URL:http://katzr.com/2013/04/we-are-not-consumers-we-are-the-people-as-in-we-the-people/
I have told many that I love this country and even the structure of our democracy, but that the government in its current form is deeply flawed. It just clicked for me after reading this Hill piece about CISPA passing the House.
“[CISPA] was approved in a 288-127 vote despite ongoing fears from some lawmakers and privacy advocates that the measure could give the government access to private information about consumers.”Wait, what? Did I read that correctly? I may buy a lot of stuff, but should I only be viewed as “a consumer” in the eyes of the government and my democracy? I guess I am a consumer of democracy if we’re talking about how I watch and consume political television ads, and buy your political BS by engaging in the electoral process.
The problem with this frame of reference is that hiding behind the term “consumer” allows a politician to vote on in a vacuum. It’s an Orwellian view of “the people” completely removed from their position as the sovereign, who deign to grant the government the power protect their freedom in the first place. The term “consumer” is devoid of the notion that we “consumers” have freedoms and rights that are inalienable; instead of rights, the consumer wants only “protection” and hand-holding.
Congress should be asking, “how will this affect the people I represent,” rather than solely “is this good for the economy?” I’d rather you waste my money selfishly voting on pork barrel politics with a bridge to nowhere than with some unapologetically corporate pandering like letting Intuit totally derail simplified tax reform.
Nobody asked me, but I believe in this country and freedom of speech. I believe in free market economics too. But many forget that buying favors from the government to further your interests in a business context is not free market economics. It is a product of economic forces, however. Corporations are not the constituents or the sovereigns of the government. The people are. And the consumer-corporation dichotomy entirely overlooks what is good for the people.