Why are some people so eager to follow President Trump’s plans to return to the “good old days,” where white, Christian males dominated, and foreigners (especially those who have a different ethnic background, speak a different language or have a different religion) are treated as outsiders? What has led us down this path to the “us-against-them” mindset, and how can we instead face the future with the “we-are-all-in-this-together” mindset?
To a newborn child, everything is new and exciting. Who are these people called “Mom” and “Dad”? Can I learn to walk and talk as they do? Dogs, cats, cars and airplanes are all new and exciting. Eventually, as children grow older, they start to run out of new things but continue to seek excitement in fictional stories and wild adventures accessed through television and the internet. As adults get older, they begin to lose interest in finding new things, as they focus on dealing with current realities. Older adults typically try to avoid the disruption of the new and take comfort in thoughts of the “good old days.”
As birth rates fall and the elderly live longer, the median age in the United States is passing forty and rising. The “good old days” are looking better and better to many Americans. But instead of slowing down, change is coming faster and faster. The internet and new technology are welcomed by the young but often avoided or hesitatingly embraced by the elderly. Uncertainty about the future is increasing (e.g., the role of artificial intelligence).
Many people in their thirties and forties are beginning to realize that they may not be able to achieve the same level of success as their parents and grandparents. The emphasis on maximizing shareholder value has diverted so much money to shareholders that workers can no longer buy back the value of the goods and services that they are creating. A distorted money flow is creating huge private debt and public debt bubbles that risk undermining, not just our economy, but our ability to live together in peace and harmony.
Humans surpassed other animals in evolution by accepting membership in conceptual groups beyond the physical groups where they could see their fellow group members. Wolves had their wolfpacks, but homo sapiens extended the tribe to a larger community. Beyond the family, the village and the tribe, humans gained a sense of their regional and national identity, especially when based on a common language, religion or ethnicity. This enabled humans to begin to trust one another as members of an “extended family.”
The willingness to trust and develop a sense of honor to fulfill commitments with a sense of moral obligation allowed for the division and separation of labor, which is the fundamental basis and essential reason for the enormous economic and technical success of humans. I need to be able to trust my auto repair mechanic, my financial advisor and my heart surgeon. Without the ability to trust one another, our economy would collapse into a “dog-eat-dog” world with disastrous consequences.
A key aspect of trust is the concept of truth. As a child in the 1950’s and 1960’s, we were frequently told to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Our sense of honor kept us from deviating too much from the truth (other than an occasional “little white lie”), even when doing so could greatly benefit us as individuals (at least in the short run).
Our trust in one another is beginning to unravel. Politicians tell lies or go along with lies told by others. Scam artists try to trick us to take our money. Honesty and service to our country is now seen by some as being for “suckers and losers.” Such people may take pride in outwitting and deceiving opponents to achieve great wealth and power for themselves. Instead of working together with others to grow a bigger economic pie for everyone, they focus on tricking others to take a larger piece of the existing fixed pie for themselves.
English tradition is to ask “Is it fair?” while Americans (traditionally led by politicians with legal training and law degrees) more often ask “Is it legal?” But now we have a leader who sets the bar much lower by simply asking “Can I get away with it?” Some people think only of themselves and ignore the effect of their actions on others. Throwing an empty soda can, water bottle or other trash out of your car window is an obvious example. Such people typically use the excuse that “Other people are doing it so why shouldn’t I do it as well?” (Economists call this the “free rider” problem.) This harmful logic may then be extended to shop lifting and petty crime, not to mention internet scams, car theft and burglary.
As conflicts around the world deepen with more and more death and destruction, many Americans (especially older Americans) look to a return to the past and to isolationism as the answer. But policies designed with this in mind are often naive and short-sighted.
I was born eighty years ago, during World War II. Eighty years before that, Americans were killing one another in the Civil War (1861-1865), which resulted in the death of more than a half of a million Americans. It took a long time for Americans to extend the vote to women (1920) and to provide civil rights protection to minorities (1964). Most Americans have accepted these changes and pledge allegiance to our laws while waving the American flag to say that as Americans “we-are-all-in-this-together.” But others reject outsiders and immigrants and waive the American flag to say it is “us-against-them.”
The world can only achieve peace, harmony and strong economic growth if we finally realize and accept that humanity itself is just one big family. For centuries Western European nations fought one another in never ending wars. France against England; England against Spain; Germany and Italy against many others. At the end of World War I, the allies imposed reparations on Germany to make the Germans pay for the war. The result was World War II.
But at the end of World War II, the United States did something very strange. Instead of punishing the Germans for all the death and destruction, America worked to bring the Western European countries together. With American taxpayer money, America changed the game from “us-against-them” to “we-are-all-in-this-together” with the Marshall Plan to aid in the recovery of all the Western European nations. Instead of competing to see who can be most greedy, America changed the game to generosity.
In addition to rebuilding the worn-torn economies, the goals of the Marshall Plan included removing trade barriers, modernizing industry, improving productivity and increasing prosperity. The Soviet Union was offered participation in the Marshall Plan but turned down the offered benefits. Eastern Germany received what would be worth almost $15 billion in today’s dollars. The result was finally bringing peace to Western Europe. It eventually led to the establishment of the European Union in 1993 and the Euro Zone in 1999. Why fight one another, when much greater economic progress can be achieved by everyone working together?
Like President Trump, many Americans, especially older Americans, would like to return to the past. But we must face up to reality. With the amazing advances in technology throughout the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the world is getting smaller every day. Ultimately, we must recognize that we are all in this together and must now prepare for the future. The past is not coming back.