Ingo Schmidt is a Canadian journalist who writes for www.socialistproject.ca. In his article, he grapples with the state of the left, the working class spectre, discontent, culture and the socialist imagination.

"The economic emergency, however, is not simply the consequence of
mindless, ideological deregulation and investment bubbles gone
bust. It is the result of a narrowly conceived economic model and
the failure of Washington's social contract with America, whose
weaknesses were essentially disguised by ever more debt. To save
America, that social contract has to change, and the economic model
on which it is based has to be modified. ..the hope, by no means a
fantasy, is that Obama may have proven to Americans that government
can work. That, of course, is the key to success. To do so,
however, will require shedding some of the ideological baggage of
the Rubinomics holdovers he has advising him."

"The man who emerges is a narcissist with no self-awareness
whatsoever. It’s that arrogance that allowed him
to tune out even the most calamitous of realities, freeing him to
compound them without missing a step. The president who famously
couldn’t name a single mistake of his presidency
at a press conference in 2004 still can’t. He
can, however, blame everyone else.."

And like the New Deal, Obama’s stimulus plan
will almost certainly fail to pull the economy out of a historic
free-fall. For one, the plan is inadequate. Two, it will be drafted
and overseen by Obama’s economic
“dream team,†who are committed to
the failed ideology that got us into this mess. Three,
there’s the matter of the still-festering
financial crisis. And four, there has been no national debate over
economic priorities such as who controls the economy, how
production should be structured and what should be produced.

"The oldest and most durable wisdom in nearly every culture in
every age has been that happiness and the meaning of life are not
found in money or material possessions..The ugly truth that the lie
of Santa is covering up is how commercial Christmas has become."

"The West dominated world trade and power for two centuries,
disrupting the pre-1800 more balanced international distribution of
wealth and power. Now the global balance is shifting to the East,
and to primary producers of commodities worldwide.. The West, used
to being the center, will have to accept a new., more pluralistic
world."

This 20-page cartoon was co-produced by Jobs with Justice and the
Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and the Common
Good. May the new year be full of good surprises and a solidarity
economy that works for everyone, not just the world's wealthiest!

This interview broadcast in 1994 is available on www.booknotes.org. Education is the great transformer. Economic development is a pacifier. FDR identified with the republic, and the republic with him, and he gave his whole life to the country.