Assumptions of the Tea Party Movement

A World of Their Own

verfasst von: David Warfield Brown

Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan US

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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This book presents a reassessment of the fundamental principles of the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party movement is largely associated with those who want a severely limited federal government spending far fewer taxpayer dollars. What gets less attention are the underlying Tea Party sentiments that, the book argues, are not so much false as they are terribly dated in light of the current national landscape. Such sentiments include prioritizing self-reliance, viewing politics as a “dirty business,” considering “free enterprise” unassailable, and believing the earth to be man’s possession. Brown skillfully and thoughtfully breaks from partisan considerations to get at the root of the movement, arguing that too many Tea Partiers are living in a world of their own, which, given so many pressing problems in the world, amounts to what Brown calls “sentimental mischief.”

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Assumptions—Their Use and Abuse

Abstract

This chapter looks not only at prevailing assumptions among those in the Tea Party movement, but also at some prevailing assumptions of those with a liberal mind-set by providing an illustrative story about “private” prisons, a divisive issue for those who assume prisons are only government’s business. The chapter goes on to some prevailing assumptions among those in the news media, and of those in academe. What all such folks have in common is ignorance and their preference for limiting the number of variables in order to deal with their ignorance. They prefer to tame the overwhelming complexity and complications of existence in these modern times by not letting too many variables make them hopelessly incoherent to themselves and others.

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 2. Self-Reliance Above All?

Abstract

This chapter questions a Tea Party assumption rooted in American history, but overcome or put aside as American society has become much more complicated and, for most everybody, necessarily interdependent with others. The chapter first explores the social dimensions of problem-solving in classrooms and provides an illustrative story about social problem-solving in the town of Factory Hill. The chapter moves on to social problem-solving in organizations and then communities focusing on the practice of deliberation. Community problem-solving, however, also means finding enough others and using whatever social scaffolds in a community are already available. However, social problem-solving, as a form of “collective self-reliance,” often does not succeed, which leads on to the practice of politics.

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 3. Politics as “Dirty Business”?

Abstract

This chapter argues that such a Tea party assumption misunderstands what “politics” is about. The practice of politics is not just located in government, but is practiced everywhere in a free society where problems require attention and collaboration among those with obvious and persistent differences. Another illustrative story is included, with tongue in cheek, of how Tea Partiers might characterize what they think of government “insiders.” The chapter then moves on to consider the limitations of analysis favored by “professionals” in both the public and private sectors and often only a prelude to the practice of politics. And there is “citizen politics” that refutes the assumption that government is the only option for social problem-solving. In whatever sector, most compromised outcomes arise from a process better known as “politics.”

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 4. Free Enterprise as Unassailable?

Abstract

This chapter looks at the Tea Party assumption that rejects government oversight and interference. The chapter argues that such an assumption is highly suspect considering the market failure of 2008 and the moral failure of academe to educate, rather than just train, a generation of wannabe investment bankers, hedge fund managers, and corporate executives. The chapter moves on to examine free enterprise in a government context, then offering an illustrative story of free enterprise in a community context, and concluding that, in a democratic society, markets are not an end but only a means.

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 5. The Earth as Man’s Possession?

Abstract

This chapter takes up the Tea Party assumption, aligned with American history and religious faith, that the earth is a gift of man’s Creator. The chapter examines the current confrontation between faith and fact over global warming in the context of the creation story retold by evolution, but, nonetheless, seriously contested by the advocates of “creationism” and “intelligent design.” It has not been an academic controversy, but rather enormously influential in shaping citizen resistance to the fact of climate change with public opinion shaped almost as much by faith and political ideology as by scientific fact. The chapter ends with an illustrative story about a businessman straddling the fence between Tea Party priorities and those of his family.

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 6. The “Native-Born” as Coming First?

Abstract

This chapter sees this Tea Party assumption as a misreading of American history. The assumption, rooted in the once dominant but long-fading standing of Anglo-Saxons in American society, shows how little “multiculturalism” has been accepted despite the prominence and influence of immigrants from all parts of the world. The chapter offers the historic examples of northern New Mexico and New York City that are only two stories, among many, that confirm such a misreading of America’s history, especially with ever-growing multiculturalism in this increasingly decentralized era.

David Warfield Brown

Chapter 7. Reconsidering Assumptions?

Abstract

This chapter asks whether it is possible to reconsider assumptions that stand in the way of bringing Americans together again. The chapter takes up the importance of “enough others” reconsidering their assumptions, which could happen if they are confronted with significant social change, like it or not. The chapter focuses not only on Tea Partiers, but also on those with a liberal mindset, those in the news media, and those in academe who might reconsider some of their assumptions and who, along with most Americans, might stand to benefit, if they do. The chapter offers an illustrative story, “The Notes of George Commoner,” that satirizes America’s current standoff. The chapter ends with the question: “Will anything really change?”

David Warfield Brown

Backmatter

Titel: Assumptions of the Tea Party Movement
verfasst von: David Warfield Brown
Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan US
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-52117-0
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-52116-3
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52117-0