Thoughts from Maharrey Head #86: Who's We?

from Thoughts from Maharrey Head Hosted by Michael Maharrey

In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the size and scope of society, and why it matters. For the show notes page, click here: http://bit.ly/2ohgiZo Whenever I talk about political or social issues, at some point somebody in the conversation will say, “We need to …” “We need to provide healthcare.” “We need to educate our kids.” “We need to take care of the poor. This raises an important question: who’s we? In other words, how should we conceive of our society? What is its scope and scale? Americans generally think of “we” as the United States – all 320-plus million of us. But is this really a good conception of society? Can you really have a functioning society made up of so many millions of people spread out over thousands of miles? Or should we perhaps consider viewing things through a narrower lens? Over the last 100 years, the federal government has taken on more roles that used to be carried out at the state and local level. The founding generation believed this type of micromanaging government wouldn’t work if imposed over a large area. In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the scope of society, and I make the case that for most things, we need to think more locally.