by Ben Thacker-Gwaltney

Capitalism has invaded our system of democracy. Book after book has come out recently describing how the values of our market-based economy have spread into other aspects of our lives. Most of the discussion can be traced to a philosophical tradition that goes back for centuries.

Bear with me while we go back in time for a moment. I promise, three paragraphs and we’ll be done with the philosophers.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote of three types of knowledge. The first type, theory, is knowledge that pertains to the nature of the universe and those things that are unchangeable and eternal. Theoretical knowledge is valuable for its own sake, with no practical application necessary. A modern example would be theology, the contemplation of the divine. Thus, the two words, theology and theory, have the same root, theos, or God.

The second type of knowledge is politics, by which Aristotle meant the creation of a society made of virtuous citizens capable of leading a good and just life together. This involves thought of ethics and morality, of “values” — a word much used in American politics today. How can we create a society that educates its members so that they are people of good character? Hard and fast rules do not apply here; human life is enormously complex, and wisdom is required to look at the current situation and figure out the right and moral thing to do in response. This knowledge is practical, a word directly derived from the Greek word praxis.

Finally, the third type of knowledge is productive in nature, describing the knowledge necessary to produce useful or beautiful objects. Artisans and crafters need this sort of knowledge for making things. It comes from the Greek word techne, technical knowledge, or skill. In the modern world, this type of knowledge has become the domain of experts, administrators and bureaucrats who have special training not available to the general public. Their job is done without reference to particular morality outside of their own professional ethics. They attempt to do their job from an objective, value-free point of view that cares mainly about technical efficiency as an ultimate goal.

What does this have to do with understanding the economy and why capitalism has over-run our democracy?

Let’s look at an example. City Council is meeting to discuss the zoning approval of a new housing development. The local housing authority recently tore down a large public housing complex, and then they sold the land to Mr. Deep Pockets who plans to build upscale condominiums and high-end houses. City Council does a straight cost/benefit analysis to determine their response. 1) We tore down low-income housing and dispersed poor people who were a drain on city services. Our city budget is strapped for cash, so we are glad that some of them left the city altogether and the others are spread out across other neighborhoods. 2) Mr. Deep Pockets is going to build houses for wealthy people who will pay a lot more in property taxes and spend money in the businesses in our city, all of which increases our tax revenue. The city comes out way ahead.

This argument is an application of technical knowledge. The City Council asked themselves, “How can we make a city which functions efficiently?” With the goal of a more profitable and efficient city, the council votes in favor of the zoning change and the new houses are built. Absent from the decision was any real consideration of the city’s obligation toward its low-income citizens, any notion of the response demanded of a council member of virtuous character or, much less, what decision would help make the city into a good and just community.

Here is another example. The Virginia General Assembly considers legislation every year which would prohibit any local government from passing a living wage ordinance and erase any that are already in effect. On one side of the argument the business community argues that local government, like private business, must be run as efficiently as possible in order to keep taxes low. The market’s prevailing wage should set the amount that local governments pay to each of their employees.

On the other side, unions, faith communities and civic organizations argue that a good and just society ensures that all of its citizens work in jobs that pay an amount sufficient to maintain a decent quality of life. A politician whose character was built on the virtues of mercy, compassion and justice would instantly recognize the validity of the argument. Instead, such concerns are dismissed as idealistic. We are forced to argue our case using technical knowledge: better wages mean lower costs for business and government because workers perform their jobs better and employee turnover costs are dramatically reduced. In other words, living wages boost efficiency.

In the end, the competition of our capitalist economy rewards only one goal: efficient production. Other values can be its servant, but never its master. Community institutions that refuse to bow down at its altar are ultimately punished. Businesses fail, organizations dissolve, local governments go bankrupt.

Political knowledge has nearly lost its struggle with technical knowledge. The servant has become the master. Neither liberals nor conservatives argue this point. Progressives are often unwilling to recognize the problem because so many have been absorbed into the professional class, and conservatives possess the very technical knowledge that now rules the world.

And most ironically, the right-wing embraces the rule of the free market while simultaneously demanding good character from its leaders. The result is so much public speech about morality and family values coupled with public decisions that seem to disregard those values beyond a few token issues. The right-wing daily increases the power of the very thinking that destroys that which they value most.

What is demanded of us now is true citizenship. We organize to demand leaders of good character. And good character means they put our capitalist economy to the service of human well-being, rather than enslaving humans to economic efficiency.