" Political Conflict in the U.S. and Abroad " Part one

Welcome Back fellow Tolerance Troops,

In this edition we'll examine political conflict, both here in the US and around the world. We'll discuss the underlying causes of political conflict and we'll propose specific remedies to these causes. 

Here in the United States there are varying degrees of two fundamentally divergent views on aquiring and retaining the " American Dream ."  These views were born in the second paragraph of our "Declaration of Independence."

" WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." 

They also have their origin in our "Constitution" written by the founders of our nation into the preamble of that document.

" We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

One view from the liberal or left side of this issue is that all men and women should be guaranteed the right to receive the best education the nation has to offer. All public schools should have the latest and most advanced resources available to educate our children.  In addition government should provide at a mininum, adequate health and welfare for all of its citizens and a decent home for them to live in. Government should also insure that all its citizens are paid a fair wage for work rendered, and the right to organize themselves into mutually beneficial unions which can protect them in the work place and negotiate with their employers.  Government should also provide reasonable gun control legislation that protects an individuals right to bear arms, while at the same time severly restricting access to weapons from convicted felons or those with a history of mental disorders. Government should not interfere in a womans right to choose or restrict the rights of same sex unions to marry.  Government should provide reasonable oversight of business and markets to protect the general public from fraud and create stable conditions for conducting commerce. Business should not be afforded excessive tax  incentives at the expense of middle class Americans, now defined as any households receiving income of less than 250,000.00 USD per annum. Government should end the practice of emposing the death penalty because it is administered disproportionately to minority citizens and because it goes beyond the threshold of cruel and unusual punishment.

Another view from the conservative or right side of this issue is that each citizen should

One view from the liberal or left side of this issue is that all men and women should be guaranteed the right to receive the best education the nation has to offer. All public schools should have the latest and most advanced resources available to educate our children.  In addition government should provide at a mininum, adequate health and welfare for all of its citizens and a decent home for them to live in. Government should also insure that all its citizens are paid a fair wage for work rendered, and the right to organize themselves into mutually beneficial unions which can protect them in the work place and negotiate with their employers.  Government should also provide reasonable gun control legislation that protects an individuals right to bear arms, while at the same time severly restricting access to weapons from convicted felons or those with a history of mental disorders. Government should not interfere in a womans right to choose or restrict the rights of same sex unions to marry.  Government should provide reasonable oversight of business and markets to protect the general public from fraud and create stable conditions for conducting commerce. Business should not be afforded excessive tax  incentives at the expense of middle class Americans, now defined as any households receiving income of less than 250,000.00 USD per annum. Government should end the practice of emposing the death penalty because it is administered disproportionately to minority citizens and because it goes beyond the threshold of cruel and unusual punishment.

Another view from the conservative or right side of this issue is that each citizen should be able to decide for his or herself what kind of education their children receive, and that the government should not interfere, except to provide tax relief in the form of vouchers to help them place their children in the best educational facility available. In addition people should be allowed to opt out of traditional educational facilities if that is their choice and to home school their children if they so desire.  Governments should seek to empower individuals by reducing the tax burdens on all Americans and reducing the size and scope of regulatory restrictions on commerce. Federal Government authority should be severly curtailed and more authority should be given to the individual states. Government should seek to protect the right to life of an unborn child, but should seek to put to death all those who are adjudicated in a court of law of pre-meditated murder or the murder of a law enforcement officer. There should be no attempt whatsoever by the government to control the sale, distribution or ownership of any type of weapon as per the second amendment to the constitution. Their should be a right to work for all those who want to.  Companies should be allowed to fire and replace any worker who participates in a job action or a strike. Government should restrict same sex unions and define marriage as being between a man and woman. Governments should not interfere in the normal operations of commerce because markets can more effectively police themselves. Governments highest priority should be to provide for the armed defense of its citizens both here and abroad.   

In our capitalist society there is a constant tug-of-war between Adam Smith's "Invisible hand" theory of economics and John Maynard Keynes "Prime the pump" circular flow of money strategy where the public sector steps in to assist the economy generally. 

Adam Smith's "Laissez-fair Capitalism" which excludes the public sector from the markets was the dominant economic theory until the "great depression" when Keynesian's theory of looking at consumer trends at the micro-level, also called macroeconomics, was adopted by the Franklin Delano Roosevelt administration as the foundation for the " New Deal. " 

What does all this mean? It means that the underlying reason for the N.R.A. and it's lobbies staunch opposition to any gun control or registration legislation, is to insure the continuation of unimpeded market growth for weapons manufacturers.

The underlying reason for the Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas Companies and their lobbies is to insure the continued unimpeded market growth and demand for fossil fuel exploration and extraction technologies, no matter how outmoded these technologies are. The economies of scale needed to keep these technologies viable are enormous, so it is in their interest to extend the lifecycle of fossil fuels for as long as possible. This is also the underlying reason the Automobile Industry continued to manufacture internal combustion gasoline and diesel engines, long after the need for them existed.  

The underlying reason for the renewed calls for expanded Nuclear power technologies, even though there is no credible solution available to solve the nuclear wastewater issue, other than the current storage solution is to rekindle market demand and insure future growth. The economies of scale in this technology are huge as well, but there is less possibility that the lifecycle of Nuclear power will need to be artificially extended. If the heavy wastewater bi-product of Nuclear power can be harnessed or re-used, this technology potentially has no end of life. 

Most large private sector industries want to be free to pursue unimpeded market growth with as few economic restrictions as possible. For that reason, a majority of private sector firms and their principals subscribe to the Adam Smith " Invisible Hand" theory of economics. Both large and small firms in all market sectors practice tax minimization and mitigation strategies so they can reinvest as much of their profits as possible back into their businesses. 

It is for this reason that most medium to large companies of nearly all key market sectors band together and form lobby organizations to defend their interests in Washington, DC. These lobbies have a singular purpose, and that is to encourage passage of legislation favorable to their industry and to vehemently oppose any legislation unfavorable to their industry.  Lobbies employ specialists whose full time vocation is to use all legal means available to convince legislators to enact favorable legislation. Lobbyists are in constant contact with legislators both during and after business hours. In some cases legislation is actually drafted by the legal team of a particular lobby and given to the staff of an allied legislator for submission to a Senate or Congressional Sub-Committee. Lobbies can represent hundreds and even thousands of businesses in a particular market sector so their operating and advertising budgets can be quite large.   

This is the end of part 1. In part 2 we'll conclude US political conflict and examine global political conflict. In part 3 we'll propose specific remedies. 

Yours In Humanity,

Phillip Sr.