What’s right and what’s wrong with Libertarians’ vision of a volunteer society
It’s a compelling idea, which evokes the spirit of the commons. Volunteers working largely outside the realm of government—neighborhood organizations, local fire brigades, blood banks and other civic initiatives—are obvious examples of commons-based sharing and caring.
So that means John Boehner, Ron Paul and Sean Hannity qualify as commoners, too, despite their adamant skepticism about Medicaid, environmental regulations and campaign finance limits? Not so fast! Volunteerism never rises above a convenient smokescreen, which right-of-center politicians use to justify shredding the social safety net. Increased support for the people and institutions that help the poor and the sick, strengthen our communities, protect the environment and generally make America a kinder and gentler place (to quote the most ardent proponent of volunteerism, George H.W. Bush) never make the final cut in the right-wing blueprint for our future. They’re a lot of talk, and but little action when it comes to actually supporting the kind of cooperative efforts that make a better world.
Theoretically you could imagine a classical conservative model of a commons-based society based upon strong incentives for everyday citizens people to fill the void of services now provided by federal, state and local governments—everything from police protection to basic scientific research to the Public Health Service. But to actually create such a society, however, would mean some sweeping changes to current economic and social policies that today’s right-wing spokesmen would never tolerate.
To truly encourage widespread volunteerism, we’d need to make sure that everyone (not just the well-to-do) had the time to do it. Most people today, working longer hours for less pay, are frantic just to get through the day. Finding extra time in their crunched schedules to manage upkeep at the local park or take care of elderly neighbors looks impossible.
What it would take to make this happen would be a dramatically expanded vacation time, family-leave benefits and probably a four-day workweek—or at least stringent enforcement of overtime provisions for all people working more than 40 hours a week.
Even more important to brightening what George H.W. Bush called the thousand points of light would be a return to the days of the family wage—the period before the 1970s when a middle-class household could get by on one workers’ wages. And unlike the days before the 1970s, minorities and low-wage workers would not be excluded from this social contract. And since we live in a different social era now, it’s likely that many couples today would elect to both work half time. But any way you want to do it, this would trigger a volcanic eruption of volunteers. The place to start would be enacting a Canadian-style health care system and tripling the minimum wage right away.
I cannot imagine political leaders who call themselves conservative these days would stand for any of the ideas laid out in the previous two paragraphs—although some of the people who vote for them might, including evangelicals, traditionalist Catholics and “conservatives” who are actually in favor of preserving community values rather than sacrificing them in the name of exponentially expanding corporate profits.
Boehner, Michelle Bachmann and many Democrats, too, would recoil at these ideas because they shift the balance of power in society from the wealthy who finance their campaigns to the poor and middle-class who, in the famous words of Bill Clinton, “work hard and play by the rules.”
These pro-volunteer, pro-commons policies also depend on government playing an important role: Enforcing new vacation, family leave, work hours and minimum wage laws, as well as making sure everyone has adequate health care coverage and access.
Politicians and pundits on the right often accuse progressives of being naïve about human nature for not recognizing the true motives that drive people’s behavior. That’s debatable in light of new evidence from many fields that our cooperative instincts are stronger than our selfish ones.
But we certainly have a case of the pot calling the kettle black right here: Conservatives laud volunteerism as the best way to maintain our social fabric, yet they naively believe that this will happen with no provisions to stop unscrupulous employers from stealing so much of people’s time with low wages and stingy vacations policies that they have no time left over for the common good.
—JAY WALLJASPER
Photo by Jam Creative - Encinitas Marine Safety
