Thus, whereas capitalism has peaked to an arguably unsustainable neoliberal “cruelty” which has manifested in illegal wars, a global financial crisis, racial and religious stereotyping, poor public health, and so forth, the underdog per se in the bigger picture is a kind of bottom-up social democracy which may be ascending, although this ascendance could be derailed by populist anger and frustration if bottom-up social democracy is in turn stifled and stonewalled by top-down neoliberal cruelty.
Truth has a sort of freshness and justice to it, even if certain individuals and groups are averse to the truth. In turn, this freshness and justice of truth restores the balance and fairness that is necessary for the renewal, growth, and sustainability of a system on both a collective and individual level. As mentioned before, the object of worship from a neoliberal perspective is the “market,” which in reality is a euphemism for the denial and failure of social responsibility. The “market” is not some magical force which does wonders when left on its own. Rather, the “market” consists of actual human beings and their various interactions with one another. These interactions are to be managed and deliberately directed towards a mutually beneficial aim and goal, whereas the neoliberal perspective has achieved the exact opposite.
During my trip to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia a few days ago, I came across an elderly woman who has been living there for the last twenty-two years while I was having lunch. She began to chat with me, and she said that over the past two decades, the entire town of Berkeley Springs, the population of which is only about 800 or 900, was in the full and unrelenting grip of the mental health crisis that is often touted in the mainstream media. One must keep in mind that it is one thing to talk about the mental health crisis which took grip of the whole country, but to experience it first-hand is another thing. In turn, the lady argued that simply put, not enough has been done by Washington to address education, health care, and basic income, which in turn would help regular people in America to cope with such phenomena that are largely beyond their control. Moreover, the benefit and utility of education, health care, and basic income would be amplified in a place like West Virginia, given that West Virginia is the second-poorest state in America after Kentucky.
Adverse political and social phenomena, one should note, are largely generated by Washington, but it is regular people who have to absorb the adverse effects of such political and social phenomena. One neurologist argued that based on empirical data, 9/11 has been ranked among the top two or three most traumatic events in the history of not just America, but of mankind as a whole. In turn, someone from within the system has to be held accountable and has to assume responsibility for the trauma of such political and social phenomena which underlies the broader mental health crisis. 9/11 did not occur out of thin air. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, everything in politics is planned, and even if it is not planned, it is planned for it to look that way. Thus, nothing of that scale and scope could ever occur out of thin air.
Nevertheless, there is a small but consequential bubble which insulates itself from broader realities and broader truths through the perpetuation of deceit, fraud, lies, and illusions, all of which must collide with reality and truth one way or another in a matter of time and either sooner or later. But like all other phenomena in the political and social domain, the eventual collision can be managed to a certain degree and extent.
Adam A. Azim 