[This piece appeared in the op-ed section of the 12aug26 print and online editions of The Union.]

America’s sociopolitical landscape is undergoing a profound and dangerous transformation. We are witnessing a systematic departure from the principles of mutual benefit, moving rapidly toward a society fractured by envy and defined by a zero-sum mentality. At the core of this ideological shift is a stark contrast in how different factions view the mechanics of human nature, economic interaction, and social progress.

Two Divergent Worldviews  To understand the depth of our current polarization, we must examine the fundamental premises of the two economic philosophies battling for the soul of the nation.

• Free market capitalists interact in society on a win-win basis.
• Collectivists (socialists, Marxists, communists) have a zero-sum perception of social interactions.

Under the banner of true free enterprise, transactions are voluntary, meaning both parties walk away better off than they were before. It is an expansive vision where wealth is created through innovation and effort, not merely shifted around by bureaucratic mandate.

• In a free society people invest resources, undertake risk, and receive rewards unequally with unequal results in generating and enjoying wealth.
• This is the accepted and cherished norm under liberal free market capitalism which promotes social and material mobility.

Such disparity of outcomes is not a flaw in the system; it is a desirable feature. It accurately reflects the diverse talents, unwavering efforts, and varied risk tolerances of free individuals operating within an open market while broadly maximizing the quality of life.

The Seduction of the Takers  Contrast this with the collectivist worldview, which sees the economy as a fixed pie. If one individual inequitably succeeds, it is presumed they did so at the direct expense of another. This perspective is economically illiterate, yet it has proven incredibly effective as a political weapon.

• The collectivists’ message to the ignorant is simple, comprehensible, and alluring.
• It is based on buying support through the redistribution of wealth from the makers to the takers.
• The ever inviting yet elusive mandate to ‘pay their fair share’ is always the readily embraced message.

This rhetoric preys on base human resentment and promises salvation through the coercive power of the state. It slowly dismantles the engine of prosperity under the guise of an unreachable and mathematically impossible equity.  (https://program.dsausa.org/) 

The Sickness of Corporatism  However, capitalism itself is being actively undermined from the inside by corporatists, those who seek the benefits of the market without enduring the rigors of competition.  Corporatism is not capitalism.

• Corporatism is a perfidious joining of government and large institutions (i.e. corporations, NGOs, unions, …) wherein the institutions buy government power to achieve their specific commercial and social goals to exclude/inhibit competitors and maintain dominance.

This unholy alliance between state power and mega-institutions destroys the win-win dynamic. It validates the cynics and provides the collectivists with the very ammunition they need to demonize free enterprise, all while the political elite consolidate their authority and insulate themselves from the consequences of their policies.

Institutional Capture and the Great Divide  How did a nation founded on individual liberty become so enamored with ideologies that have consistently produced poverty and oppression throughout human history? The answer lies in a multi-generational, methodical capture of our foundational institutions.

• Today the DSA-led Democratic Party is the leading institution promoting this change.
• In recent decades union backed public schools and universities have reverted to propagating various collectivist ideologies in their curriculum which has produced two generations of young people with little knowledge of the realities of collectivism and a blind embrace of socialism.

By controlling the ideological pipeline of the education system, the Left has successfully manufactured a compliant voting bloc that reflexively rejects the foundations of Western culture and prosperity.

The Abdication of the Right  In the face of this systemic ideological assault, the defense mounted by those who purportedly champion liberty has been shockingly inadequate.

• The free market capitalists, poorly led by the Republican Party, have not risen to the occasion of strongly repudiating collectivism in the public square while identifying its leading political proponents.

By refusing to boldly articulate the moral and practical superiority of free market capitalism, and by failing to ruthlessly call out the purveyors of collectivism, the Right has allowed the narrative to be completely hijacked. They have ceded the intellectual high ground to those who deal solely in grievance.

An Autocratic Horizon  We can no longer afford to pretend that these are merely academic differences of opinion discussed in the halls of polite society.

• Continuing this pretense promotes growth of the Great Divide with foreboding portents of an autocratic future.

If we do not urgently rediscover the courage to defend the win-win nature of a free society and clearly define the terms of this ideological war, we will inevitably succumb to the zero-sum tyranny of the collective.

George Rebane

Nevada County