Chapter 9 – Using Common Sense for the Common Good

Chapter 9 Using Common Sense for the Common Good preclude the current generation from creating one. Their rejection of the rule of monarchy was based on their firm belief that no generation could If the U.S. Constitution were written today, by true scholars of today, be forced to sacrifice their rights simply because some previous it would have to include an economic and ecological Bill of Rights – to generation had failed to claim them, or had given them away. In the complement the civil or social Bill of Rights adopted in 1788. One of the words of Thomas Paine, “A certain former generation made a will, to fundamental purposes of forming the Union, as stated in the preamble to take away the rights of the commencing generation, and all future ones, the Constitution, was to “promote the general welfare and to secure the and to convey those rights to a third person, who afterwards comes blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” Nothing today forward, and tells them that they have no rights, that their rights are indicates that the general welfare can be promoted or the blessings of already bequeathed to him, and that he will govern in contempt, of them. liberty can be secure for our posterity without constitutional protection of From such principles, and such ignorance, Good Lord deliver the the economic and ecological rights of humanity from the greed-driven world!” machinations of an out-of-control, corporatist economy. Lacking There is no fundamental right to continue the economic tyranny, constitutional protection for our economic and ecological rights, our regardless of past court decisions and current economic policies. The political democracy quite simply is not sustainable. people of this generation have every right to do whatever is necessary to The drafters of the Constitution clearly meant it to be a living reclaim their rights – to break free of the economic tyranny, even if it document, capable of changing to meet the changing needs of the time. In requires the remaking of this great nation. The people of this generation the words of Thomas Jefferson, “I am not an advocate for frequent have a clear civic and moral responsibility to defend the right of re- changes in laws and constitutions, but laws and institutions must go hand creation and to pass it on to the next generation and to all generations to in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more come. The sustainability of humanity will require nothing less. developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of By John Ikerd, from “The Case for A Bill of Rights for Sustainability,” a circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the paper prepared for the “Looking Glass Retreat – The Economics of times.” (From a letter to Samuel Kercheval, July 12, 1816, and inscribed Sustainability,” Koskie, ID, July 1998. on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.) Thomas Paine wrote, “It is perhaps impossible to establish any thing As I struggled to understand how society had become so preoccupied that combines principles with opinions and practice, which the progress by the pursuit of selfishness, I began to realize that part of the problem of circumstances, through length of years, will not in some measure was that we had lost any sense of common purpose. We seemingly had derange, or render inconsistent… The rights of man are the rights of all abandoned the idea that we needed to work together for our common generations of men, and cannot be monopolized by any… The best good. Obviously, much of this way of thinking could be traced to the constitution that could now be devised, consistent with the conditions of glorification of selfishness by free market economists, many of whom the present moment, may be far short of that excellence which a few years probably actually believed that Adam Smith’s invisible hand was still may afford.” (From Thomas Paine’s, The Rights of Man). strong and healthy. However, most mainstream economists traditionally Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine could not have foreseen today’s had been taught that government had a legitimate role to play in the social and ecological consequences of our blind pursuit of our economy. Government, they said, was the means by which we pursued materialistic, short-run, economic self-interests. Yet, they clearly the collective interest – the means by which we could serve our individual anticipated that such “derangements and inconsistencies” would arise, interests better by acting together. However, all of this had changed by and to limit their accumulation and prevent revolution, civilized society the time I got back to Missouri in the late 1980s. By then, most must at times stop and remove the yolk of our barbarous ancestors by mainstream economists seemed to believe the primary mission of amending, or rewriting, the Constitution. government was to ensure uninterrupted economic growth of the private Even if the Constitution writers of past generations had not intended economy, and thus, advocated privatizing virtually every public good and an economic democracy, it is clear they would not have intended to service still being provided by government. 97 Beyond facilitating economic growth, most economists considered People have been misled into believing that there is really no government’s primary role to be dealing with market failures. And, by legitimate need for government – that government represents something the time I had returned to Missouri in 1988, few economists anywhere that is done to them and not for them. Many feel their hard-earned tax were willing to openly admit to very many situations where the markets dollars are mostly wasted – lost down some government rat hole. Some had failed. Most seemed to believe there were few things that the markets of this feeling arises from government bureaucracies, which have become couldn’t do well – or at least couldn’t do better than the government. more concerned with expanding their budgets and span of control than By the mid-90s, I had concluded the Department of Agricultural with providing services to the people. But current public attitudes toward Economics wasn’t serving the interests of its students, or society as well government stem largely from a conscious, purposeful attempt by as it could, because it didn’t offer a course dealing objectively with the corporate interests, and the politicians they control, to keep government legitimate role of government in providing public goods and services. I weak so that corporations may continue to dominate both the economic believed the lack of understanding of the legitimate role of government and political arenas of society. If the people are to wrest control from the was a major problem confronting American society. The department bureaucrats, corrupted politicians, and corporations, they must understand offered courses in agricultural policy, but these courses dealt with policy the legitimate functions of government and must demand that their from an historical and institutional perspective with little attention to the government perform these functions for them – effectively and efficiently. legitimate functions of government. The Economics Department offered Skepticism regarding the role of government is not new. “The courses in public policy, but again the emphasis was on how government government that governs least governs best.” This has been a commonly policies worked and not why we needed them. So, I designed a course held view among many in the United States since its beginning. Based on that would address public goods and services from the perspective of the their experiences with the British monarchy, the founding fathers were legitimate role of government in serving the public good. very skeptical of the power of big government. In fact, the Bill of Rights I worked with a group of rural sociologists to integrate the proposed of the U.S. Constitution is devoted primarily to ensuring that the rights of course into a new curriculum. It was accepted, but as an elective rather citizens are protected against governmental abuse. Skepticism regarding than a requirement of the new program. I prepared to teach the course the legitimate powers of government was a cornerstone of American and had it listed in the official course catalogue. Unfortunately, too few democracy. students enrolled in the course to allow me to teach it. As far as I know, In spite of this skepticism, the size and scope of the U.S. government there is still no course offered at the University of Missouri that deals has grown throughout the history of the country. As late as the turn of the with the legitimate role of government in a civilized society. However, early 1900s, the federal government was still a relatively minor much of what I prepared to teach finds its way into this chapter. The consideration in the day-to-day lives of most people in the U.S. However, chapter covers the essential subject matter of a three-hour credit course in by the middle of the twentieth century, U.S. involvement in two World college. It’s admittedly pretty dense reading – although hopefully not too Wars and the Great Depression had greatly expanded the size and scope heavy for anyone who is interested in the legitimate role and scope of of its government. The role of government was broadened still further government. during the last half of the century by the Cold War and missile race with Government is neither inherently good nor bad. Government is the Soviet Union and the Great Society programs of the 1960s, including simply a means by which we may choose to work together for the Medicare and Medicaid.

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