"Desperately Seeking Capitalism's Soul" (review of William Greider book)

Glad to hear William Greider has a new book out.

Sept. 16, 2003 | Americans need a new narrative, declares William Greider in "The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy." We need to tell ourselves a different story about what is possible. We need to stop despairing over our corrupt, hopelessly co-opted government, stop believing in corporate self-serving free-market-über-alles rhetoric, and start reorganizing ourselves in the service of new visions for how ordinary citizens and workers can reshape society. Above all, amoral American capitalism must be instilled with a progressive spirit.

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For decades, Greider has been a fearless reporter dedicating himself to documenting and exposing deep structural ailments in the way American politics and economics work. His monumental tome "Secrets of the Temple" revealed in impressive detail how the Federal Reserve controls the economy. His follow-up "Who Will Tell the People?" made a convincing case for how special-interest lobbying has fundamentally broken the political system. His record of reporting makes his dewy-eyed optimism -- that during the next century Americans will reformulate society in a more equitable fashion, that they will infuse capitalism with moral values -- all the more quirky.

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Greider says that his purpose, "at a minimum," is to "show people that it's now okay to think and talk critically about capitalism's own shortcomings. At this point in history, it may even be the patriotic thing to do." Again, at first glance, especially to those us of who came of age during the Reagan presidency and have watched organized labor steadily lose ground while the forces of economic deregulation reign triumphant, who are aghast as major environmental advances are undermined and rolled back by the current coterie in power, and who see virtually no organized resistance to the principle that whatever benefits the stock price of a Fortune 500 company is by definition the correct economic policy for government to pursue, Greider seems hopelessly atavistic.
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Link: http://www.salon.com/tech/books/2003/09/16/greider/index.html