The Founding Tension We Never Resolved
There is a contradiction at the heart of the American project that we have never fully faced.
On the one hand, we claim that all people possess inherent dignity—that worth is not something you earn, but something you are born with. On the other hand, we built our economic system around a very different assumption: that dignity must be proven through productivity, discipline, and success in the market.
Balancing Capitalism and Democracy has created benefits for us as a Nation, but the tension between the two can only stand so much inequality before something breaks.
Productivity Is a Story We Tell to Keep the Pyramid Standing
If we measured productivity from a human baseline starting with:
bodily limits
caregiving requirements
time to recover
the need for meaning and safety,
many of our “efficient” systems would look wildly irrational.
I Would Still Work Full-Time
I love my kids deeply. I enjoy being with them. I care about their emotional lives, their safety, their development, and their sense of being wanted in the world. None of that is in question.
And also: if I were paid a wage that could reliably cover childcare, and if I could spend my working hours doing work that used the skills I’ve spent decades developing, I would not hesitate to put them in after-school care, classes, camps, or with trusted help.
Millennials and the Managed Collapse of Work
Prepared for Excellence, Priced Out of Survival