In times of crisis, people are left with a couple options. They can open their mind to new perspectives and lobby on behalf of ideas and solutions or they can shrink to the crisis, providing a vaccuum for a few select leaders to attain more power.
The current economic crisis has led people to do both. Overwhelmed by the economic collapse and realization of the complexity of the global financial system, people have chosen to put more faith in the government, specifically federal icons, to solve our problems. After the excitement of Oboma's election dissolved, government oversight has decreased and become more ambiguous.
Along with this reduction in government scrutiny, people seem to be more open to an economic paradigm shift. While the capitalist system was promoting growth through competition, it seemed impossible to drastically change our system while the media (particularly the arrows that point up or down representing stock market fluctuations) presented positive ideas about our economic position. People seem more open to socialism when their ability to use the capitalist system to their advantage appears more difficult. With greater uncertainty about their investments and less security in their jobs, people's economic paradigms shift closer to the ideal of equity proposed by John Rawlings writing about the veil of ignorance. If people are unsure about what end of the economic totem pole they will wind up on, they are more willing to equalize compensation.
Perhaps Marx was right all along and we'll eventually move towards socialism. Perhaps the market of ideas will open to a brand new economic system. Perhaps capitalist tradition will hold. But goddam are people scared right now.
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