What is Lost When We Lose Sight Of The Benefits of Democratic Values?

Perhaps because of the complete non-responsiveness of the critic to my questioning his thoughts on the study published in JADA regarding the fact that 80% of academic endodontists receive industrial payments, I have been attempting to get better educated on the impact of corporate influence in education. Reading articles discussing this subject, one finds points of view that are supportive and condemning with various stances between these two positions. Those supporting corporate influence generally emphasize educational programs that would not exist without their help as well as the chances of greater innovation when the creative talents of industry and academia are combined. Those opposing their influence, note that such involvement often turns scientific insights into proprietary information that is prohibited from being shared with those in academia that are not tied contractually to the corporations sponsoring the research, something the school administrations are comfortable with because those contractual relationships generally include potential profits for the universities if the innovations lead to commercial success.

The perspective I am most concerned about is the impact of corporate influence on the democratic values that our political system is supposedly based on. So, perhaps a good place to evaluate that impact is to become a bit more acquainted with what those democratic values are. I looked them up and they include:

"Core democratic values are the fundamental beliefs and Constitutional principles of American society, which unite all Americans. These values are expressed in the

Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and other significant documents, speeches and writings of the nation.

Life: Each citizen has the right to the protection of his or her life.

Liberty: Liberty includes the freedom to believe what you want, freedom to choose

your own friends, and to have your own ideas and opinions, to express your ideas in public, the right for people to meet in groups, the right to have any lawful job or

business.

Pursuit of Happiness: Each citizen can find happiness in his or her own way, so long as he or she does not step on the rights of others.

Justice: All people should be treated fairly in getting advantages and disadvantages of our country. No group or person should be favored.

Common Good: Citizens should work together for the good of all. The government

should make laws that are good for everyone.

Equality: Everyone should get the same treatment regardless of where their parents or grandparents were born, their race, their religion or how much money they have. Citizens all have political, social and economic equality.

Truth: The government and citizens should not lie.

Diversity: Differences in language, dress, food, where parents or grandparents were born, race and religion are not only allowed but accepted as important.

Popular Sovereignty: The power of the government comes from the people.

Patriotism: This means having a devotion to our country and the core democratic

values in what we say and what we do.

Source: Civitas: A Framework for Civic Education, a collaborative project of the

Center for Civic Education and the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship,

National Council for the Social Studies Bulletin No. 86, 1991."

Now, we are not born knowing these principles. We have to be educated to accept and appreciate what they mean and then live in a society that reinforces their implementation. Note that none of these principles are tied to the economic system we live under. They are values independent of commercial influences and are the bedrock of a system that when operated as stated affords all citizens an equal playing field that affords the best opportunities of a fulfilling life. So important are these principles that educating the people about them is a priority for their maintenance and extension so they become an increasing reality in practice.

The definition of liberty caught my attention. “ Liberty includes the freedom to believe what you want, freedom to choose your own friends, and to have your own ideas and opinions, to express your ideas in public, the right for people to meet in groups, the right to have any lawful job or business.” The right to have your own ideas and opinions must also include the right to access the complete range of data that exists. As I have stated in previous posts, that is certainly not the case when it comes to students learning an endodontic instrumentation system where the system imposed upon them is dictated by school administrators that in turn made their decision on what systems to teach based on what corporations are most generous in their financial incentives. Advocates of this approach might say that what is imposed is simply a practical application, that the students must learn at least one system and it is strictly common sense for the universities to choose among the comparable systems the one that comes with the most financial rewards.

That response, however, does not take into consideration the fact that not only is a specific system chosen based on the most generous corporate sponsorship, but also includes the prohibition of the students being exposed to any information regarding alternative systems on school grounds. While the choosing of a system can be defended on practical terms, the prevention of alternative information being dispersed more accurately reflects the true intent of corporate sponsorship that would not exist without the cooperation of school administrations. These exclusive corporate/academic relationships betray our democratic values with the clear understanding that they are being betrayed for commercial interests. We should be clearly cognizant of the fact that the democratic values that are an attempt to form a more perfect society are undermined in this instance by the imposition of commercial values and those deciding which values are most important are favoring the commercial ones.

Once we see one example of the influence of corporation sponsorship undermining democratic values, it is not difficult to see their further impact. With 80% of academic endodontists receiving industrial payments with the greatest payments going to those considered known opinion leaders, it becomes mandatory to question in far more detail those who do the research and write the papers we use as sources of information in making well-informed decisions. I am not going off into unrealistic conspiracy theories. It is a well-established fact that in the pharmaceutical industry papers have been written by authors claiming no conflict of interests to be the recipients of financial rewards stemming from the products they are touting in their papers. In the quest for profits, the larger the corporations the greater their potential to rig the marketplace to their own advantages. It is simply the nature of the beast and with the help of the universities who have adopted the same corporate goals of maximizing profits they work together to mutually expand those profits at the expense of the democratic values that were traditionally taught in institutions of higher learning.

In today’s job marketplace, it is understandable why students often encumbered with debt must take courses that increase their chances of employment. But, it should not be a zero sum game. Yes, learn a skill that the corporations need so you can be employed, but not at the expense of eliminating those courses that teach democratic values that keep us centered as moral human beings. The corporations are happiest when those sources of educating democratic values are eliminated. It makes for a more docile work force, one more comfortable in tolerating an authoritarian environment because the democratic values have either been stifled or poorly imparted to the populace.

What about the common good? Citizens should work together for the good of all. The government should make laws that are good for everyone. Do any, but the most financially elite believe that is the case today? We live in an age of income inequality that is greater than at any time in our history. How is it possible to have justice when the legislation that that is generated in congress reflects the interests of those most able to fund the election of representatives in both the House of Representatives and the Senate? Going back to academia, once commercial interests take center stage, information is no longer shared. It becomes proprietary to be dispersed to those working to increase the profits of the sponsoring corporations. The concept of the public good becomes unrealistic and in such an environment no longer exists.

With the power of corporations and morbidly wealthy individuals to direct huge financial sums to create the laws that are most favorable to this small elite, equality, truth and patriotism go out the window. People have an inherent sense of what is fair and what is not. With legislation that reflects the desires of the ultra wealthy equality no longer exists. Truth goes out the window because it is not viable for a politician dependent upon the wealthy for reelection to tell the truth. Rather, all sorts of rationalizations are used to justify legislative decisions as well as obscuring as much as possible the voting that favors the wealthy at the expense of the general population. With all that, we can have a greater understanding why patriotism is not the given it was in the past. There is a correlation between patriotism and the faith citizens have in the integrity of their institutions. Today, there is little faith in our democratic institutions and it is reflected in a fragmented society subject to all sorts of methods to further divide us, a process that would not be nearly as successful if those making the rules placed greater emphasis on the democratic values that are the most important factors in keeping us united.

So, just as I have gotten a greater appreciation of what is lost when democratic values are sacrificed on the altar of commercial interests and all judgements are based on the success or failure in the marketplace, we reap the whirlwind resulting from our lost belief in the democratic values that are our best route to a just and far more stable society.

Regards, Barry