Think about it. First there was Tunisia and Egypt: courageous people protesting for human dignity and justice. Without any religious flag waving, they were demanding the right to be free. The gods must have been downright giddy. And then came Libya, followed by Wisconsin, and then the Japanese earthquake, the tsunami, and the nuclear power plant crisis. If that would not make the gods go crazy, I don’t know what would.
It may seem that the uprising of peoples in the Middle East and Northern Africa represents a desire of millions to have what we in the United States already have. To assume so would be a giant mistake.
This is a very difficult question to answer. If they can get what they want, then why can’t we? If they can’t, then can we? Our answer to this question might reveal not only our understanding of the situation in Egypt, but also our understanding of our own circumstances.
As we watch the millions of Egyptians gathering throughout the cities of Egypt, I wonder if we are witnessing a true civic revolution—a revolution based on inclusion, human rights, and human dignity. If so, this should be an inspiration to us in the United States. We had a civil war, of course, but not a civic revolution. We are still waiting for it, just as the people in Cairo’s Liberty Square are waiting for theirs.
Marvin T. Brown, Ph.D teaches business and organizational ethics at the University of San Francisco and Saybrook University in San Francisco.
This book is the culmination of 30 years of teaching and writing on business and society from a communicative perspective. Visit workingethics.com for more information.
Adam Smith American Dream Atlantic trade banks biosphere citizen Citizens United civic civic conversations civic economy Civicism civic membership civilizing the economy Commons corporate citizen corporations democracy disagreement economics of property economics of provision Egypt health care reform human dignity invisible hand John Locke libertarianism Libya living wage membership money moral equality property property relations protection Scotland slavery slaves Smith and slavery Smithian economics sports sustainability system of provision the civic tobacco trade Wall Street