanwhile Americans re-elected nearly all incumbents, 99% of which are members of the two offending parties.
Simply put, this is no way to run a democracy.
Thomas Jefferson warned that we could not remain free unless we were eternally vigilant. The very structure of our current political and legal system provides tremendous advantages for the private interest of capital over the common interests of the citizens of democracy. Unless and until we demand and make dramatic modifications in our system, especially to create proper counterbalancing institutions, America (and the world) will continue its slide down that slippery slope toward endentured servitude to transnational corporations.
A Citizens’ Action Network is technologically and legally possible. It is morally and philosophically proper. The only barrier to its creation are the 1% – 2% of elites whose crimes will become heavily scrutinized under such a system. It’s high time the other 98% of us take back control of our democracy before it devolves from a polite pretense to a complete fiction.
Thank you for your attention, interest and concern.