CONTACT CAROLINE
facebook
rss
tumblr
twitter
goodreads
youtube

  • Home
  • Write Away Blog
  • Books
    • Books
    • Trompe l’Oeil
    • Heart Land
    • Gothic Spring
    • Ballet Noir
    • Book Excerpts
  • Video Interviews
  • Press
    • News
    • Print Interviews
    • Plays
    • Ballet Noir in the Press
    • Trompe l’Oeil In The Press
    • Gothic Spring In The Press
    • Heart Land Reviews
  • Contact
  • About
  • Resources
    • Writer Resources
    • Favorite Blogs
    • Favorite Artists



A Truth To Remember

Feb 09, 2016
by Caroline Miller
Inequality and Modernization, jobs and societal development, power of the ballot box, Ronald Inglehart, technology's impact on jobs
0 Comment

As the 2016 presidential campaign shifts into high gear, my Facebook page has become a minefield of  political rhetoric. People are choosing sides and a few are strident.  Nonetheless, at a time when opinions appear to be pulling the country apart, Ronald Inglehart, professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan, is downright hopeful about our future. (“Inequality and Modernization,” by Ronald Inglehart, Foreign Affairs, Jan/Feb, 2016, pgs. 2- 10.)

With more detail than I can present here, he traces the course of human history, beginning with hunter-gather societies which were relatively egalitarian and information was spread by word of mouth. Next came agrarian life.  These societies were sedentary and people were scattered over large areas, requiring organizational structures to ensure the flow of supplies and information.  Services, like armies, roads, scribes were the glue that held society together.  That meant some of the population had to develop specialized skills.

The industrial age came next.  Urbanization followed together with mass literacy. Unions emerged with demands for fair wages and those demands helped share the growing wealth. 

The post Industrial age has brought globalization and decentralization.  Unions have been undermined.  Wealth has migrated into the hands of a few, and the country appears to be headed toward a two class society governed by an oligarchy.

Historically, workers in the early stages of our society tended take liberal positions.  Communism and socialism are its offshoots.  The bourgeoisie, or middle class, took more conservative views toward social structures.   But, after the 1950s, as job security grew weaker, attitudes shifted.  Workers became conservative, intent upon maintaining what they had, while the middle class began to look for social solutions from their government. (Ibid pg. 5)  Unfortunately, Inglehart reasons, when money is pooled in a few hands, “Americans appear to have essentially no impact on which policies the government does or doesn’t adopt.” (Ibid pg. 3)

In addition, he writes, technology threatens jobs at all levels, reducing the amount of work left for humans to perform.  Lacking opportunity, the two classes, worker and middle class, are squeezed together.  When they merge, a new political alignment will arise, one that won’t tolerate government paralysis.  New economic and social reforms will arise.  (Ibid, pg. 10.).

Is he right?  I don’t know.  But despite his lengthy argument, his thesis boils down to a simple truth.  Democracy works when the people want it to.  When they drift away, the institution stops breathing.  As members of a democratic society, we would be wise to remember where real power resides, not in bank accounts, but in the ballot box.

robots replacing humans

Courtesy of risenetwork.org

 

 

Social Share

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

Subscribe to Caroline’s Blog


 

Archives

Categories

YouTube-logo-inline2 To access and subscribe to my videos on YouTube, Click Here and click the Subscribe button.

Banner art “The Receptive” by Charlie White of Charlie White Studio

Web Admin: ThinPATH Systems, Inc
support@tp-sys.com

Subscribe to Caroline's Blog


 

Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Sitemap | Privacy Notice

AUDIO & VIDEO VAULT

View archives of Caroline’s audio and videos interviews.


Copyright © Books by Caroline Miller