Republican and Democratic Ideology

What we are witnessing is an all out battle between the Republicans ideology and Democratic ideology. The ideologies have become more important than examining the results to see if the ideologies work.

The Republican ideology is a belief in hard core capitalism because all business will supposedly prosper under completely free market capitalism, and a social safety net provided by government becomes unnecessary as all citizens benefit from the general prosperity.

The Democrat ideology is not socialist, but is a modified version of capitalism wherein totally free market capitalism needs to be monitored by government to make sure that powerful business interests do not hijack the society as they acquire greater and greater economic power, and become indifferent to the fact that prosperity is not actually shared by all, and that without a government managed social safety net, a great many people will suffer badly.

In short, the differences between Republican and Democratic ideologies is not so much about a belief in capitalism, but a belief in the need for a social safety net to protect citizens when capitalism results in a suffering ... and sometimes exploited ... economic underclass. Argue as you wish about specific policy proposals on how to best make capitalism work, the bottom line is that the argument is less about capitalism and more about government providing the social safety net.

The Republicans hate the social safety net believing it is not necessary and is an unfair forced reallocation of hard earned profits. The Democrats believe the social safety net is a compassionate necessity because uncontrolled capitalism generally results in the rich and powerful gathering more and more power and wealth while remaining indifferent to the grief of those who are not able to participate in the prosperity.

Dr. Krugman, in his editorial "Things Could Be Worse", speaks from the Democrat point of view. When comparing the US to Japan, he is merely reiterating his belief that pursuing the Republican ideology, especially at this moment of economic crisis when it might not be wise to adhere to hard core ideologies, could be a mistake that would lead the US into a future that is far worse than what befell Japan.

It is a shame that Republicans and some Democrats can be so hard wired to their ideologies that they can not let go of them in order to seek some compromise middle road based on the facts on the ground rather blindly adhering to ideological formulas. But, such is politics and the stubbornness of human nature. It is good that Dr. Krugman points out the risks present in this exceptional time of economic crisis, and suggests that wiser heads hopefully might prevail.
G.Ryan