Volume 7, Issue 30
Externally, to an immigrant risking everything to cross the United States border, the “American Way of Life” is their last great hope for prosperity and security. These immigrants may not be able to define with clarity the cause and effect of our way of life. They just know in their spirit it is their last option.
Developed countries as allied partners measure their societies by the universal promises of the “American Way of Life.” They may have criticisms of the United States. They are of course proud of their own cultures and history. But the “American Way of Life” is a standard that they hold themselves to for the comparative analysis for the product and result of all governments’ policies. In essence, most governments of the world measure success in reference to the morality of the American way.
Internally, America is more divided and confused than ever about its identity. We struggle as a society to calibrate both the purpose and foundational objective of the “American Way of Life.” We are bitterly divided on the acknowledgement about the prepositional establishment of the eternal principles of equality, fairness, peace, and prosperity.
Karl Marx, the father of Marxism, believed that labor preceded capital in the history of the world. He opined that the privileged oppressed the average worker by stealing the fruits of his labor. He is wrong in this thesis. At the beginning of the development of society, labor and capital emerged simultaneously. Whether you believe in a Creator and the mother of all humanity was Eve, or you are an atheist and believe in one common ancestor often referred to as Lucy by anthropologists, the genesis of society revolved around the process of hunters and gatherers. Initially, humankind hunted and gathered for themselves and their immediate family. As cooperation between individuals produced greater efficiency and productivity, order was necessary for a functioning tribe. Chieftains arose to administer that order. A cost as a portion of the harvest and the hunt was required to support administration. The first tax was created.
As the tribe grew in size and demands, security was essential. Administration became a fulltime occupation for the chief and his family. Each head of family naturally desired to hand down control of prosperity to their lineal heirs, and therefore, a ruling role in the tribe. The chief desired hereditary blood rights for his heirs. Also, the producers of goods and services attempted to control business as a family lineage right. The tribe evolved into city-states, the chiefs into kings, and the mechanisms of produce (primarily the land) were controlled by the nobles.
Throughout history, this balance between labor, capital and opportunity has been the basic equation of stability in societies. In sins of the flesh or natural greed of survival-of-the-fittest, depending upon your philosophical view, mankind fails in maintaining this proper balance. Lord Acton’s famous quote, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” is an axiom of human nature. The kings’ and the nobles’ services were distorted into privilege. This privilege rendered the people, the proletariat, as serfs to the state. The equation between labor and capital became unbalanced. So it was then, and, at times, so it is now.
In 1776, the United States Declaration of Independence proclaimed, in its soul and spirit, the equal right of every citizen for the pursuit of happiness. This phrase meant job security by one seeking their own vocation. No family owned a tribal line of business. And the government did not dictate a person’s role as a serf. In other words, birth was not destiny. Happiness, in fact, might be defined differently by individuals. A citizen sought economic security to the demands of their personal extent and level.
In this quest and determination, there are different types of labor. There is the wage earner who expects an hourly or daily wage on a consistent basis. There is the small business owner who hires labor, provides his or her own labor, and only gets paid from the profits of a product or service. There is the CEO of a large corporation who may, in fact, get paid both a salary and a bonus as compensation based on the success of the business. All of these elements of labor must be kept in balance with capital.
Capital also comes in many forms. It may be retained earnings. It may be passive income from inheritance. But just as at the beginning of civilization, capital has a role in providing necessary economic fuel for the order and security of society. Border protection was critical to that order and security of early society.
President Trump attacks his opponents in an effort to make the case that they do not believe in the “American Way of Life” as he defines it. He leaves that definition, at times, to conjecture.
The progressives in the last two nights of Democratic Presidential debates spoke to the need for government services to be either new or broadened. They attacked each other as being insensitive to the needs of minorities. At least the compendium of the debate between them centered on whether the programs of progressives are affordable. The moderates recognized the fact that you can’t print and borrow money forever without a check or restraint.
Progressives believe in more government control without consideration for the cost. Conservatives believe in free enterprise without adequate consideration for the cost of an individual’s current circumstances. Both miss the moral point in how they hold the individual accountable. Progressives believe that those in need should have no accountability. Conservatives are too stern in their personal accountability of citizens receiving government services. Balance is the constant governing element of the equation.
There are two great threats facing the United States today. The first is external in the foreign threats of China, Russia and Iran, in that order. China fears our economic freedom. Russia fears our individual freedom. Iran fears our religious freedom. Each is in angst over the fact that, if we exist to pursue the “American Way of Life,” they will ultimately fail in theirs. They are correct in their own gloomy forecast. For our way of life defends against totalitarian oppression.
The second great threat we face is internal. It is the accumulated national debt and ongoing deficits. Today Congress passed a new two-year Continuing Budget Resolution. It is projected to run an annual deficit of over $1 trillion. The debt as a percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is now in uncharted economic waters of 112%. No one argues, not even socialists, that any sovereign can print and borrow forever. Not applying some discipline to the budget process is leaving our children’s future in great peril.
The “American Way of Life,” as a hope, is seen through the lens of a person shaded by the reality of the circumstances in which they find themselves. Our compassion for each other should leave us with reflection about what each person wants for their family based on their circumstances. However, regardless of our situation, whether a migrant or a person born of wealth, we should all seek the common promise of the “American Way of Life,” equal opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. Whether we are sons and daughters of Eve or Lucy, the future of society depends on a desire to help each other reach full potential.
Government should only facilitate that freedom. Government should never define the purpose of an individual as only a benefit of the state.
In our common effort, we can decode The Elusive Mystery of the American Way of Life.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?