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Tuesday 2 March 2010

America has always been a flawed experiment, presided over by men and women, not angels. But its progress has been steady and real. Its citizenry was highly educated for their times and a majority committed to common things, as well as self-interest. Power was diffuse and the checks and balances of the Constitution, as well as the pluralism of the market, tended to curb abuses and provide a safety net against recklessness. Institutions, more often than not, were strong, resilient and run on the up-and-up. Fair play, meritocracy, opportunity and simple justice — all these were American ideals striven for, even when we fell short. Now all this has been eroded, leaving a powerful elite, a huge professional military — heavily evangelical and largely isolated, in good ways and bad, from American society — and the proto-brown shirts on the nihilistic right (“tea partiers”). For all of them, what is justice for all, care for the least, provision for the commons when compared with their “economic freedom” and power? Rogue Columnist

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