Disempowerment and fear

Michael Sandel, Harvard University
hastily-scribbled notes on NPR (around 2007 - ish)

neither liberals nor conservatives are addressing the concerns and frustrations 
1.  disempowerment:  in spite of affluence and gaining rights, people feel less in control of their lives
2.  fear:  moral fabric is fraying, erosion of sense of community

The political debate hasn't found a way of addressing these

Attack ads and sound bites don't address this
    instead focus on more or less welfare, education, regulation, strengthen economic 
    growth, distribution among population

Why don't political parties address 1 and 2?  Both parties share same idea
To be free citizen, to be in on sharing responsibility
I'm free as long as I can choose in my life.  There is a supermarket of choices.

But this misses civic virtue and shared responsibility

The politics of today is to force your ideas on others:  abortion, fundamentalism, &c
Cultural conservatives are right to worry about erosion of values, but wrong on what makes it happen

Conservatives wrong - pruning shade tree will not make spontaneous blossoming

Buying out of public space
"Sky boxes" - heated compartments, no rain.  
One consequence:  the more affluent withdraw from society, live in gated communities

http://www.gov.harvard.edu/people/faculty/michael-sandel

http://justiceharvard.org/