College of
Business
Administration
College of
Business
Administration
2) How can we operate a truly democratic society without involving everyone, even the “social outcasts?” Do these “social outcasts” choose to be outcasts, therefore forfeiting their rights to participate in the democracy?
3) Should we rely on the American educational system to solve the ills of society? Can it solve the ills of society? What ills are you trying to correct by creating your good society?
4) Is an education a right? Is it a necessity for the proper functioning of a good society? Can/should our educational system teach morals?
5) Do you think our American society (and the global society as a whole) is interdependent? Does that frighten you? Should it have and/or does it need, moral rules that guide it?
•Bellah mentions his belief of a need for a “moderating influence.” Do we need a “moderating influence” to counter selfish strides toward satisfaction of our own needs? Do you believe in having a social contract in your good society? Do you believe government should have a hand in enforcing the social contract?
7) Is the use of technology creating an erosion of values? Are we too dependent on technology and does technology cause us to ignore long-term issues? Should we be concerned that technology is causing long-term problems, e.g. global-warming and traffic?
•What characteristics must democratic people have to operate in a functional democracy? Bellah mentions common sense and “public virtue” or “civic virtue.” Do you agree? Is “for the public good” the goal of a democratic or free-market society?
9) Is our political system corrupted by out-of-control self-interest?
10) Is it possible to create a definition of “public virtue” in an ever-expanding global economy?
•Should we lower our standards of “public virtue” to allow for our self-interestedness? Or should we change our actions to achieve “public virtue?” Or are we all happy with the way things are?
12) John Adams: "Our constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" (Bellah, 180). Bellah's public church is largely christian capital "g" god worshipers. How christian is the United States? Does the separation of church and state actually exist? Does the U.S government give preference to protestants? What does the invisible hand of capitalism say about Adam Smith and his religious biases?
13) "From the player's point of view, Monopoly is a free market situation in which no one compels the actions of another. But once begun, the game proceeds according to a relentless logic that is no longer subject to the wills of the players either individually or collectively. In this game, as in the world of Thomas Hobbes, 'there is no other goal, no other garland, than being foremost,' and the rules are as immutable as the laws of nature" (Bellah, 83).
14) And what about our democracy? Do we have a democracy? What did the founders think about democracy? Bellah calls for more democratic accountability and individual participation in governance and planning, accuses political parties of being shadows of one another, no depth or substance and talks of the 'media-managed candidacy'; he calls for campaign finance reform (McCain-Feingold?) and an outright ban on TV and radio ads; do these types of changes have any chance of helping? Are they even possible under our Constitution?
Return to Professor Dunn's home page.