Political Economy and the Common Good

1. Political Economy and the Common Good • Comparing highly developed countries, the differing political economies of each country are leading determinants of their distinct levels of social development. • The fundamental political-economic conflict that each country faces is: the common good vs. interest group power (often corporate, but also others). • For the purposes of this class, the common good is defined by social development indicators such as infant mortality, % of children without health insurance, child poverty, life expectancy, and national leadership in international development.

2. How the political economy shapes social development (US case study) • High, persistent poverty rates and their associated social malaise are strongly associated internationally with high infant mortality rates (highest in the developed world). Greater social spending in comparative countries is strongly associated with lower poverty and IMR rates. (see handout) • In 2007, approximately 47 million have no health insurance at any given time. Nationally representative public opinion polls show a strong majority want all to have health insurance/coverage. A national program could cover all people at similar expense to what is currently expended, at similar quality of care. Why then is there no such single payer national health care system in the US? (corporate interests have politically blocked it). At issue is ~17,000 annual deaths vs. restructuring of corporate health insurance.

3. How the political economy shapes social development (US case study con’t.) • Family leave policy: the US is the only industrialized country with no mandatory, paid family leave for new parents. Who has fought against this? • The US lags most other developed nations in efforts to reduce the outcomes associated with child poverty (which include substandard academic achievement, crime, intergenerational poverty, and higher mortality rates). Early childhood education strongly improves above problems, yet less than half of qualified poor children can attend such programs, due to lack of funding. Why have these programs been chronically under funded? • The general public has long favored increasing mandatory fuel efficiency standards for the auto industry. Benefits might include less air pollution, decreased global warming, greater geopolitical autonomy from oil producing countries, lower fuel prices, and more. Who has fought against making strong increases in fuel economy standards? Note: current technologies could solve much of the problem.

4. Food for thought… • Most people in the United States are not aware of how badly our indicators of social development compare with other developed countries. Until people are aware of what is possible, collective action has limited potential for change. • Inaction due to lack of knowledge vs. inaction due to ideology, indifference, values, etc…