Getting Out of Darkness

....It's crucial to address the negative implications of the communication revolution. Technological advancements over the past three decades have increased cultural awareness in previously overlooked areas outside the purview of world public opinion. Yet, they've also led to a proliferation of false information masquerading as historical, social, political, and economic truths. Recognizing this unique moment is vital for the United States to confront its historical challenges in the twenty-first century. The dissemination of twisted and false information through social networks often aims to expose facts as past lies or contradictions to other facts. Usually, they distort political, economic, and historical events. In the political arena, this false culture nurtures the propagation of false theories that commonly oppose the legitimately elected government and its policies. This phenomenon transpired during the last democratic administration and continues to affect the Biden administration. Since far-left socialist movements typically oppose democratically elected governments worldwide, it's not surprising that movements endorsing false or conspiracy theories and supposedly fighting for minorities tend to align with them. These mixes of movements often position themselves as crusaders fighting exploitation, poverty, inequality, and other social issues. Poverty in less developed countries (LDCs) is a driving force behind their revolutions; it stems from an inability to cover basic necessities such as education, medical assistance, housing, clothing, shoes for children, and potable water. The absence of infrastructure, healthcare facilities, and a robust health system further compounds the grim reality in these nations. In contrast, poverty in wealthy developed countries (WDCs) presents a different challenge. There, poor and low-income individuals struggle not merely to cover basic needs, as seen in LDCs, but to attain economic proximity to middle-income brackets. Poverty in WDCs often relates to the scarcity experienced by lower-income individuals when compared to the middle class; it also includes educational disparities, job shortages, housing problems (lack of affordable houses), exorbitant healthcare costs, and the lack of comprehensive health programs. While numerous LDCs are witnessing uprisings led by poor individuals supported by extreme socialists against their traditional democratic governments, WDCs are seeing a different agitation. Moderate socialists in wealthier countries advocate for enhanced education, improved healthcare programs, and increased opportunities across various spheres, catering to a desire for greater access to almost everything. However, it is difficult to ascertain if this might be the beginning of similar social situations happening with full force in LDCs. If that is the case, capitalism will have to check the evolution of social programs in WDCs to guarantee their pretensions remain within a framework of social fairness without disturbing the appropriate business structure that allows its growth and capitalists to draw their fair share from profits (See wages and the new structure proposed in this book). Usually, socialists of today in LDCs say that those countries have a war of poor people against rich people because of exploitation - as they have said all along the twentieth century - but besides that, there is now a war to fight for new minorities' rights. That is the significant danger involved in the strategies played out by extreme socialists today; they want to frame their movements' ideologies as leading crusades to fight exploitation, poverty, inequality, lack of new human rights, and other social problems in LDCs. Part of those aspirations have been exported to America, and socialists are gradually finding room in WDCs to voice their social aspirations in Congress. Typically, on the road of economic and social progress, countries will advance in their living standards, resulting in more individuals emerging from extreme poverty, but poverty will remain a relative issue. As explained in Chapter Three, relative poverty will always exist due to differences in people's competencies, attitudes toward work, managerial abilities, innovation, and creativity, which determine the kind of work people can do. Likewise, jobs vary significantly based on difficulty, location, associated risks, and educational requirements. All these factors produce an employment matrix where some people will have superior jobs, meaning higher wages, and others will have inferior jobs, meaning lower wages. A just society will recognize that low-wage individuals are indispensable for keeping society in place, functioning, and organized. Therefore, somehow, their contribution should be rewarded in monetary terms besides the cost of their labor. Drawing individuals out of poverty and extreme poverty remains a paramount task for a society striving for improved social conditions for the underprivileged and the poor. Right now, the gap between the living standards of well and less-developed countries is substantial. As less developed countries increase their per capita income, they move closer to the standards of wealthier nations but require higher growth rates to narrow this gap. Even if, at some point, all countries attain similar average per capita incomes, or at least if today's poorer nations reach relatively higher per capita incomes in the future, disparities between rich and poor individuals will likely persist. Modern economists like Piketty, Stiglitz, and Sachs have explored how to address income inequalities and wealth distribution. For instance, Piketty's analysis of tax variations in the twentieth century highlights their impact on wealth disparities and inequalities in his recent works on the capitalism of that era. Insights from these economic studies provide valuable lessons for rectifying tax structures. However, these corrections need to be tailored to specific countries and sectors of the economy and complemented with other economic policies augmenting technology progress and human capital (see the 15 points on the new era of sustainable development in Chapter 5). In other words, policies reducing inequalities should be balanced with those promoting the benefits of capitalist growth to avoid dampening economic growth and stifling investment ambitions.