In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society. But in our past there has been another term for it - Social Darwinism, every man and woman for him or herself. It allows us to say to those whose health care or tuition may rise faster than they can afford - tough luck. It allows us to say to the women who lose their jobs when they have to care for a sick child - life isn't fair. It let's us say to the child born into poverty - pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
But there is a problem. It won't work. It ignores our history. Our economic dominance has depended on individual initiative and belief in the free market; but it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, the idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity.
First, he has the stones to use the phrase "Social Darwinism" to describe the "pull yourself up by the bootstrap" shit that has permiated conservative economic thought. Remember folks, pointless suffering is good for your moral fiber. Here is a man who is not afraid to call a spade a spade.
Second, I love this line: "Everyone's got a shot at opportunity". That is what needs to be the motto for the America of the 21st century. When you have no healthcare and you cannot afford college, the word opportunity is a joke and individual initative is a farce. The idea that if we tried to solve social problems the country would crumble is a cruel fantasy of the Right.
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