For their part, politicians recognize that "choice," defined in the broadest terms possible, has emerged as the preeminent American value. Choice used to be limited to a few positions, such as abortion and school vouchers (which were often assumed to be mutually exclusive). The term is now ubiquitous in contemporary political discourse. Certainly both Al Gore and George W. Bush peppered their rhetoric with the word and characterized virtually all their policy proposals in terms of it.
Each candidate charged that the other’s prescription drug benefit for Medicare didn’t offer seniors a "real choice." Gore told us repeatedly that one of his tax-based spending plans will allow every family to choose whether to send their kids to college, while George W. Bush testified that young workers should have the right to choose to put some of the money the government forces them to withhold into a small number of "safe" investments.
Such political gestures toward choice are typically incomplete and often incoherent; certainly, they remain largely unconvincing to a wary public. Leaving aside issues of whose money is being spent in the first place, it’s hard to believe that Al Gore’s ultra-detailed "targeted tax cuts" won’t simply embroil beneficiaries in all sorts of bureaucractic intrigue and micromanagement. Similarly, it’s hard to believe that George W. Bush is really committed to letting you spend your money as you see fit (Think about that the next time you buy a nickel bag of pot.)
Given that context, it’s appealing–even inspiring on some level–that many Americans are letting Icarus drown, so to speak, and simply ignoring politics. Rather than seeking permission or waiting for sanction from government, they are simply getting on with the business of living their lives. They’re living on their time, not anyone else’s.
To be sure, many of the developments that facilitate choice–from the birth control pill to always-open supermarkets to Microsoft Windows–end up entwined with politics in one way or another. As a number of stories elsewhere in this issue testify, specific policies can greatly help or harm the lives of millions. If government is only rarely involved in the early stages of technological and lifestyle innovation–it more typically works to retard such things–it’s extremely adept at inserting itself into the process later on, often with negative effects.
But it’s equally clear that the engine driving choice and rising living standards in America runs on tracks that range far beyond politics. In that sense, it’s worth remembering that the most important events on Election Day don’t necessarily take place at the polls.
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
nfl jerseys|11.14.10 @ 9:31PM|#
gujkgh