Is the demise of idealism a disturbing trend or a return to normalcy?
I think it is a trend, but not like a swing of the pendulum in public discourse, but rather, a continuing decline brought about by wave after wave of reactionary political propaganda. Altruism, it seems to me, is not in equilibrium here, it is being poisoned to death before our eyes by the politics of demonization. We have become one of the most punitive societies on earth because the super rich have taken over the government and are using its powers totally soak the rest of us. To divert attention from their monumental greed (i.e.., the top 30 CEOs of Americas health care companies now pay themselves $15 billion in salaries and benefits) and they blame other people’s poverty on their lack of good character rather than on their theft of the nation’s wealth. And instead of reforming the system by taking the obscene and unnecessary profit out of it, they have got the politicians talking about making it a crime for people not to carry health insurance. Indeed, if you listen carefully to t
