https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2023/04/23/new-college-of-florida-needs-a-new-direction-to-become-a-top-school/70131713007/

Modern Curriculum for Citizens

Citizens today face a large, complex, dynamic environment with the requirement to make good personal, social, political, economic, and moral choices.  Citizens and society are impacted by the quality of these choices.

The American public must invest in our students and citizens to offer an educational curriculum that covers all the relevant topics with enough depth and applicability to make them lifetime tools.  Modern science has much to offer.  Advanced nations and economies have developed institutions and cultures that effectively perform the key functions of successful societies.  At the same time, the rapid technological changes, increased complexity, and huge scale of our world pose challenges.  The tension between secular and religious worldviews and across various political views is high and our skills at resolving these tensions or integrating individuals and communities have lagged behind the challenges.

A modern curriculum outlines the dimensions, structures, and challenges of our shared lives in all dimensions.  It highlights the successes that have been achieved in history and the failures.  It offers the various cultural, religious, social, political, and economic worldviews that have guided humans.  It critically assesses their strengths and weaknesses, contributions, and relevance today.

It raises the critical questions that are faced today.  It helps students understand how institutions, culture and politics all shape our world.  It outlines political and religious worldviews.  It encourages students to assume personal responsibility for their lives and participate in shaping our society at all levels.  The curriculum focuses on the role of the individual and the role of the community in each dimension of life.  An effective society requires voluntary engagement from its citizens.  This curriculum motivates individuals to participate and succeed.

These courses cover a great deal of material at a high level and provide time for an applications perspective.  They are courses for the citizen, not for those who expect to major in the relevant disciplines.

Ideally, the nation would adopt a single broad “model curriculum” outline and delegate the details of setting course content and standards to the states or regional educational accreditation agencies.

This proposal has 8 courses for high school students and 9 courses for university students.  It includes capstone courses on “My Future” and “Our Future” to integrate the courses in a meaningful way.  The university courses are designed to encourage states to offer them to all citizens at a nominal tuition rate through their state universities and community colleges.

101 American History

Full year course at the high school level.  Less biography and dates.  More about the major transformations of typical American life as the nation grew in size, expanded across the continent, invested in trade and infrastructure, transformed the land for changing waves of agriculture, adopted new technologies, embraced economic change, wrestled with manufacturing and urbanization, addressed racial, religious, ethnic and class differences, developed political parties, institutions and state versus federal roles, the role of communities and not-for-profits, the impact of religious diversity, economic theories of history, business cycles and panics, US expansion, conflicts, wars, empire, growing global role.  Major political parties and issues through time.  The role of communications technologies.  The expanded role of government.  The development of new institutions.  The expansion of individual rights and roles for women.  Government regulations.  Limits on laissez faire capitalism.  Taxation.  The self-sufficient man and the rugged individualist.  Immigrants.  Native Americans.  Relations with Mexico and Latin America.  Isolationism.  Globalism and trade.  The scale, social and economic nature of the country in 1800, 1850, 1900, 1950 and today. 

The US has a dynamic history of success in adapting its culture and institutions to meet the needs of the day.  It has a history of extending individual rights to more individuals and groups through time, despite opposition from some citizens.  Students can understand how existing beliefs, habits, laws, and institutions interact with technological, military, trade, economic, social, political, and religious innovations.  Change is slower than some desire.  Change is opposed on principle and because it has costs to some groups and individuals.  Some changes are reversed because they don’t work in practice, or they have unintended consequences.  The US has been relatively effective at maintaining individual rights and implementing changes on a decentralized basis.  This context is essential for understanding current issues and political differences.

Theories of history.  Evolution.  Adaptation.  Economic determinism.  Regional differences. Western civilization.  Land, labor, and capital.  Economic, social, and political power.  Cultural power.  Shining city on a hill.  Manifest destiny.  American exceptionalism.

102 Society / Sociology

The individual and the group, community, society.  Fundamental tensions.  Haidt and evolutionary psychology.  Empathy, language, trust, loyalty, free rider, game theory.  One on one.  Small groups. Groups of 150.  Hunter-gatherers.  Agriculture. Cities.  Leaders.  Power.  Religion.  Anthropological perspective.  Modern historical perspective.  Political theory perspective.  Contract theory. 

Roles of society.  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  Safety, protection.  Economic transactions.  Religion, explanation, myths, eternity.  Belonging.  Status.  Leadership.  Followership.  Law.  Compliance.  Entertainment.  Education.  Health.  Respect.  Property.  Children.  Deviants.

Interactions of power, status, wealth, and salvation/eternity.

Social capital.  Trust.  Institutions: family, neighborhoods, religious, professional, industrial, labor, intellectual, educational, economic, political, social services, libraries, ethnic.  Innovations through time.

Role of technological and economic change on social and political institutions.

Change, migration, stress, war, disruption, rootlessness, divorce, unemployment, bankruptcy, anomie.

Economic basis of power through history.  Labor theory of value.  Marx.  Existentialism.  Post-modernism.  Groups.  Class, gender, race, religion, ethnicity, nationality as potential victim groups.  Role of “others”.  Criminals and mental health. 

Functions of large organizations.  Political.  Economic.  Military.  Role of leadership.  Innovations through time.   Attraction, retention, and engagement. 

Special roles: opinion leaders, market influencers, pop culture examples, fashion influencers, media influencers, intellectual influencers, journalism and media influencers, social media influencers, literature, movie, and tv works, teachers, parents, ministers, and coaches.

Power of social norms and influence.  Desire for belonging and social acceptance.

High, medium, and low commitment communities.

Rise of nationalism.  Rise of global and supra-national groups.

How groups and communities are different from the sum of their parts.

Man is made to reside in community.

103 Economics

70% Microeconomics, 20% Macroeconomics, 10% International Economics.

Labor markets.  Product markets.  Competitive markets.  Rationale for government oversight.

Reinforce the American History overview.  Provide framework for Personal Finance, Business/Organizational Behavior and Globalization.  Outline one key model before Critical Thinking and Applied Decision Making.  Provide background for Political Thought and Shaping Our Future.

104 Civics / American Government

Historical and philosophical context for the US constitution.  Articles of Confederation.  Bill of Rights.  Checks and balances.  Rights of Englishmen.  Jefferson’s small farmer.  Hamilton’s trader.  The Federalist papers.  Federal and state roles through time.  US within European interests.  Supreme Court role defined.  Increasing role of government in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  US and advanced economies.  Washington setting presidential roles.  Political parties.  Jefferson-Jackson support for farmers and small businesses.  Pre-civil war politics.  Civil war.  Reconstruction.  Post-reconstruction.  Isolationism.  Laissez-faire capitalism.  Political machines.  Progressivism.  Farmer-labor populism.  Nativist populism.  Socialism and radical unionism not.  Supreme Court as a conservative limit on progressive laws.  Local government reforms.  Income taxes.  Prohibition and its reversal.  New England and Middle Atlantic rule.  Midwest gains influence.  Democratic party in the South.  Southern Democrat political power in Congress.  Food safety regulation.  Regulating trusts and monopolies.  The Depression.  FDR and Democrats gain.  Reagan and the neoliberal revolution.

Political parties.  House and Senate.  Supreme Court.  Electoral College.  Legislation and budgets/funding.  Role of constitution versus congressional rules.  Presidential veto.  Line-item veto.  Independent agencies.  OMB.  Federal Reserve Bank.  International treaties.  United Nations.  Election funding.  Gerrymandering.  Lobbyists.  Military ruled by government.  DOJ.  FBI.  Rule of law.  Separation of church and state.  Filibuster.  Speaker of the House.  Majority leader of the Senate.  Voting rights, rules, and restrictions.  Presidential versus parliamentary system.  Two-party versus multi-party systems.  Simple versus ranked choice voting systems.  Third parties.  Direct election of Senators.  Direct election of presidential candidates.  Political parties as a moderating influence.  Sunset laws.  Zero-based budgeting.  Legislation versus appropriation.  Debt ceiling constraint.  Role of earmarks.  Economics of politics: public choice theory.  Role of politicians.  Representative or delegate.  Role of parties to simplify voting.  Role of character.  Recalls.  Citizen initiatives.  Role of political ideology.  Special interest groups.

105 Psychology

Standard introductory course.  Link back to evolutionary psychology in the society/sociology course.  Make clear that the simplified utilitarian model assumed by economists (maximize pleasure, minimize pain) is inadequate.  Address psychological views of religion, behavior, experience, and motivation.  Describe the overlap of social psychology with sociology and organizational behavior.  Describe the history of intelligence testing as a basis for critical thinking and multiple intelligences.  Clearly define personality profiles and talents so that these results can be used in the capstone course.  Describe the basic risk-averse nature of people that drives the risk/reward basis of financial markets.  Provide a basic outline of how experimental psychology performs experiments.  Outline the background for the fundamental challenge of organizations to align the interests of individuals and the organization. 

106 Personal Finance

Economic specialization.  Profession.  Industry.  Human capital.  Education.  Talents.  Multiple intelligences.  Income and wealth.  Retirement.  Saving.  Investing.  Risks.  Insurance.  Rent versus own.  Investing in education.  Accounting model of assets, liabilities, net equity, revenues, and expenses.  Risk versus reward.   Banks.  Checking and savings accounts.  Tax sheltered investments.  Capital gains taxes.  Strategies for saving.  Financial advisors.  Insurance agents.  Real estate choices.  Financial tracking tools.  Grocery shopping.  Clothes shopping.   Appliance shopping.  Medical services and insurance plans.  Personal services.  Home/construction services.  Car shopping.  Car buying versus leasing.  Just 15% more.  Buying status.  Using financial leverage.  Cost of borrowing: paycheck loans, credit cards, pawn shops.  Student loans and payment options.  The millionaire next door.  Negotiating employment.  Franchises.  Owning a business.  Side-gigs. 

107 Critical Thinking

General process and factors.  Individual or team.  Diverse sources, perspectives, models, contributors.  Inductive and deductive logic approaches.  Analogies.  Open-mindedness, active listening.  Identify and evaluate assumptions. Evaluate relevance and weight of evidence.  Evaluate data.  Is the goal proof, optimization, meets standards, or ranking?  Adequate research.  Meta-analysis of the decision process.  Likely errors. Lessons learned.  Devil’s advocate. Expert review.

Tools.  6 thinking hats.  Brainstorming.  Flowcharts.  Tables and graphs.  Descriptive statistics.  Hypothesis testing.  Formal logic.  Scientific method.  Math proof types.  Pattern identification.  Probabilities.  Expected value.  Legal logic.  Best practices.  Industry or discipline specific models.  Simulations.  Troubleshooting.  The rational financial decision-making model.

Pitfalls.  Probabilities, infinity, compounding, orders of magnitude, paradoxes.  Logical fallacies.  Portfolio effect; sum greater than parts.  Correlation and causation.  “Either/or” or “both/and” situation?  Is versus ought factors.  Objective and subjective factors.  Outliers.  Black swans.  Individual biases.  Thinking fast and slow.  Jump to conclusion.  Confirmation bias.  Anchoring.  Politics.  Personality.  Talents.  Experience.  False patterns.  Attribution error.  Abstract or applied.  Analog or digital.  Sales, marketing, legal and communications tricks.  Source biases.  We don’t get fooled again!

108 Shaping My Future

My personality, talents, and values.

Education, profession, industry.

Prioritizing and balancing competing claims.  Time and task management skills.

My advisors, mentors, coaches, and counselors.  Thanks for the feedback. 

My dating and relationship goals, limits, options, tactics, hopes, tools, beliefs, opportunities, advisors, and dreams.  Total commitment. 

My community and service preferences.

My religious explorations and commitments. 

Living a good life.  Building character and virtues.

Bucket list.  On my death bed.  Eulogy virtues. 

Rights and responsibilities.  Victimhood.  Choices. Investing in me. 

Setting goals.  Delivering results. 

301 World History, Cultures and Governments

Standard year-long high school or college textbook.  Some grounding in pre-historic development of humans.  Tools, iron, agriculture, leaders, religion.  Links to anthropology reinforcing the parallel development of similar social answers to universal questions.  Notion of “civilization”.  The individual and the community.  Free rider problem.  Role of language.  Central issues of cohesiveness within a society, power, and external threats.  Role of changing technologies.  Role of religion and institutions.  Role of military power.  Role of trade.  Role of changing economic assets.  Role of changing political and philosophical ideas.  Community and individual oriented societies.  Conflicts between traditional and modern views.  Nationalism, regionalism, and globalism.  Empires.  Maintaining power.  Prevalence of war and violence.  Individual rights, human rights, community rights.  The appeals of Marxism, capitalism, religion, democracy, and populism.  The tension between self-interest and larger groups at the individual, local government, organization, and nation-state level.  Religion, race, ethnicity, class, and ideals as ways to make a society cohere.

302 Applied Decision-Making

Rational financial calculation.  Cost/benefit analysis.  Strategic planning process.  Risk versus reward.  Managing a portfolio of investments or projects.  Task/project management.  Critical path.  Time management:  Getting Things Done (Allen).  Decision flow charts.  Process perspective.  Urgent versus important (Covey).  Expected value.  Financial modeling, sensitivity analysis, what if.  Simulations.  Scenario analysis.  Worst case scenario.  Committed versus flexible resources, undo.  Inquiry versus advocacy framework.  6 thinking hats (de Bono).  Brainstorming techniques.  Mission, vision, values framework.  Pareto analysis, prioritization.  Root cause analysis, 5 why’s.  Mind mapping, visualization (Buzan).  Cause and effect diagrams.  Force field analysis.  Expert Delphi groups.  T-account, “pros and cons”.  Game theory.  Mini-max.  Stable or unstable.  Data scrubbing.  Rule out some options to simplify.  Personal risk of recommendation.

Behavioral economics.  How we really decide.  Thinking, fast and slow (Kahneman).  Biases.  Satisficing versus optimizing (Simon).  Habits.  Heuristics.  Rules of thumb.  Fewer options.  First option.  Anchoring.  Framing.  Managing uncertainty.  Overconfidence.  Loss-aversion.  Mental buckets.  Nudges.  Limited information.  To a hammer every problem looks like a nail.  Follow the herd.  Social acceptance.  Confirmation bias. 

303 Business / Organizational Behavior

Standard introductory course.  Firms, capitalism, productivity, competition.  Government, industrial policy, trade policy, taxes, regulations, property, infrastructure, education, contracts, courts.  Ethics, stakeholders, social responsibility.  Comparative advantage, competitive strategy, international business, outsourcing.  Business forms, joint ventures, growth, corporations, business life cycle, creative destruction, entrepreneurs.  Returns to factors of production.  Strategy, leadership, management, specialized labor.  Departments, divisions, structures, matrix, project management, teams, agency.  Operations, quality, processes, planning.  HR, recruiting, engagement, motivation, retention, compensation, innovation, unions.  Customer wants and needs, marketing, products, product life cycle, services.  Distribution channels, physical distribution, logistics, suppliers.  Social media, e-business, IT, ERP, CRM, WMS, etc.  Accounting, planning, analysis and control systems, financing.

304 Political Thought

Standard university course often labelled “Western Political Theory”, covering both the historical and topical aspects of political, philosophical, theological, economic, and sociological views of how government level politics functions.  Greek and Roman experience, city-states, Cicero, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  Christian views:  Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin.  Pragmatism: Machiavelli, realpolitik, Nietzsche, Bismark, Kissinger.  The Individualistic Enlightenment: contract theory, Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Montesquieu, Rousseau, separation of powers, Jefferson, de Tocqueville.  Classical liberalism, utilitarianism, economics, Bentham, Mill, Smith, Spencer.  The organic state, nationalism, Hegel, Marx, Lenin, Gramsci, totalitarianism, fascism, Orwell, Arendt.  Modern liberalism, progressivism, socialism, welfare state, FDR, Dewey, Popper, Rawls.  Romanticism, historicism, utopianism, environmentalism, greens, spiritualism, art.  Conservatism, Burke, Hayek, Friedman, Rand, Nozick, Reagan, Thatcher, “neo-liberalism”.   Post-modernism, post-structuralism, existentialists, Foucault, Marcuse, new left.

Topics.  Politics, economics, culture, philosophy, and religion all shape society and compete for influence.  Integrated cultures focused on the community have strongly dominated through time.  The individualistic upheaval of the reformation, enlightenment and scientific revolution impacted political, philosophical, religious, economic, and social views.  Haidt’s 6 flavors of morality and politics remain in competition today.  Role of economic resources, systems, and theories upon politics.  Impact of religion on politics.  Separation of church and state.  Religion, community, and politics in a secular age (Taylor).  Expansion of individual and human rights.  Populism, anti-elite views in a meritocracy.  Attraction of authority figures.  Power.  The classic liberal state’s rights, Rousseau’s view of human potential and the success of mixed capitalist economies creates a very individual oriented world for politics with high expectations for respect, fulfilment, results, and identity affirmation.  Communitarian critiques of a “flat” classic liberal government model.  The scale of society and international complexity has grown, undercutting personal connections, social capital, and trust.  Rational, scientific, technical methods deliver results, but have limits for humans, politics, political structures, and organizations.  Evolution of Christian denominations, fundamentalism, and social conservativism.  Conspiracy theories.  Filtering institutions, experts, and parties in a complex world.  Centralized versus decentralized political structures.  Individuals seek a wide variety of results from political systems: identity, ideology, justice, rights, respect, opportunity, freedom, interests, wealth, status.  Citizenship duties.  International relations, trade, empires, global organizations, peace, and war.  Institutional characteristics that make governments succeed.  The End of History (Fukuyama)?  

This is a very challenging outline for “everyman”.  Yet, most thinkers’ key contributions can be summarized in a paragraph or two.  This course prepares the student for the “Religion in a Secular Age”, “Moral Lives” and “Living Our Future” courses.  Politics, philosophy, and religion overlap.  They are essential for modern citizens to understand our society and make choices.

305 Interpersonal and Communication Skills

The volume, diversity, complexity, and impact of interpersonal communications have continued to grow.  We use these skills at work, in teams, transacting, playing, influencing, negotiating, buying, selling, searching, researching, and building networks and brands.

Social psychology, talents, personalities, groups, forming, storming, norming and performing, trust, social capital. Haidt’s 6 moral flavors, free riders, game theory, exit, voice, loyalty.

Communications model, signal, noise, carrier, feedback, shared language, filtering, perceptions, framework, listening, process, nonverbals, framing.  Messages to inform, persuade, align, motivate, sell, organize, criticize, entertain.  6 thinking hats.  Attention, focus, understanding, confirmation, pauses.  Stimulus, gap, response.  Cognitive behavioral therapy.  Responsible, in control, engaged, not a victim.

Persuasion, influencing, negotiating, leading, managing, preconceptions, crucial conversations, shared goals, resources, languages, prejudices, thinking fast and slow, rider and elephant, get what you negotiate, everyone is selling, power as an asset, personality, gender, and culture differences.

Sales and marketing, universal customer wants, brands, products, win/win, features and benefits, lifestyle, identity, price, belonging, social aspects, trust, expectations, long-run, techniques, closing, disarming, overcoming objections, styles, human wants, status, power, winning, achieving, affiliation.  We won’t get fooled again.

Mass media, internet, social media, targeting, biases, economic models, personal information, cookies, search tools, trails, pausing, sites visited, demographics, click bait, different media, influencers, belonging, shared interests, identity, feelings, logic, digital assistant, effective search techniques and evaluating results.

306 Religion in a Secular Age

Religious history, anthropology, evolutionary psychology, sociology.  Integrated society, religion, economics, and politics.  Religious beliefs, drivers, varieties of religious experience, goals, benefits, purposes.  The individual and the community, nature, and God.  Thinking, feeling, and doing aspects of religion.

Scientific developments: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, scientific method, geology, Darwin, Einstein, and quantum physics.  Church responses, new denominations, feelings, logic, liberal Protestantism, social gospel, spirit, born again, fundamentalism.

Social, political and philosophical developments:  Luther, individual religious choice, challenges to church, state and society, individual rights and political influence, classic liberal political model separates church and state, church shortcomings, religious wars, problem of evil, best of all worlds, historical criticism, Pascal’s wager, secular humanism, deism, growth of universities, Kierkegaard’s leap of faith, Nietzsche’s end of God, Marx’s opiate of the masses, Freud’s unconscious wish fulfilment, pragmatism, nationalism, world wars, welfare state, the secular age (Taylor).

Relations between science and religion.  Conflict, independence, dialogue, integration.  Only religion.  Only science.  Faith in God.  Faith in Science.  Material world.  Spiritual world.  Basis for truth.  Philosophy of science, scientific method, assumptions, simplicity, beauty, math, laws, research methods, logical limits, is/ought gap, models, paradigms, humans.  Theology, literal, principles, laws, rules, reforming, prophets, causes, moral focus, creation, nature, power, ends, methods, logic, holy scripture, priests, practices, sin, salvation, God.

Topics: big bang, creation, physics parameters, cosmology, sources of life, planets with life, quantum physics, attempts to unify physics, probability everywhere, wave/particle duality, complexity, dark matter and energy, miracles, supernatural, active God, challenges to Darwin’s evolution, intelligent design, intelligibility of nature, ecology and processes, genetics, human genome, mind, consciousness, neuroscience.

In a secular age.  Classic liberal political state leaves religion, morality, and community to individual and organizational choice.  Capitalist economy promotes worldly individualism, merit, and commercialism.  Reduced religious belief and participation.  Reduced trust and social capital.  Less social pressure for religious participation or moral judgments.  Default philosophy is now individualistic, Rousseau style” man is good” and journey of self-actualization.  Secular humanist, agnostic, naturalistic, atheistic, ecumenical and world religion options all exist.  Individual choice of religion is not required.  Individualist spirituality outside of organized religion is an option.  Religion can be a limited liability membership among others.  Religious choices are independent of other life choices and experiences.  Religious mentors are less common.  Individuals buffered from death, accidents, disease, hunger, crime, exploitation, heavy work, and family demands can live an “adequate” life without considering religious questions.

For most of human history, religion was deeply integrated into each civilization’s world view and daily life.  This began to change in Europe after 1500.  By 1900, the educated classes could consider both religious and secular options.  By 1950, the religious age was over, replaced by the secular age, where most individuals assumed away the spiritual dimension and viewed the world through a scientific, materialistic, deterministic, and commercial lens.  From practical, scientific, and philosophical perspectives this capitulation is quite suspect.

307 Globalization

Components of international economics, economic development, and “global issues” college courses.

Globalization: defined.  Economic, political, cultural, and environmental dimensions.

Goals: Economic, Happiness, Fairness, Justice, Human Rights, Equal Rights, Respect, Economic Equality, Opportunity, Liberty, Poverty, Exploitation, Security and Power.

History of ideas, institutions, policies, actions, and results for all 4 dimensions.

Economic markets, capitalism, welfare economics, government regulation, taxation, mixed economies.

International economics: absolute advantage, comparative advantage, intra-industry trade, relative resources, economies of scale, first mover advantage, regional clusters, industrial policy, rationales for trade protection, trade policies, industry transitions, middle income challenge, drivers of economic market power, barriers to entry, dynamic competitive advantage, patents, regulations, licenses, relationships, resource ownership.

Land, natural resources, commodities, energy, agriculture, resource curse.

Labor, human capital, education, migration, population supply, participation, aging, immigration, health, disease.

Capital, assets, equipment, manufacturing, processes, systems, logistics, products, brands, key assets, suppliers, distribution channels.

Technology, agriculture, science, computer, communications, artificial intelligence.

Management, organizational structures, legal structures, contracts, stakeholder relations, partners, ventures, outsourcing, crossholdings, innovation, change management, key worker appeal, entrepreneurship, risk-taking.

Financial capital, access, operating leverage, financial leverage, industry assets for lending, credit systems, insurance, leasing, legal protections, early-stage equity capital, industry variability.

Development economics: comparative advantage, industrial policy, economic institutions, taxation, regulation, financial markets, education, infrastructure, property rights, labor force participation, trade policy, labor markets, product markets, public health, fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate and capital controls policy.

Political systems: nation-state, republics, democracy, individual rights, centralized power, decision-making, elections, rule of law, human rights, courts, bankruptcy.

Corruption, property rights, crime, terrorism, bureaucracies, political machines, organized crime, political spoils, good government, professional government staff, checks and balances, independent judiciary, military controlled.

Trade agreements, treaties, regional groups, trade alliances, military alliances, colonies, empires, shared currencies, travel, immigration, Bretton Woods, GATT, IMF, World Bank, UN, international law, UN agencies, NGO’s, development banks, international relations.

Policies: institutions, trade, industry, economic development, international organizations, human rights, fiscal, monetary, exchange, welfare state.

Culture: history, religion, ethnicities, language, traditions, food, institutions, ethics, trust, social capital, family structures, centralized government, individual rights, communities, education, property ownership, unions, guilds, not-for-profit organizations, clubs, entertainment, elderly, nature, arts, intellectuals, transportation, communication, media, interpersonal space, literature, myths, norms, land ownership, main industries, travel, trade, multicultural experience.  Changes, pressures, ideas, convergence, replacement from globalization.

Environmental:  resources, limits, population growth, food security, ag technology, sustainable agriculture, extraction, transportation and production, waste, pollution, water access, common resources, recycling, energy sources, chemical risks, global warming, species habitat and preservation, desertification, invasive species, labor safety, monocrops, biological diversity.

Human impact of accelerated globalization: the world is flat, abstract ideas, digital services, money, technology, markets, speed, compressed space, media volume, simultaneous communications, always on, standardization, processes, tools, language, business, production, units of measure, brands, connectedness, networks, transactions, global considerations, global markets, global sources, mobility, migration, remittances, travel, mixed global and local culture, traditional versus secular, multicultural experiences, risks, contagion, business, pandemics, war, technology, AI, climate, experts, terror, identity threatened, productive role, imposter syndrome, meritocracy, rat race, trust, social capital, change, professional insecurity, irrelevance, respect, humanness.

The “Establishment View” is that capitalism, relatively free trade, infrastructure focused development and representative democracy combine to provide an environment that drives economic growth for most countries and promotes the other goals as well.  Statistics from 1945-2020 generally support this claim.

Critics disparage this view and label it “neo-liberalism”.  The critics have become increasingly vocal and influential since 1992 when Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the victory of the establishment view and the “end of history”.

Communists criticize the capitalist base and promote the value of a single party and government ideally directing the economics, politics, culture, and environment for the common good.

Postmodernists view “neo-liberalism” as just the latest charade by the powerful to exploit the people and focus on highlighting the disenfranchised minorities.  Human rights, equality and diversity are elevated as the path to success.

While many examples of post-war economic, political, and cultural development progress can be highlighted and global growth and poverty reduction cannot be disputed, critics can still point to the inequality of results around the world.  Latin America, much of Asia, the Middle East and Africa have not benefited significantly from the overall gains.  Income and wealth inequality within nations has increased.  The “system” does not automatically serve everyone, and political leaders have not generally developed policies to better “share the wealth”.

Many traditional leftists accept the capitalist system, but struggle with the government’s inability to offset its growing powers and capture of disproportionate profits and power.  Globalization increases both the scale and “winner takes all” tendencies while reducing governments’ power to properly regulate.

Greens note the damage and risks posed by capitalist systems is expanded through international trade.  The damage is real and difficult to govern away.  They highlight the interconnectedness of natural systems and the threats posed by actors that view nature as merely a resource.  Romantic greens emphasize the inherent value of nature.  Scientific greens emphasize the detailed risks of chemicals and complex systems.

Citizens also note the “winner takes all” nature of larger economic systems.  The “global elites” who manage corporations and governments clearly win.  The meritocratic technical and managerial elite (STEM) also win.  Large corporations, their employees and owners also win.  Regular citizens will be relatively poorer and unprotected.  They see that governments have struggled to devise policies to meaningfully help those who are harmed by changes.

Citizens also see the cultural impact of accelerated globalization.  The world becomes a large, complex, uncontrollable, technical, digital, economic machine.  Individuals are cogs in the machine.  They lose their humanity.  Political and cultural leaders have not yet offered policies or solutions which truly address this threat.

Neo-liberal globalization tends to emphasize only individual and economic values.  This threatens traditional values and cultures.  Meritocracy and commercialism combine to lure citizens into a rat race.  They lose identity, community, family, balance and meaning.  Traditionalists, religious people, artists, communitarians, and sensitive people all oppose this threat.

Globalization is a major issue for our world.  Capitalist democracies and free trade have driven real progress for 75 years.  However, the progress has been uneven, and the cultural challenges have not been addressed.  Citizens have a responsibility to understand these complex issues and pressure political leaders for reasonable policies to take advantage of the opportunities of globalization while offsetting the side effects.

Globalization is a critical topic for all citizens because we live in a global world with large shares of international trade.  It is a hotly contested local topic.  Citizens need to understand the potential benefits, costs and risks of international trade policies.

308 Moral Lives

Morality, ethics, virtues, and values defined, principles, characteristics, and goals.  The essence is the relationship of the self to others.

History and current context: secular, individual, therapeutic, multicultural, meritocracy, neo-liberal, polarized (Sacks).

Many social roles, rights, duties, and responsibilities.

Society requires morality.  Individuals benefit from defining moral views and behavior.

Inherent challenges: multiple interests, priorities, application, complexity, situation dependent, conflicts, uncertainty, not derived from science, structure cannot be fully rationalized, absolute commitment.

Human nature: person, more than material, dignity, mind, consciousness, free will, nature vs. nurture, language, meaning, communication, community, religious dimension, growing, imperfect, honest, good, sinful, desires, selfish, partial control, intuitive, feeling, self-aware, analog and spiritual, abstract and concrete.  Every person thinks (knows) that they are “right” in their moral views.  Haidt’s “elephant and rider” analogy.  Moral life and material life.

Tensions of morality with the other dimensions of life.

Sources of morality: culture, history, art, science, religion, philosophy, and politics.

Science, evolutionary psychology, Haidt’s 6 moral foundations.

Philosophical insights: intent and results, duties, objective or subjective, relative or absolute, moral, immoral, skeptical, power, human rights, intuition, feeling, theology.

Ethical schools.  Stoicism, hedonism, skepticism, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Aquinas, scholasticism, natural law, utilitarianism, Kant, social contract, classic liberalism, pragmatism, Nietzsche, existentialism, intuitionist, Rousseau, romanticism, secular humanism, communitarian, virtue ethics.

Moral reasoning, errors, limits, decisions, truth, and knowledge.

Modern political schools, moral philosophies, and claims.  Classic liberal, conservatism, communism, socialism, labor, green, Christian Democrat, libertarianism, nationalism, populism, Christian nationalism, social conservatism, new left, postmodernism.

Religious ethics: God centered, universe and community before the individual, person as a moral agent, good versus evil, choices have consequences, alignment with reality, natural law, belief, sacred/holy, moral lives, human dignity, love, nonmaterialist/spiritual dimension exists, role of revelation, authority, tradition, holy works, all activities matter, commitments, covenants, commandments, orderly, absolute features, judging, forgiving.  Thinking, feeling, and doing as religious dimensions. 

Virtues ethics.  Aristotle.  Sample virtues and vices.  Modern virtues ethics (MacIntyre).  Risk of making a single virtue supreme.  Virtues to address our current situation.  Brooks’ “resume versus eulogy” virtues.

Personal ethics: adopt, DIY, or blended.  Degrees of engagement and general approaches.  Golden rule, golden mean, pay it forward, common core Tao (CS Lewis), love God and neighbor.  Moral journey: resources, organizations, practices, insights, feedback, advisors.  Interacting across differences.

Applied ethics, 4 of many topics: economic justice/equality, discrimination/equal rights, human sexuality, feminist views.

Community ethics: shaped by many sources.  Politicized today.  Role of personal identity.  Multiple cultures.  Urban/suburban/rural.  Class.  Race.  Religion.  Immigrants.  Is a common core possible? 

Not an “ethics” course for philosophy majors.  Society requires some form of shared ethical beliefs to function.  Our individualistic society and political system don’t provide answers.  Secular and religious perspectives for modern citizens.

309 Shaping Our Future

We collectively own our future.  Political, economic, social, and religious institutions are shaped by men and women. 

We live in a collective society.  Note the key role of institutions and social norms, laws, and politics.  Much greater specialization and trade.  Producing and consuming.  Benefits of living in society.  Myth of the self-made man.  Costs and risks of living in society.  Newborn individuals do not get to choose.

Responsibilities of citizenship:  voting, informed, producing, following laws and regulations, paying taxes, service, and loyalty.

Goals of government and politics:  safety, security, protect property, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, human rights, opportunities, justice, moral laws, promote the common good, economic well-being, economic security, manage public goods, public investments, business and banking infrastructure, rights of speech, press and religion, protect minority interests, mutual insurance, avoid catastrophes, and international relations.

Six clusters of priority issues (Pew/Gallup):  Economy, inflation, jobs.  Budget, government, health care funding, social security, energy.  War, international relations, aid, terrorism, immigration.  Morality, crime, gun rights, abortion limits, education results and rights.  Education quality and access, poverty, hunger, labor, race, environment, gun control, climate change, abortion rights, human rights.  Campaign financing, election rules, rule of law, trust, polarization.

Context since WWII.  Economy.  Labor force participation.  Income and wealth inequality.  Median quality of life, after transfers, product quality, choices, and public goods.  Federal government share of economy and employment.  Budget deficits.  Business cycles.  Poverty.  Health care quality and costs.  Economic opportunities.  Social capital and trust.  Religious participation.  Crime rates.  Military costs, wars, and threats.  International trade, imports, and exports.  Technological change.  Education results.  Race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, disability access.  Environment.  Voting, political processes, polarization.  Global alliances, democracy, and capitalist countries.  Mostly “good news”.

The triumph of Western representative democracy and the mixed capitalist economy.  Fukuyama’s 1992 claim of the “end of history”.  Communism, fascism, totalitarianism.  The elements and benefits of a classic liberal political system.  Criticisms from neo-liberals, social conservatives, communitarians, progressive liberals.  The elements and benefits of a classic liberal economic system.  Criticisms from neo-liberals, labor, greens, mainstream Democrats, progressive liberals.  Churchill – “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried”. 

Political system today.  Two parties equally matched.  Low voter participation.  Minority of motivated voters can rule.  Polarized parties.  Extreme policies, positioning, and platforms.  “Winner takes all” mentality.  Cooperation is not rewarded.  High fundraising costs to compete.  Gerrymandering.  Sorting of rural versus urban.  Polarized media options.  Special interests veto power.  Problem solving is not rewarded.  Perceived single left versus right political dimension.  Importance of political identity/team.  No limits to political tactics.  The “Rule of law” is threatened. 

Voters.  Party, character, policies, wedge issues, messages, ideology, special interests, transactions, protest.  Incentives to participate.  Limits: priorities, free rider, doesn’t matter, information costs.

Politicians.  Public choice theory, work for self-interest, respond to incentives.  Emotions, communications, simple issues, teams and brands, gerrymandering, voting rules, extreme positions, terminology, framing, blaming, attacks, straw man positions, own facts, stories, no costs or tradeoffs required, Overton window shifts, identity, exaggeration, end of universe, fear of low probability events, what people want to hear.  Great salespeople use messaging to connect buyers and sellers.

Parties.  Win elections, define issues, coordinate brand and messaging, field candidates, raise funds, allocate funds, choose candidates, build and maintain coalitions, set priorities, influence officials to support the party, define boundaries, craft legislation, manage special interests, define districts, maintain unity, manage conflicts between candidates or party wings.  Parties are weaker today due to better communications technologies, direct fundraising and “direct democracy” laws. 

Political subgroups.  Conservative, socialist, labor, green, mainline Democrat, libertarian, nationalist, populist, social conservative, Main Street Republican, business Republican, neo-liberal, progressive Democrat.  A higher share identifies as “independent” today, but a higher percentage lean left or right.  Subgroups vary in their priorities and policies for economic, traditional social, business, government, international, social justice, and environment dimensions. They vary in their participation, moral bases, and willingness to compromise.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 realigned parties on a left versus right axis and Ronald Reagan consolidated the varieties of “conservatives” solidly into the Republican Party.  The Democrats also adapted.  Various attempts to summarize the essence of “left versus right”: sensitivity to risk/loss, nature of man good or fallen, realism versus idealism, tradition versus progress, authority versus independence, liberty versus state, proven versus progressive, local versus global, religious versus secular, Haidt’s 6 moral foundations.  Many individuals and subgroups do not align cleanly on this single dimension.  They oppose the simplistic, polarizing approach and argue that it works to prevent progress and gives undue power to extreme positions. 

Changes in political subgroups since WWII.  Southern Democrats migrated to Republican Party.  Moderate Republicans migrated to Democratic Party.  Labor, working class whites migrated to Republican Party.  Mainstream white Democrats a smaller share of Democrats.  Minorities a larger share of Democrats.  Progressives a larger share of Democrats.  International relations less important, but still Republican hawks and Democratic doves.  Social conservatives a larger share of Republicans.  Urban Democrats and rural Republicans are clustered.  Big business Republicans a smaller share of the party.  Democrats focused on the coasts and just 500 of 3,000 counties.  Republicans fill the middle and the Sunbelt.  Libertarians mostly support the Republican Party.  The young lean towards Democrats, but Republicans benefit from aging.  The Republican Party’s average income and education advantages have fallen.  Democrats once believed that demographic benefits of more minorities, urbanization, immigrants, and education would ensure a new “permanent majority”, but offsetting changes among working- and middle-class whites as well as minority voters challenge this projection.  Urban clustering, partisan gerrymandering and the constitutional rules for the Senate and electoral college provide Republicans with a 3-5% structural advantage in national politics.

Possible solutions for polarization and loss of political power by the center.  Public funding of elections, nonpartisan district drawing, political parties retain one-third of primary delegates, council of elders, ranked choice voting, new centrist party, Democrats move to center, Republican party splits and moderate Republicans attract moderate Democrats, centrist organization with approval power over candidates, compromise legislation to take wedge issues out of the mix, media legislation to separate news and opinion functions, larger Supreme Court with term/age limits and some non-political appointments, agreement among billionaires and major corporations to not fund extreme candidates, non-extremist rating by a nonpartisan group like League of Women Voters, congressional agreement to delegate more issues to the states, Congress in session 14 days on, 14 days off, return of earmarks for use in persuasion of swing representatives, fundraising limits for special interest groups, Bill of Responsibilities for citizens and representatives.

Populism.  Long history in the U.S.  Anti-banking, anti-city, anti-elites.  Farmer-labor party.  Unions within Democratic Party.  Disconnect between politicians, journalists, and intellectuals and the average person’s lived experience.  Democracy promises that “the people” will be represented.  Some political issues are abstract and remote.  Some political options contrast “lived experience” with ideas and ideals.  Economic changes, threats and disruptions can drive populism.  Social, residential, religious, and cultural changes can drive increased populist demands for solutions.  A larger, global, more complex economy undercuts security.  A meritocratic economy with greater spread of economic returns coupled with a weak “safety net” drives anxiety.  An economically focused society undercuts the non-economic tools used to ensure that all citizens feel respected and needed.  Both parties teach their children that they can achieve whatever they seek.  Working class social capital and trust are weak (Putnam).

Challenges.  Citizens/voters are imperfect, treat democracy as another consumer good rather than a duty, are suspicious of “others”, have unlimited wants and focus on most recent rewards.  Our political system requires tolerance, respect, trust, and compromise, but intolerance has grown.  The lag between decisions and results makes political feedback imperfect.  The rewards and incentives for compromise are weak.  Our political system leaves morality, values and community to individuals and organizations, yet relies upon some degree of shared commitment.  The decline in social capital, trust, and trust in institutions, especially among the working class, undermines the commitment of citizens to the system. 

Many political choices are inherently values based and contentious.  Political choices often involve limited resources and require trade-offs.  Capitalist systems drive consolidation of income and wealth.  The income and wealth in the US are so high at the top that the incentive to preserve them through politics is very high.  The ad revenue and click based media system reinforce extremist tendencies in politics.  The single left-right, red-blue team basis for politics overlaps with many dimensions of personal identity and is self-reinforcing.

Hope for the future.  The U.S. economy continues to grow, providing jobs, wages, choices, goods and services, tax revenues, low unemployment, and a weakened business cycle.  Growth buffers political conflicts and demands.  Resources address the budget deficit and allow for the investments to offset the side-effects of globalization, improve job security, offer respect to all workers and cap inequality. 

The U.S. has an encouraging history of political leadership and social progress (Meachem), innovations in social institutions and progress in science and management science, allowing organizations to better meet their needs.  The U.S. has world leading organizations that innovate to meet changing and conflicting needs.  There are thousands of great leaders in U.S. organizations.  States, government agencies, the military, universities, and large not-for-profits demonstrate winning ways for politics and program delivery.  Some states have adopted “good government” initiatives and found ways to cooperate in addressing the pandemic.  More and more countries around the world are successfully adopting the classic liberal model of representative democracy plus mixed capitalist economies, lending credibility to their overall effectiveness despite their shortcomings.

The very top economic elite have an incentive to make our political model function and maintain credibility and support despite contradictory incentives to maximize their share of income.  The US, Europe and China collectively have an incentive to define a new world order that preserves the benefits globalization, prevents war, and addresses global challenges like climate change.  The professional and managerial class in the U.S. has a strong incentive to maintain a system in which they thrive, even if they must give up some income, embrace compromises and oppose their chosen political party from time to time.

Our political system has built-in “checks and balances” and protections for self-preservation.  The failures of polarization may drive some political parties, first at the state level, to change their approaches.  Interparty conflicts may disrupt the simplistic liberal versus conservative axis and encourage individual policy voting once again.  One party or the other may lose so much from its extreme postures that it will be forced to move towards the center.

If national politics remains severely partisan and dysfunctional, a nonpartisan movement may push to restrict the scope of national politics.  Our federal system is built to delegate topics to the states.  Technocratic organizations like the OMB and Federal Reserve Board have demonstrated basic competence.  Other functions could be moved outside of direct politics.  The U.S. has a strong religion, not-for-profit and volunteer sector that could grow, especially given the number of retired people.

Generational politics is growing.  The elderly want to protect their retirement benefits and home values.  Young adults are struggling with housing costs, student loans, health costs, social security funding, budget deficits and climate change.  The cycle of new generations might produce individuals with greater interest in compromise and results.  An aging population might provide more voters with a wiser long-term perspective.  Overall, these generations could change the way we look at politics.

The newer generations might provide a greater sense of community versus individualism.  American pride might be tapped to rise above partisan differences and re-establish a government that works for the people.  A modern religious revival could promote key values, trust and community required for better politics.  The suburban professional class’s secular values could become standard for the nation, re-establishing the shared community values needed as a basis for aspirational politics.  Objective news is already available if citizens would choose it.  “Good news” sources that provide expert, historic and cross-national perspective are also available to guide well-meaning voters with open minds.  Multicultural examples of success are available in several U.S. states and provide a model for how the historically dominant culture can thrive alongside others as it loses its political advantage.