United National Extremism — Left, Right, Forward
Claus Sproll
As we enter the athropocene time of world evolution (humans as the central factor in all things earth), some scientists say we need an anthropocentric approach to society and governance, the body politic. We need to understand that systems that are built for humans need to correspond to the way humans are built and structured. We have, both in our body as well as in our constitution, a threefolding that would be worthwhile to study and enhance our understanding of as a basis for future governance principles.
The idea of a threefold structure is inherent in much of the American constitution and governing principles, as the founding fathers were steeped in the ideals of the French Revolution; and it was formulated with more clarity and delineation 99 years ago by Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher.
In the recent times in U.S. politics, one of the candidates has elevated extremism to a new level in his willingness to expound and combine positions from the isolationist/ gun law/second amendment right people, the far right of anti-abortion, get-rid-of-government-control movement programs, build-a-fence people, the center right and the center left (his policies and statements are meant to make America great again). Another candidate openly talks about democratic socialism, and as people like Alan Friedman (who wrote a piece that inspired me to finally write my thoughts that I have developed since urging to convene a conference to work on and develop policy statements that show a third way) write on the subject of a third party as well as on the issue of new policies, I would like to share that — if anyone who runs for president — she/he should want to approach politics in the same way:
Not as a liberal, a conservative, a libertarian or a centrist — he/she would run as an extreme centrist! It is time for a true non-partisan extremist. We need a space between right and left, combining positions that only currently sound far apart. We need to combine the best ideas from the left and right. We need not make America great again, but we need to make America human again, calling on the best in the American people.
This year and this election cycle we as a country are most probably not ready for such a thing, but after more floods and climate change, labor unrest through a transforming workplace because of robotics, more shootings, more middle class job loss, the advent of artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, drones and more global disorder, inflation — voters will feel even more insecure and will see that the simple two-party system, the ideas of left and right just don’t do it anymore in this post-industrial era. We also see from other functioning democracies that there is benefit from a third party or a strong unaffiliated voter base. I would like to point to Germany and Canada as examples.
We see emerging aspects of a new culture, the culture of sharing. From Weber car sharing to Airbnb room sharing; from Community Supported Agriculture projects to emerging small medical practices that share space and resources to serve people. In order to work with the new emerging culture, new policies and approaches are needed.
This/our new non-partisan extremist platform would need to combine some of the best ideas — and be understood and supported by sufficient numbers of people — from both the extreme right and left. It will be important that ideas are presented in a way that allow the average person, with strong feelings (the space of policies, rights, governance is after all in the realm of the heart and lung and relationships, emotions) to understand and feel met by them. Make no mistake, democratic processes are fraught with compromise, adjustments, and messy adaptations of high principles to real life. (I am just reading Walter Isaacson’s great book Benjamin Franklin).
We need to know and understand, and we see that in the current debate and discussions, politics in itself, in a democratic state, is about compromise, electability and in the end reflecting the will of the people.
This new platform would need to combine:
• A single payer universal health care system. If it works in Canada, the UK, Australia and Sweden, we can make it work here, as those countries have less costly but better healthcare than our current system. It can work for us and get U.S. companies out of the business of health care. We will need to transition into this.
• Reduction of government regulation by reducing the U.S. Department of Education, Food and Drug Ddministration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to agencies that only ensure the basic principles in relation to human beings are upheld in the states — effectively giving the states and municipalities more freedom to react to their specific situations within federally held shared values that are expressed in laws and interpreted by the courts
• A new approach to dealing with the mentally ill and challenged, the growing number of people with autism, the elderly and those suffering from post-traumatic injuries; inclusion and allowing people to earn ‘credits’ toward their basic requirement to serve society, a way to engage in human activities
• Reform of the prison system to a more decentralized system where nonviolent offenders and white collar criminals are treated in a way that serves the sentence but allow a change to reintegrate them into society
• Expansion of the earned income tax credit to top-up wages of low-income workers and introduction of a negative income tax to ensure a government guaranteed floor for every American. A guaranteed minimum income for a dignified life is what we should stand for in an age when machines are gobbling up the low-skilled jobs. We need this, and we need to introduce a consumption tax that will allow those guarantees to be paid for.
• We need to lift the income level to social society payments and allow all income levels to pay their percentage, no upper limit. This would make social security solvent forever and create the social need for retiring people that is so much needed in a world where the security of family and community is not to be taken for granted and where life expectancy is rising.
• Creation of a shorter workweek in order to allow more people to be employed, allowing older Americans to retire and enjoy other pursuits, like volunteering, music, education and younger Americans to have job prospects to enter the workforce in a time where machines are taking over many jobs. We think that 35 hours is a good first step for 2020 with the aim to 32 (4-day work week with different workers taking different days) by 2024.
• Common values and standards in educational outcomes for all American children but with the ability of states and school districts to develop their methods and curriculum to raise the level of education, with the outcome so that high school graduates meet the higher skill levels that jobs will need in the future, but also to allow practical trainings, skills training, and apprenticeships to adapt to the new work needs and to ensure funding via a national standard of educational dollars spent per child. A more independent school system will create solutions that we cannot imagine now.
• Controlled low-skilled immigration by strong border control and immigration enforcement and disincentive to hire undocumented aliens together with an expanding of the H-1B skilled worker visa program that lets documented, skilled workers come and create jobs and businesses.
• Spend military budget smartly. Freezing the current level would force the military to adjust slowly and spend wisely without jeopardizing national security. We need to ensure that our intelligence services have all the legally monitored latitude to confront today’s cyber warfare, terrorists, etc. — because if there’s one more 9/11 many votes will be ready to throw out all civil liberties and call for a strong man. And with a world that is increasingly separating into a world of “order” and “disorder and civil war” we will need to project more power to protect the former and stabilize the latter.
• Investing in infrastructure for the future. Smart grids, smart public transportation, and smart cars are on the way already. This can be created by accelerating tax incentives and eliminating many regulatory barriers to rapidly scale deployment of superfast bandwidth for wireless networks to ensure that the next generation of internet services are developed and made available to all Americans. Into this future infrastructure falls the power grid that can be vulnerable unless we get to the next level fast.
• Upgrading our roads, airports, bridges, rail tracks, government buildings, and schools will not only be important for the infrastructure but create jobs, many jobs. Reducing the federal waste in procurement and letting states decide on the implementation will reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency.
• Bans on the manufacture and sale of semi-automatic and military style weapons (those need to be manufactured for the military only) and create a strong system of background checks and longer waiting periods for those hunters, recreational gun owners, and those who feel the need for self-protection. The change to have one other law-abiding American vouch for the buyer of a gun by signing the application alone would keep many guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people. The concealed weapons and open carry weapons program should be reviewed, as the idea of people walking into a movie theater or a shopping mall with an open gun is unnerving.
• Creation of a more local farming and gardening system, reducing waste and supporting local people. Schools, hospitals, and larger institutions can secure the livelihood of many local producers. Organic and GMO-free production of food and the health of our environment are all elements that need to be included.
• To pay for many of the programs we need to create a tax system that incentivizes innovation, startups, and hiring:
1. Reduce corporate taxes, but close all loop holes
2. Adjust personal income taxes to a more progressive system
3. Reduce personal exemptions
4. Slash or eliminate corporate subsidies (as we cut the corporate tax rate)
5. Create a minimum income for all people via processes outlined above
And replace the lost revenue with:
1. Carbon tax
2. Value added consumption tax (except food)
3. Tax on bullets
4. Tax on sugary drinks
• We need a tax system that incentivizes what we want and disincentives what we don’t. If we reduce business taxes, more companies will want to locate here, we will have foreign profits come back home, and we will plow profits into research and new businesses.
• And finally — election campaign spending and length. We could copy the UK or other European countries’ very effective system for limited campaign spending and length of the election cycle. This alone would make it much harder for billionaires to buy a candidate.
Going over the above, I notice that the current extremism is there because of our slow growth, inequality, low wage growth for the middle class, national security challenges, and there is the reason and the need to come up with radical solutions that are based not on left or right extremes but on the center, the human.
We need to strengthen the safety net, curb bad environmental stewardship and degradation of our natural resources, strengthen our medical system, and improve our aging infrastructure, we need to and pay for it by reworking the tax code to incentivize risk taking, new technology, investment, innovation, and hiring.
This calls for a nonpartisan extremist for president, ready to go far left and right — at the same time. This calls for a way forward through the middle — to make America human again.