Originally published at Financial Times Alphaville | October 14, 2013
The convulsions in Washington are not about whether Congress and the President can find a way to raise the debt ceiling and re-open the government. Rather, they are about unprecedented income inequity and a fundamental disagreement over the concept of the American Dream.
At issue is whether the United States is about protecting the ideals of capitalism and aggregate economic growth, or the ideals of democracy and the well-being of the majority. In a society that is sustainable, these two ideals would be well-aligned and somewhat balanced. But as US society grows more unequal, the objectives of these ideals diverge, and debates grow more divisive.