This column series offers replies to what is published in the current “text books,” which are adopted by the State and school districts.
BY HAMILTON HANSON
This textbook – previewed but not used by Hernando County School District – that I am reviewing is Magruder’s Florida American Government Interactive by Savvas Learning Company, promoted to the District in 2023 for the six years of student learning from Aug 2024 to Jun 2029.
To complete the review of Topic 1 of this textbook, the last sub-heading in Topic 1.4 is: Democracy and the Free Enterprise System.
To be sure, democracy and the free-enterprise system are not always or necessarily connected. This factoid ought to be made prominent in any discussion of US governance. The heading refers to how the economic system, which is used in many countries of the world, is used in our country.
The text makes a point of saying that “Democracy and the free enterprise system (capitalism, private enterprise system, market-based system) are not the same thing. However, both are firmly based on the concept of individual freedom.”
In a capitalist system, the citizens “enjoy a long list of economic rights, including the right to choose one’s work, the right to join or not join labor unions, and the right to acquire, use, transfer, and dispose of property as one wishes (while abiding by local zoning laws).”
The text continues: “These rights (separate and apart from the Bill of Rights) are important to individuals and society because they promise equality and ensure just and favorable conditions for all.”
And, continues: “Historically, racial and gender discrimination have limited opportunities for many Americans to find good jobs or start their own businesses.”
“Growing disparities between the rich and poor, the favoring of some industries over others by government policies, and the takeover of businesses by larger companies or private investors have led to occasional calls for a change in the American economic system. For the most part, however, criticisms are focused on revisiting specific aspects of capitalism, rather than attempting to replace that system entirely.”
The text has an excellent section on government intervention into the supposedly “private enterprise system.” Governments at all levels provide funding/grants for multitudes of projects based on the lack of Constitutional support for Lincoln’s declaration that “The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not so well do – for themselves – at their separate, and individual capacities.”
The author’s personal note: Lincoln’s presumption flies in the face of the eighteen paragraphs of specified operational responsibilities of our nation as delegated to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. And, it is also a current meaning of “democracy” now used by our leadership as the limitation and control of the daily lives of 330 million residents by the 435 “federal agencies” housed in Washington, DC.
Democracy OF/BY/FOR the people has now been redefined as dictates of policy and daily actions flowing FROM our government DOWN TO the people – exactly the opposite of what it was meant to be.
