Today I read an article called The Fragile Generation.
It's well-worth the read - but the idea presented in passing early in the text that economic problems may be blamed in part on [the results of overprotection of children] needs discussion. Yes it is a factor, but only as a symptom that contributes to the continuation of the illness.
When we raise kids unaccustomed to facing anything on their own, including risk, failure, and hurt feelings, our society and even our economy are threatened.
This thought sparked my imagination, and led me to ponder how economic problems and the problem of overprotection both stem from a common root. Clearly, the lack of regulation of capitalism occludes any other perceived contributor to economic problems. What's not so clear is how overprotection also stems from unregulated capitalism.
Capitalism and Economic Problems
All other factors in the precariousness of our economic situation are occluded by the problem of [lack of regulation of capitalism]. Though not its perceived purpose, the main effect of capitalism in its current form is to advance the flow of wealth upward. This is made evident by the increasing disparity of wealth distribution among the nation's (an, in fact, the world's) population.
In a functioning democracy regulation could be used to enforce both sustainability and social justice in the broadest sense of the terms, but despite surface appearances, the United States is not a functioning democracy. It is, rather, a plutocratic oligarchy in which politics has been made subordinate to the set of ideas, institutions, and entities that we refer to as "capitalism".
According to a Princeton study, public opinion has little or no influence on American politicians. If this is so, then the sole apparent influence over government regulation seems to be the lobbyists, who provide money to individual politicians' campaigns. The politicans who receive this money are well-aware that there will be no more of it if they fail to support the interests specified by the lobbyists.
The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.
This state of affairs renders the United States unable to implement laws that would protect against future misuse of the system by the powerful in their pursuits of great profit, despite the risk of additional economic crashes (not to mention a plethora of other undesirable events and conditions).
Overprotection of Children
Overprotection is an engineered trend (one of many) that has been instigated purposefully to bolster the phenomenon Jung called "the mass man". It's part of making people compliant, incapable of critical thinking (and so rebellion), and therefore dependent on "The State".
~ William Wilson QuinnIf Carl Gustav Jung could be said to have "believed in" a sacred principle, that principle would probably be the importance of the individual. Not only was individuation - his formula for wholeness - predicated upon the same etymological root, but in his later writings his strong emphasis on culture and society was inextricably bound to the concept of the individual. Jung's training as a physician and as a psychiatrist is reflected in his observations upon both the individual and society.
Concerned as he was about the psychological ramifications of "mass man in a mass society," Jung never lost sight of the fact that both the causal and curative agents of all social ills lay in the individual.
The history of capitalist manipulation of public thought is long and sordid. Edward Bernays used Sigmund Freud's psychology to profoundly change capitalism, which led to his huge wealth. The lesson hasn't been lost on those that followed; psychological manipulation is the backbone of the current power structure. I wish the Let Grow Foundation great success in their efforts to "see kids outside again", but I fear The State won't allow them much.
Conclusion
Capitalism as an institution understands that "both the causal and curative agents of all social ills lay in the individual", and has strong motive to prevent the individuation that would restrain it. A glance at the Forbes list of billionaires should convince anyone that money (and therefore power) is in the hands of capitalists who control the direction of society. This power (wealth) provides the opportunity and the means for manipulation of public perception and for control of government by the horribly unethical but perfectly legal method of "throwing money at it".
In many cases, the effect of "psychological manipulation" may be validly argued to be coincidental. For example, prolific publication of stories (both real and fictional) involving harm to children can make for gripping fiction or relevant news, as the case may be, and so constitutes a profitable niche for publication in various forms. Such pieces may be, regardless of manipulative consequences, argued to fall under First Ammendment protection along with Campaign Finance, the unregulated use of AI to target ads, and a variety of other potentually manipulative communication techniques currently in use.
In support of a functioning human society, we must consider the valid limits of Freedom of Speech and the consequences of exceeding those limits. The effects of some manipulators (regardless of intention) surely belong under the category of "Shouting Fire in a Crowded Theater", and the general welfare requires they be regulated in appropriate ways. This may be a legal path to curtailing such manipulation of individuals and government processes for the benefit of humanity.
References
- The Fragile Generation
- Shouting Fire in a Crowded Theater
- Carl Jung
- Edward Bernays
- Sigmund Freud
- The Century of the Self - Part 1: "Happiness Machines"
- The long Jung quote.
- William Wilson Quinn
- Forbes Billionaire List
- Princeton Study
- Tufekci, AI
- HyperNormalism BBC Documentary
Wealth Distribution References
- https://www.thenation.com/article/20-people-now-own-as-much-wealth-as-half-of-all-americans/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States
- https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/01/18/rich-people-own-much-money-half-world-report-says/y6az3Wtasd5TIf9Q6k3I4K/story.html
- https://www.thebalance.com/american-net-worth-by-state-metropolitan-4135839
- http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/02/the-costs-of-inequality-when-a-fair-shake-isnt/
Postscript
Given the above, we might take a second meaning from the following term, taken from the article:
Today many kids are raised like veal.
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