Friday, September 7, 2012

Commerce must reflect our values, not ignore them (#1316)

The great debate in our country over economics is a bit tiresome in the sense that individual wealth accumulation seems to have a higher priority over the common good for our species as a whole. The race to be "king of the wealth mountain" has done more damage to how we care for our citizens than any other socioeconomic policy. Commerce and it's business activities have a two-fold agenda; first, commerce/business allows for goods and services to flourish where they can benefit our society, second, keeping us busy buying and selling things keeps us from otherwise, out of idleness, from harming each other. Very simple concepts but very real consequences. Prioritizing how we adapt our commerce and it's business models can in effect stabilize a society and create very good outcomes. However, when a economic system has flaws that highlight great differences, it creates a warning sign that if not dealt with can easily become a danger to many who are caught in between the differences. A healthy economic system has properties to it that are recognizable, such as inclusion and robust opportunity. if we allow a status quo of indifference toward inclusion and robust opportunity to exist without remodeling it, we are prone to advance the worst of our fears in the form of dissent and anger. The powerful forces that control economic activity must be made to relinquish those controls in order for a new system of economics, built upon equality, to be able to advance. We are currently at such a crossroads throughout the world and realizing that economics is a tool, not a privilege, is the first lesson we must all learn.

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