My favorite documentarian (Adam Curtis) has spent ages discussing the systemic erosion of social contracts. Through neoliberalism introduced by Thatcher/Reagan & institutionalized by Clinton/Blair and beyond, social contracts are rarely seen in modern America anymore.
The last social contract that had any kind of influence on society was the before and after school breakfast and childcare movements forged by the Black Panthers.
Impoverished people of color recognized the necessity of “It takes a village” and spearheaded these programs which comes out of the “when we all do better we all do better” foundational theory of a social contract.
This became an embarrassment to the state who then took this movement and created the food stamp program which we all know today. The social contract unfortunately was co-opted and through aggressive fascist action by the state (FBI bombed their headquarters & murdered their leader), killed before it could make a real solid hold in the public‘s consciousness.
Social contracts have since been eradicated through the algorithms in the addiction / entrapment scenarios of social media, the heavily popularized “live and let live” individualism that defines American ideology and can only be seen in impoverished areas of the world where there has been no choice but to put aside individualism and selfish desires in order to better the community as a whole.
We experimented in the concept of a social contract. We didn’t get paid. We had very little help. We had a modicum of success.
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Touche. Solid arguments. Keep up the good effort.