Socioeconomics and Politics
Societal Implications Under the Lens of ConscioCentrism
On a societal level, most of our socio-economic and political choices come down to a balance between separation and unity - which is one of the core principles of ConscioCentrism. At a fundamental level, capitalism is a socio-economic model that favors separatism and individuality. Socialism is a system that favors unity and equity over individualism. When we balance the two sides, we create a system that entices individual participation with rewards, while still providing limits to the individualism and making sure there is equality and a healthy unity in the system.
On a political ideal level, you can view ideals on a policy by policy basis for where the fall on the balance of power of separation vs unity. In general, Democratic or Progressive policies favor putting the unity of the environment and society above the individual. In general, Republican or Libertarian policies put individual freedom and individual control over the good of the unity. Neither side alone is "the right way". Rather, we need to realize that a balance between separation and unity is what we need. These are not black-and-white issues, they are shades of gray. To move society and the planet forward in a healthy fashion, we need to find the correct balance between separation and unity.
Most governments around the world today have some sort of balance between these two socio-economic ideologies. To get a rough estimate of the amount of capitalism vs socialism in a given country, you can look at its average tax rate for its citizens. In the United States (USA), the average tax rate was about 30% as of 2019. So, we can say that the United States is currently about 70% Capitalist and 30% Socialist. That's a very rough estimate, but it serves as a starting point for discussions. A more nuanced approach would take a detailed look at taxes and expenses, along with specific political rules.
The big picture takeaway is that neither capitalism, nor socialism is "bad"... they are two sides of a socio-economic scale that can be balanced, or favor one side. Republicans generally want to push the scales further towards capitalism, whereas Democrats would like to see the system more balanced. If we say the United States currently has a 70/30 split favoring capitalism, the case could be made that Republicans would like to see a 80/20 split, whereas Democrats would like closer to a 60/40 split - still overwhelmingly a capitalist system that incentivizes individual work, but with a bit more socialism blended in to support the greater unity of the population and spread the equity more evenly.
Since World War 2, in the early 1940s, the middle class federal tax rate in the United States has fluctuated by a few percentage points (+/- 5%). However, federal taxes for Upper Class have changed by a huge amount. The top federal tax rate from the 1940s through the 1970s ranged from 70-90% on the ultra rich. It is interesting to note that this is the time period of "The Greatest Generation" in the eyes of many, when the United States was at its best. In 1980, that all changed when Ronald Reagan came into office. The top tax rate was dropped from about 67% down to just 30% during Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush administration. Since then. the Federal Rates for the ultra rich have fluctuated a bit, but remained very low compared to the period between the 1940s and 1970s.