Getting a Grip on “Supercapitalism.” Part seven.

admin June 10th, 2008

When Frances Moore Lappé has a question about something she does her research, reaches out, and asks away.

Recently she did just that, writing directly to Robert B. Reich, in response to her read of his 2007 book, Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life. Reich wrote back at length, clearly glad to engage in the back-and-forth. Below is the seventh installment of their correspondence. Keep checking back for future installments and please: share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

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7. FML: On a deeper level, I am troubled that you believe it possible and desirable for human beings to carve ourselves up in order to act from opposing values as we show up in our varied roles. You argue that employees of corporations have no choice but to seek immediate return and that as consumers all we can do is seek the best deal for ourselves—to hell with the laborer or the environment. I feel that it is in part this false assumption about our nature—that we can act daily from opposing sensibilities and values and remain sane—that has led to the epidemic of depression. Companies that make it part of their explicit mission to do the right thing have an easier time finding strong employees because most people do not want to live double or triple lives!

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RR: To explain is not to justify. Research shows that consumers prefer products that are the “best deals” in terms of cost and quality; they will not pay more for “socially responsible” products.* I wish that were not the case. I wish investors cared as much about the environment or social justice as they do about high returns. And so on. Again, my argument is not at all a justification. It seeks to explain why we are at this point in history. The good news is that we also have civic values — we are also citizens, in the sense that we care about the quality of our lives together. That we don’t express these values in our purchases and investments doesn’t mean they don’t exist. They are most easily and readily expressed through collective action — through democratic deliberation. But here, again, the central problem is the withering of our democratic institutions.

* Post-script note from Frances:
Fair trade and other ethical shopping and investing is, at 29 billion pounds a year, bigger than alcohol sales.

One Response to “Getting a Grip on “Supercapitalism.” Part seven.”

  1. # Nathanon 03 Apr 2009 at 5:04 pm

    Whether it’s using less gas or limiting CFCs, we’ve seen again and again and again that while some people will do the right thing, a market doesn’t change fundamentally unless the conditions it works under change. That can be accomplished organically (there’s no more oil to pump) or artificially (we raise the taxes or limit available areas).
    There are very good reasons for this phenomena, too. It’s the most immediate level of people’s self interest, and all the education in the world can only curb it so much.

    Also, Fallacy alert- You just compared all ethical shopping- a range of FEATURES possible in virtually everything we buy- to a single (albeit a popular one) product.
    I could as easily argue that the sales of red items or shiny items surpassed all food sales!

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