http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemilleNews & Updates from Oliver DeMilleFri, 25 May 2012 03:01:25 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/CBhfE/h/Three_Meanings_of_Capitalism_.htm Email #334 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Three Meanings of Capitalism The term "capitalism" is often used interchangeably with "democracy," "freedom," and "free enterprise," but such usage is misleading and inaccurate. There are at least three major meanings of the word "capitalism." First, aristocratic capitalism is where the laws treat those with high levels of capital differently than those without. In the U.S. Commercial Code, for example, investors with a high net worth are allowed the best investments. It is illegal for companies to offer such investments to those with low or middle net worth. The idea is that government must protect unsophisticated investors from debilitating losses, but the flip side of the coin is that such policies help the rich get richer and prohibit the rest from such returns. Under this model, the gap between the rich and poor continues to expand. Second, democratic capitalism is pure free enterprise, where the government requires all laws to treat everyone equally--regardless of their economic status. The tenets of such capitalism include representative government, free commercial interactions, entrepreneurialism, and limited government. This is the type of capitalism that the American founders promoted. Third, mercantile capitalism occurs where the government is the major investor and where high levels of regulation keep even non-governmentally owned companies under the thumb of the government. This is often called state capitalism, and it was widely popular in the era of British dominance and is now the system of choice in many Asian nations. When most Americans say "capitalism" they are referring to the democratic capitalism, but the United States is now following aristocratic capitalism. Indeed, most leaders of the current Right consistently promote aristocratic capitalism while the Left is attempting to shift the United States to mercantile capitalism. There are few pushing the real solution: a return to true democratic capitalism, or free enterprise. The thesaurus lists the following as synonyms of capitalism: "free enterprise, private enterprise, and entrepreneurship." Again, these meanings are only consistent with free enterprise, not with aristocratic or mercantile capitalism. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Like a master gardener, a Student Whisperer understands the principles that govern his success. This book will help you work effectively with your mentors, and become the mentor your students need you to be. Click here for chapter outline, reader reviews, sample download and purchase details >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Fri, 25 May 2012 03:01:25 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/LpkPE/h/The_Major_Challenge_of.htm Email #333 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille The Major Challenge of Modernity Gideon Rose, the editor of Foreign Affairs, recently wrote that the troubles of modern society "are real, but not ideological: they relate more to politics than to principles. The postwar order of mutually supporting liberal democracies with mixed economies solved the central challenge of modernity, reconciling democracy and capitalism." This was a huge feat, since democratic society is built on the electoral voice of the people and capitalism naturally gives special benefits to the wealthy. This accomplishment was effective because the United States promoted a certain kind of capitalism, one based on real free enterprise where the laws treated all--rich, poor and middle classes--the same. In fact, this is not technically capitalism, but in the U.S. we used the terms "capitalism" and "free enterprise" so interchangeably that the ideas became intermingled. Most Americans believe that capitalism is where the economic laws treat everyone the same; in fact, this is free enterprise. Rose is correct that this combination of free enterprise and democracy overcame the conflict of rich versus the masses and was the fundamental basis of American success. The lower and middle classes who make up the masses naturally support both democracy (where the masses oversee the government) and free enterprise (where the law treats the masses the same as the wealthy). Unfortunately, we are now facing a bigger challenge: Getting the masses to support both democracy and a more aristocratic style of capitalism where the laws benefit the rich more than the rest. Rose wrote: "We are living, so we are told, through and ideological crisis. The United States is trapped in political deadlock and dysfunction, Europe is broke and breaking, authoritarian China is on the rise. Protestors take the street across the advanced industrial democracies; the high and might meet in Davos to search for 'new models' as sober commentators ponder who and what will shape the future." Rose takes on these widely-held views in an interesting way. He argues that "the true narrative of the era is actually the reverse--not ideological upheaval but stability." This is a fascinating article, and I highly recommend that everyone who is interested in the future of our economy read it and the whole section on The Class of Ideas (Foreign Affairs, January/February 2012). The leading vision of governance is still focused on "the rule of law, limited government, and free commercial interactions." These ideals remain our hope for more prosperity and freedom in the decades ahead. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Order CSL Products Stephen Palmer challenges freedom-lovers to do more than march on Washington -- he challenges them to reform their own hearts. Order Uncommon Sense Now Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Thu, 24 May 2012 03:01:19 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/7aUPE/h/The_Fall_of_the_Republican.htm Email #332 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille The Fall of the Republican Party The Economist recently pointed out that the future of the Republican Party is doomed unless a fundamental change occurs. By 2039 the number of Latinos in the United States is expected to double, yet today a Republican candidate cannot get elected in many places (including the U.S. presidency) without believing "that the 12m illegal immigrants, even those who have lived in America for decades, must all be sent home." These two trends are diametrically opposed. Either Republicans must embrace and attract Latino voters, or it must dwindle as a political party. Whatever you believe about immigration (I say we should open the floodgates to as much legal immigration as possible), this is a significant trend. The longer Republicans wait to become attractive to this growing group of voters (who happen to support strong family values, hard work and are strongly anti-abortion), the harder the shift will be. Indeed, if such a change doesn't occur, a third party will emerge and the Republican Party will lose its place in the top two parties. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Order CSL Products FreedomShift is a book to be read and re-read. DeMille has stepped to the front lines in the battle for America's freedom. ~Orrin Woodward, Top-25 Leadership Guru Order FreedomShift Now Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Wed, 23 May 2012 03:00:54 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/CZQPE/h/Reserve_Currency_The_Social.htm Email #331 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Reserve Currency If the U.S. dollar stops being the global reserve currency, those holding dollars (including in Europe, China, Japan and the middle-eastern oil states) will sell them off to cut their losses, and the U.S. will no longer be able to print whatever we need to pay the interest on our debts (because such payments cannot be made in a non-reserve currency). The dollar will be devalued, and the result will be an immediate drop in the average American's wealth of at least 15% and perhaps much more (for the sake of comparison, the average American's wealth decreased 7% from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2011). This will cause significantly higher unemployment rates, and plunge us once again into a much worse recession. U.S. leaders could do much to stop this coming problem, but Washington has shown little proclivity to address this need. Most Americans don't understand the nuances of currencies and prefer to leave such things to the experts. As the economist John Maynard Keynes wrote, "There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of Society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose." I am an optimist, and I believe the best is yet ahead for America and the world. But unless we get our financial house in order very soon, we appear destined to suffer major challenges before the good times come again--and such a development will likely push real recovery years and perhaps decades down the road. The sad part of this is that it is still avoidable, but few are doing anything about it. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Is American education preparing the future leaders our nation needs or merely struggling to teach basic literacy and job skills? Order A Thomas Jefferson Education Now Download a list of recommended classics, graduated by age and interest >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education TJEd Online Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Tue, 22 May 2012 03:01:28 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/JtO9E/h/Will_it_be_News_The_Social.htm Email #330 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Will it be News? The big news of 2008 was the beginning of the Great Recession. The big news of 2009 was the advent of the historic new Obama Administration. The big news of 2010 was passage of the Health Care Law. The big news of 2011 was the downgrading of the U.S.'s credit rating. The big news of 2012 may be inflation--rising prices across the board. The big news of 2013 (possibly sooner) may well be the end of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. If this happens, U.S. wealth will sharply decline. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Like a master gardener, a Student Whisperer understands the principles that govern his success. This book will help you work effectively with your mentors, and become the mentor your students need you to be. Click here for chapter outline, reader reviews, sample download and purchase details >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Mon, 21 May 2012 03:01:26 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/C5ZNk/h/Courage_to_Try_The_Social.htm Email #329 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Courage to Try I was afraid to step out of my own little tribe, my own little narrow circle. I was afraid to take the risk of stepping into anything unknown. And most importantly, I was afraid that I just couldn't make any difference anyway. -Joseph Jaworski I think this quote just about sums up modern citizenship. I've felt this way. Everyone I've discussed it with feels this way. Our educational lives are all about specialization, and so are our social and career lives. We just aren't raised or educated to be broadly-thinking, actively-involved, deeply-impactful citizens. Citizenship education isn't really part of modern America. Or modern anywhere, as far as I know. The American founding generations grew up taking part in local town government which took care of nearly all local challenges and problems; citizenship was part of the air they breathed and the water they drank. It was everyday experience. For us, in contrast, it takes a lot courage. And it's hard to use our courage when we aren't sure what to do and whether it will do any good anyway. That's real. This is our problem, our generation, our reality. But if we don't figure out how to get past it we're going to lose our freedoms. What to do? The answer is to start. To try. To begin. To make mistakes, fix them, and keep going. Modern education tells us such a course is crazy. But what other option do we have? If we do nothing, our freedoms will be lost. If we act, we'll make mistakes and maybe get ridiculed for our naivete or stupidity. But if we keep trying, we'll eventually make a difference. These are our choices. Meekly do nothing and avoid criticism. Or try. Goethe said: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Joseph Campbell added: I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Like a master gardener, a Student Whisperer understands the principles that govern his success. This book will help you work effectively with your mentors, and become the mentor your students need you to be. Click here for chapter outline, reader reviews, sample download and purchase details >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Fri, 18 May 2012 03:01:19 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/7_aNk/h/2_Types_of_Freedom_The.htm Email #328 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille 2 Types of Freedom Throughout history there are two types of freedom. One is a desire for independence from rules, and the other is a desire for the freedom to do good things in the world. They may seem similar, but in practice they cause drastically different results. The first led to the French Revolution with all its extremes and violence, the second drove the American Revolution with its focus on minimal violence and the goal of more freedom for all. There are many additional examples. In the 21st Century, the two types of freedom are often confused. But let's be clear that only the second, a desire for freedom in order to do good, is really freedom. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Order CSL Products Stephen Palmer challenges freedom-lovers to do more than march on Washington -- he challenges them to reform their own hearts. Order Uncommon Sense Now Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Thu, 17 May 2012 03:01:34 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/H4VNk/h/Federal_Dominance_and.htm Email #327 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Federal Dominance and Personal Wealth Tocqueville wrote of the United States, I know of no country, indeed, where the love of money has taken stronger hold on the affections of men and where a profounder contempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property. Early Americans believed in the American Dream of everyone having the opportunity to earn and build wealth. In our day, the emphasis is sometimes more on the right to get wealth and the chance to win it on reality TV than on the effort to earn it. Interestingly, this change has coincided with another shift. Tocqueville marveled that the United States was run by ...two governments, completely separate and almost independent... of each other, the one the states and the other the federal government. He also expressed surprise that state governments came first and the federal last, and that the states exerted a lot more power than the federal government. He noted that the state government was the rule in America, the federal government the limited exception. In fact, he recorded, the townships were the most important governments, counties next, then states. The federal government came after all of these in the minds of the people and the exercise of government power. So is there a correlation between the relative decline of state power, the rise of federal dominance and the lessening of widespread American entrepreneurial initiative and ambition to earn wealth? Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Order CSL Products FreedomShift is a book to be read and re-read. DeMille has stepped to the front lines in the battle for America's freedom. ~Orrin Woodward, Top-25 Leadership Guru Order FreedomShift Now Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Wed, 16 May 2012 03:01:35 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/FUx7k/h/Solutions_Not_Problems_.htm Email #326 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Solutions, not Problems We have been taught in the modern Western world to focus on problems so we can find solutions. A more effective approach is to focus on opportunities so we can turn challenges into progress. Whether or not Washington ever adopts this model, the people in America need to take it seriously. When you hear of the latest crisis in Washington, the economy or the world, ask yourself how this presents you an opportunity. It is amazing how often the answer to such a question is a positive in our lives. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Is American education preparing the future leaders our nation needs or merely struggling to teach basic literacy and job skills? Order A Thomas Jefferson Education Now Download a list of recommended classics, graduated by age and interest >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education TJEd Online Facebook Twitter Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Tue, 15 May 2012 03:01:07 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/oliverdemille/4.u7k/h/Bucky_s_Way_The_Social.htm Email #325 Social Leader Daily by Oliver DeMille Bucky's Way Buckminster Fuller may have started the self-help, PMA (positive mental attitude), and business consulting industries, and he is the mentor of many modern management and leadership gurus. He doesn't get the full credit for all he did because almost everything he wrote was extremely deep and, frankly, difficult to understand. But he understood how to solve problems. He is said to have taken a year off work to sit on his couch and try to figure out the purpose of his career life. When he got off the couch, he literally changed the world. Albert Einstein had a similar impact on the modern world, and he is another great thinker whose writings were difficult for most readers to grasp. And like Fuller, he knew how to tackle and solve problems. Here then is advice on solving your biggest problems from two great masters of unraveling difficult challenges: It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. -Albert Einstein In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete. -Buckminster Fuller The future of freedom and prosperity depends at least in part on the application of these two principles. Explore Oliver's Daily Email Archives Here Also by Oliver DeMille Like a master gardener, a Student Whisperer understands the principles that govern his success. This book will help you work effectively with your mentors, and become the mentor your students need you to be. Click here for chapter outline, reader reviews, sample download and purchase details >> Connect with Oliver and Get More Content Oliver DeMille Center for Social Leadership Thomas Jefferson Education Connect and Engage with CSL Join Our Mailing List Click the image below to download our free e-book: Home | Store | Resources | About Us | Contact Us Unsubscribe From this Newsletter Copyright © 2011 Oliver DeMille. All rights reserved.Mon, 14 May 2012 03:01:14 -0400