Values and Value

David Simon is an ex-reporter who has created a TV show called "The Wire." There's an article about him in Jan/Feb Atlantic.

Simon says something in the course of the long article that I have been discussing with close friends for quite some time now. He says that his show is about “the very simple idea that, in this postmodern world of ours, human beings--all of us--are worth less. We’re worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It’s the triumph of capitalism. Whether you’re a corner boy in West Baltimore, or a cop who knows his beat, or an Eastern European brought here for sex, your life is worth less. It’s the triumph of capitalism over human value. This country has embraced the idea that this is a viable domestic policy. It is. It’s viable for the few. But I don’t live in Westwood, L.A., or on the Upper West Side of New York. I live in Baltimore.”

I haven't previously used the "human beings are worth less" language, but I have repeatedly said in recent political discussions that one of the fundamental causes of America's very serious problems here in the 21st century is "too much capitalism." I was gratified to see a quote--from somebody that's not me--that supports this idea.

I definitely think that all the patriotic noise about how great America is comes from people who are looking back to a time and place that simply isn't here and/or true anymore, and that today's America most definitely represents, as Simon so succiently puts it, "the triumph of capitalism over human value."