Progressive Social Action FA11

Economics -> American Capitalism and Social Justice Fall 11

Groups for Progressive Social Change

BoldProgressives.org

Wikipedia Logo

1. Bold Progressives is a group committed to building long-term progressive power. They work through the traditional political system. Accomplishing their goals by electing “bold” candidates to Congress in order to pass progressive policies. The group is typically anti-Republican and supports the 99% movement to hold Wall Street responsible.

2. Bold Progressives seek the reclaiming of wealth, liberty and democracy as championed by Alperovitz, their tactics would surely seem close-minded to Alperovitz. Bold Progressives seek progressive change but not necessarily through progressive methods. Seemingly, their only method is the election and support of Congressional candidates. Alperovitz calls for a more local and pragmatic method that relies mostly upon the back of citizens. Bold Progressives seek a more”top-down” approach as compared to Alperovitz’s “bottom-up” method of reclaiming wealth. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

3. The Bold Progressives approach does not mesh with Domhoff’s argument in Who Rules America?. Domhoff believes because both Democrats and Republicans are apart of the power-elite, neither will provide effective economic change to America. Yates is also very untrusting of the political system for neither Democrats or Republicans have shown much support for the labor movement. Yates and Alperovitz call for grassroots movements. <ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

4. In Understanding Capitalism, Bowle, Edwards and Roosevelt argue that Democracy and Capitalism are two different systems run by different rules. Democracy is a system that opts for the interaction of efficiency and fairness; this is why we have an electorate who represent the people. The ability to control our lives through a democracy is called the power of citizenry. There is another system that rules our life: Capitalism. The rules of capitalism confess power and privilege to those who own and control Capitalist good used production. The power gained to control our lives through this system is called the power of capital. There is often conflict between the two sources of power but the capitalists often end as the victors. This is because the economic power of capitalism is so immense that it directly translates into political power. The power of capital has more control over our government than the power of citizenry. Bold Progressives attempt to elect bold candidates to our electorate but in reality our electorate does not have control over our government because the capitalist have the power to influence the electorate directly as well as the lives of the citizenry who vote for them. This leaves little power to the government to control our lives so by electing bold candidates to our electoral; the Bold Progressives do not overcome the shortcomings of Capitalism in terms of fairness, efficiency and democracy. <ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

5. The Bold Progressives are consistent with the goals discussed in our class, however their tactics differ from the authors we have read this year. Bold Progressives cannot be considered detrimental to creating social justice but the methods discussed by all three authors provide more long-term solutions.

Community-wealth.org

1. Community-wealth.org is a group committed to alternative source of economic stability. They support the creation of ESOP’s as well as non-profits, which support the communities they are in. Community-wealth.org financially supports alternative sources of wealth as well as providing information about democratic wealth-generating jobs.

2. The ideas advocated for by Community-wealth.org are exactly what Alperovitz champions in his book. Both explicitly advocate for the creation of worker owned firms, which conserve a democratic system and is self-supportive. Organizations such as ESOP’s also generate localized democracy. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

3. Domhoff and Yates would surely be supportive of such an organization because instead of relying on a political system sponsored by the power elite, this organization creates local, wealth generating democracy. The worker owned firms do not rely on a larger corporation so everything is in their interest. <ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

4. The working owned firms supported by Community-wealth.org are the best example of democracy co-existing with capitalism. This is because the workers who are the citizenry own the capitalist goods used in production. This gives people the power of citizenry and the power of capital. When both work together for the purpose of one agent (the people) then only the people can benefit. The activities of Community-wealth.org do overcome the shortcomings of capitalism in terms of fairness, efficiency and democracy by infusing the two systems together. <ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

5. The results of this organization are perfectly in line with the ideals of social justice discussed by our class. Worker owned firms create true freedom because the workers own the means of production as well as receiving the surplus. This all takes place in a localized democratic system, which creates equality.

The Real Utopias Project

1. The Real Utopias Project is an organization that seeks to generate pragmatic solutions to reclaiming wealth and equality in America. They do this by publishing papers written by academics on a variety of topics. The publishing of ideas is meant to provide knowledge for people so that the ideas in the essays can become a reality.

2. The Real Utopias project is not an organization that organizes and creates concrete results. Rather they develop and publish accomplishable ideas to counteract the mainstream information publish by think tanks funded by the power-elite. Alperovitz would surely advocate for the publication of pragmatic ideas for social justice because knowledge is vital to a working democracy. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

3. Domhoff would surely advocate the Real Utopias Project for in his book he lists a major problem with our political and education system as the stream of information published by the political elite. These publications add balance to the many views on social and economic issues being given to the public.<ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

4. The Real Utopias Project acts as an alternate source of information by putting our pragmatic proposals for social change. This acts as a counter-weight to the think tanks controlled by the power-elite, which inevitably puts out proposals for moderate change. Capitalists control the media as shown in Understanding Capitalism and use it with the endgame of increasing profits. The goal of the Real Utopias Project attempts to overcome this problem in capitalism caused by the need to continuously raise profits by creating a source of information not controlled by capitalists. The information put out by the Real Utopias Project is not created with the goal of helping the capitalists and because of this they do attempt to overcome the shortcoming of capitalism in relation to democracy. Putting out non-profit driven information does this.<ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

5. The information provided in the publications by the Real Utopias Project could have been readings for our class. The essays are exactly in line with the definition of social justice decided by our class. Especially because the essays relate to social change as well as economic change. Our class specifically mentioned the corruption of media as a major problem with our democracy today.

The Center for American Progress

1. The Center for American Progress generates new progressive policy ideas that seek to improve the lives Americans. They believe in effective government with most of their action coming in the form of new policy and idea development.

2. Alperovitz would surely support the ideals behind the Center for American progress but when it comes to method, Alperovitz remains a grassroots organizer. The Center for American Progress is a think tank and there can be no shortage of progressive think tanks but Alperovitz prefers an economic ground up approach, which creates economic freedom for workers. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

3. Domhoff would be supportive of the Center for American Progress because as he says in his book, there are very few think tanks, which provide alternative information that is not under the control of the power elite. Yates like Alperovitz calls for a change inspired by the people rather than the government who he believes is anti-labor. Both Domhoff and Yates are very distrusting of a government that is made up of the power elite.<ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

4. The Center for American Progress develops ideas that challenge traditional conservative values and advocate for an effective, open government. The amount of control the capitalists have over the government shown in Understanding Capitalism is too great to be overcome simply by advocating for change through our government. This does not mean that championing an effective government is not a positive method of change. It is just not currently an effective one. One of the ways in which Understanding Capitalism shows capital power to be used is in media. By putting forth challenging ideas, the Center for American Progress acts as a counterbalance to the capitalist funded think tanks. In this way, the Center for American Progress is overcoming one element in which capitalist falls short when intertwined with democracy.<ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

5. The Center for American Progress is consistent with the ideals of social justice discussed in our class. They seek to end the privatization of necessary institutions such as healthcare and education. They also greatly focus on social issues such as racial and gender discrimination. In our class we learned how much of our education is based on information sponsored but the power elite so it is refreshing to see a progressive think tank.

The Vermont Progressive Party

1. The Vermont Progressive Party’s purpose is to promote economic, social and environmental justice through the electoral and other democratic processes. Most of their efforts for change are rooted in elections and legislation.

2. The Vermont Progressive Party meshes with the ideals for social justice proposed by Alperovitz but when it comes to method, the Vermont Progressive Party remains rooted in traditional political activities. However, they do insist upon community members being integrated into the decision-making process of the economic future of their community. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

3. The Vermont Progressive Party lays more emphasis upon social issues, which, though surely not opposed to, Yates focuses more upon economic equality through labor organization. Domhoff would support another political party besides Democrats or Republicans, however the chances of the Vermont Progressive Party becoming a major political party are slim. Both Yates and Domhoff would support the ideals that propel the Vermont Progressive Party. But again, there is a difference in method for Yates and Domhoff recognize the electoral system to be under the control of the power elite.<ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

4. The Vermont Progressive Party seeks to provide social justice through the electoral and other democratic political activities. As shown by Understanding Capitalism, the power of capital has superior control over our government than the power of citizenry. According to Understanding Capitalism social justice cannot be achieved through the electoral when the capitalists have so much direct power over the electoral and the citizens that elect it. <ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

5. The Vermont Progressive Party’s mission statement perfectly reflects the ideals for social justice put forth by our class. Their view of social justice involves many examples where commodities such as housing, food, healthcare and education are no longer businesses. This is something our class felt was very problematic, that necessary institutions were profit-driven organizations.

Publications for Progressive Change

Yes! Magazine

Positive Futures Network is a non-profit group based on Bainbridge Island, Washington, that publishes Yes! Magazine. The magazine is a quarterly that publicizes stories involving individuals and non-profits promoting social change, and is printed on 100% recycled paper. Yes! Magazine focuses on individuals who act as agents for social change in areas such as the environment, legal justice, and economic self-sufficiency. The self-proclaimed goal of Yes! is to endow its readers with the knowledge necessary to help them understand that they can have an impact on social change. The magazine can be viewed for free online, as it has a creative commons license. Because the magazine relies entirely on paid subscribers and donors, it has no advertising and thus no advertiser influence. This allows the issues and concerns discussed in Yes! to be cognitively framed in a different manner than would occur in the corporate advertising media.<ref>About Yes! Retrieved http://www.yesmagazine.org/about</ref>

Alternet.org

Alternet is an online independent journalistic outlet that aims to promote social change in issues such as human rights, the environment, and economic fairness. It includes an opinionated editorial focus, as well as investigative reporting on issues that are ignored in the corporate media. Alternet also functions as an online community to promote comment by it's readers, and utilizes social media and news aggregators such as Reddit to virally market its news stories. It aims to correct disinformation that is perpetuated by corporate owned and politically oriented news sources such as talk radio, as well as educate its readers on opportunities to promote social change. Alternet is supported by donors as well as online advertising on its website, which currently experiences approximately 2.3 million different readers every month.<ref> About AlterNet. Retrieved from http://blogs.alternet.org/about/</ref>

Progressive Media in the Context of Alperovitz and Domhoff

Both Yes! Magazine and Alternet further the goals outlined in Alperovitz's book by offering an alternative source of newsworthy information, besides the corporate media which functions to further the goals of its advertisers. Alperovitz notes that poorly informed and socially marginalized individuals are a prime target for misinformation that functions to delegitimize the positive potential of democratically elected government action, as well as obscuring the true sources of exploitation within our economic and political system. In particular, Alternet focuses on uncovering the demagogic and untruthful commentary that is widely broadcasted on the radio and television to economically marginalized groups, in order to frighten them into espousing policies and beliefs that actually harm their wellbeing. By publicizing this misinformed perspective, Alternet is helping to further the ends of a healthy and functioning democracy.<ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref>

One potential disadvantage of Alternet is that by requiring revenues gained from online advertising, it is possible that the editorial content of the website could still be influenced by its advertisers. Yes! Magazine is fully funded by subscribers and donors and is independently managed, so it is outside of the paradigm of media which functions only to perpetuate consumption of material goods. This allows them to promote values such as sustainability through their articles and editorials. By freeing its readers from the influences encouraging wasteful and conspicuous consumption, it is giving them the liberty required to make an informed decision about what types of consumption improve their livelyhood. As media organizations independent from extensive corporate concentration and control outlined in Domhoff, Alternet and Yes! Magazine can promote values such as environmentalism and equality that are ignored in advertising based media.<ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

Impact on the negative effects of Capitalism

By investigating legal and economic injustice, as well as promoting modes of consumption consistent with the common welfare of everyone impacted by them, Alternet and Yes! Magazine are helping to improve the values of efficiency and fairness outlined in Bowles, Edwards, and Roosevelt. Readers of these publications are also learning about new methods to improve the quality of life in their communities, thus giving the readers the knowledge necessary to cooperate and form democratic organizations as catalysts for social change, instead of relying on vertical hierarchies.<ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

Demos

Aims and Goals of Demos

Demos is a policy planning and opinion shaping institute based in New York City that aims to encourage equality, democracy, and a thriving public sector that furthers the common good. In terms of equality, Demos seeks to promote policies that increase economic opportunity for future generations of Americans, as well as correcting current gross inequalities. Demos advocates for increased involvement of citizens in their democratic institutions, especially underrepresented minority groups. The organization encourages minority ethnic and cultural groups to increase their democratic participation through sponsored voter registration drives, as well as get out the vote campaigns. Legal expertise is also provided to protect voting rights when they are violated, by attempting to hold groups responsible for voter suppression tactics as well as voter intimidation. Demos promotes the role of the public sector as protecting the well being of citizens, as well as promoting positive economic growth that is beneficial for all.

Fellows of Demos produce original research and publications on the issues of concern to the institute, and an effort is made to promote a diverse discourse in public policy, especially by granting fellowships to experts from underrepresented backgrounds. International issues are also of concern to research conducted by Demos, with the goal of promoting prosperity and human rights abroad by defending workers and the environment, as well as increasing the domain of democracy. To protect the environment, Demos seeks to encourage sustainability and the values that further that end. Fiscal issues are also a concern, and collaboration with the Economic Policy Institute was undertaken to examine the role that public spending has in encouraging a sustainable fiscal path.<ref> About Demos. Retrieved from http://www.demos.org/about-demos</ref>

Demos in the Context of Democracy and Equality

A major issue uncovered in Domhoff's Who Rules America? was that the public policy institutes and opinion shaping organizations elaborated in the book were predominantly managed by elites, and consciously directed to promote elite interests. Demos differs from these organizations in that its explicit goal is greater economic equality. The organization also actively seeks staffers and fellows from underrepresented backgrounds to correct the lack of diversity among opinions and backgrounds and the major public policy institutes. Although Domhoff notes that most of the staffers and researchers at the major public policy institutes can not be considered to be part of the elite, Demos is still unique in seeking to improve the level of diversity within its senior staffing positions.<ref>Domhoff, G. W., Who Rules America? McGraw-Hill: New York</ref>

Demos works to further Alperovitz's goal of reclaiming the commonwealth by promoting greater awareness and policy action towards the magnitude of inequality in the United States. <ref>Alperovitz, G. (2005). America Beyond Capitalism. Wiley: Hoboken</ref> Additionally, capitalism is acknowledged in Bowles, Edwards, and Roosevelt as having a tendency to supress sources of democracy that have a potential to increase equality by spurring government action. By registering voters and taking legal action against voter suppression, Demos is helping to increase the domain of Democracy by making the elected government of the United States more representative of the interests of its citizens.<ref> Bowles, S., Edwards, R., Roosevelt, F. (2005). Understanding Capitalism: Competition, Command, and Change. Oxford University Press: Oxford</ref>

References

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