Irving Wladawsky-Berger

Would a Distributed Model of Government be More Suitable for a Complex, Diverse 21st Century Democracy?

Last week I wrote about the forces that, in my opinion, are contributing to an increasingly polarized America.  I mentioned three such key forces:  the structural changes and employment challenges our economy is going through; the changing demographics and emergence of a kind of new establishment in US society; and the technology-amplified, free-for-all conversations taking place through our multitude of information and communication channels.

How should government evolve to better adapt to these forces?  Are there innovative government models that might work better than our present ones?  Can we look at the evolution of organizational models in business over the past twenty years for inspiration and guidance?

Companies, especially large, global companies have been going through dramatic changes in the last couple of decades, driven by a combination of advances in information technologies, the Internet, the fast-changing market environment, and the heightened competitive pressures brought about by globalization.  In particular, companies have had to move away from the hierarchic, centralized management models that prevailed in much of the last century and embrace a more distributed organizational style.

“One Nation” in an Increasingly Polarized America

Among America’s most cherished ideas is the notion that, despite all our differences, we are one nation.  It is embodied in the Pledge of Allegiance:  “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  E Pluribus Unum - out of many, one, - appears in all our coins and in the Great Seal of the United States.

But, watching the heated political and social debates taking place all around us causes one to wonder what it means to be one nation in our fractious times.  The ideological polarization of our political parties reflects the deep divisions in the country as a whole.  It is more likely than not that the political volatility of the past decade will continue, barring some rare, high impact black swan event like a severe economic depression or 9/11-like terrorist attack.

What are the implications of living through an extended period of deep social divisions?  How will our idea of one nation evolve over such times?  Has the country ever gone through similar politically volatile times in the past?  Given that the future is so unpredictable, can we at least look at our history for some guidance?

Capitalists and Capitalism

A recent NY Times OpEd by Nicholas Kristof observes that:  “Just as Communists managed to destroy Communism, capitalists are discrediting capitalism.” 

“A Pew Research Center poll in December found that only 50 percent of Americans reacted positively to the term capitalism, while 40 percent reacted negatively.  Among Americans ages 18 to 29, more had a negative view of capitalism than a positive view, the survey found.  Those young Americans actually viewed socialism more positively than capitalism.  In other words, America’s grasping capitalists are turning young Americans into socialists.”

Kristof’s OpEd references a very interesting survey by Edelman, a global public relations firm which has been publishing an annual Trust Barometer for over ten years.  Their 2011 Trust Barometer notes that “Trust Plunges in the United States While Resilient across the Globe.” 

“Trust in business saw a two-point global increase, surging in Brazil, rising in Germany, and holding steady in China and India.  The United States was the outlier, as trust dropped across all institutions - business, government, NGOs, and media.  U.S. trust in business fell by eight points to 46 percent - placing the world’s largest economic power within five points of last-place Russia - and decreased in government by six points to 40 percent, putting the U.S. among the bottom four countries with the least trust in government.  In the Trust composite score, an average of a country’s trust in all four institutions, the U.S. also fell to fourth from the bottom, while three years ago, it was in the top four.”

Over the last few weeks we have heard the term vulture capitalism used in national public debates, not by members of the Occupy Wall Street movement, but by arch-conservative politicians.  Are we seeing the emergence of a New Populism where the people, - whether the Tea Party on the right or Occupy Wall Street on the left, - are rising up against the elites, - the rich and powerful who have gotten the US into such a mess?

My Upcoming 50th High School Reunion

I graduated high school in 1962 from the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, usually referred to as U-High.  This June we will be celebrating our 50th class reunion, and, this being 2012, some classmates set up a social media group site that any member of the class of '62 can link to and participate in an online conversation.

Through the years, I have been involved with the University of Chicago (U of C), which I attended after high school for both college and graduate school.  In particular, I have been a member of the Physical Sciences Division Visiting Committee for years.   But, I have not been involved with U-High, perhaps because I only went there for my junior and senior years.  I have not attended previous class reunions, and was not sure if I would attend the 50th reunion when I first heard about it.  But I joined the online group site, as a way to learn about high school classmates which I have not heard from in almost fifty years. 

The group discussions started slowly, but after a few days, I was really looking forward to the postings.  It has proved to be fascinating, not only because of what I am learning about my classmates' lives, but because the discussions of teachers, neighborhood places, and class events have brought to mind many long forgotten memories.  I feel like a character in a coming-of-age film, who as an older man, is reminded of an important period of his youth, which he then proceeds to narrate.