The Commercial and the Civic
One way of seeing the choice we face in this coming election is a choice between the commercial and the civic. The following chart highlights some of the differences.
| The Commercial | The Civic | |
|
Key value |
Ownership |
Membership |
|
The development of the civic |
When our country was founded, only property owners could vote, the commercial dominated the civic | In time, we changed to citizenship, not ownership, as the criterion for voting |
| The basis of our life together | Property relations | Human relations |
| The role of government | To protect property and property owners | To protect citizens and civic rights |
| The role of public administration | The management of property; guided by the criteria of efficiency | The organization of people, guided by civic norms of reciprocity and moral equality |
| The purpose of business | To make a profit | To provide goods and services |
|
The misery of workers |
Ignores them as belonging to another “world” and focuses on trading of commodities. | Includes them as citizens of same generation |
|
The environment |
Treats the biosphere as property. Ignores what cannot be priced. | Treats the biosphere as a living system that needs protection. |
|
Meaning of citizenship |
Increase property accumulation A ”productive” person |
Participate in civic conversations An “engaged” person |
| View of elections | The advertising of one’s “property” (what I can do for you.) | The advertising of one’s capacity to represent the hopes of citizens (What we can do together.) |
| How to win elections | Similar to selling products: more advertising increases sales | Similar to winning debates: better reasons increase support |
- · See: Civilizing the Economy: A New Economics of Provision (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
September 7, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Very nice! The boxes are very small, so you obviously can't fit everything, but even so, I'm not sure about defining the "role of government" in terms of "protection." That is close to what the Declaration of Independence says -- "to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men" -- but some people think government should go beyond protecting rights to promoting various collective goals. For example, I'm not sure that everyone has a "right" to a college education, at least not in the same way that everyone has a right to food and shelter. But I'd probably say that government should promote college education for those who both want it and qualify for it. The bigger point is that both "the civic" and "the commercial" can be understood in various ways, and a chart like this might obscure as much as it reveals. Of course, all charts do that.September 7, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Setting up choices always clarifies and simplifies. Still, when as make concrete choices (Meg Whitman or Jerry Brown for governor of California) we also make abstract choices (commercial or civic), which both clarifies and simplifies the every day reality we face. Thanks for your reflections.September 26, 2010 at 5:30 pm
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