The Veil of Ignorance When Thinking About Justice in a Just Society

 What is the concept of justice and a just society? I suppose it is different for different people and you are going to get perspectives across the board. Some would say justice is that which benefits themselves the most and some would say that justice is that which seeks to benefit society. Because of that difference in perspective some will use justice for themselves and some will use justice for others. 

However, that isn't the truest of the story. There are differences between justice and justice systems. One is the pure philosophical form and the other is the pale carbon copy with much of the self interest embedded within. The legal form will always be behind the pure form as an ideal.

Society in the general sense wants justice and creates institutions to be the providers of such justice. However, when some/many within those systems are working for self interest, or perhaps those who have access to influence the system think of justice in their self interest we have misalignment. 

Despite this divergence there are in some societies/local systems few ways to correct such systems because they have become closed loops. In turn a growing percentage of society becomes locked out from broad based opportunities and full use of such systems for a greater good. 

Even those who support its greater and broader purpose can become quickly silenced and targeted for their beliefs about the benefits of justice. Failure to support our professed values of liberty and justice for all creates a slope of trust decline. Its a misalignment that could be corrected if we believed in those greater purposes.

For example, if we float to some mythical third world nation and find that rogue elements are using the justice system to further extremist views and help enrich their friend networks then that would be a moral break in the spirit of justice (hypothetical example.). Yet, they will eventually lose.

What is your blueprint for a just society? Depends on who you ask.

P.S. if you are asking me if I think justice will prevail? Yes, but it will take some self-reflection of those who make the decisions over such things. In the long run there are no other options as society will seek to create pressure to correct. Game Theory and Selfish Lose. Its just a thought experiment.

Government Shutdowns and Risks of Not Finding a Shared Budget Path

Typically it is much better to get things done then to risk unknowns such as shutdowns. While the projections are that a shutdown would not be overly destructive I think its a gamble. While unknowns can sometimes bring good things they also present a risk. Few know for sure what will actually happen.

The wisest way is for people to truly understand the need to reduce the deficit and then taking those actions that are reasonable to find the balance. Its about moving in the right direction and not necessarily screeching everything to a halt. 

Because of a contentious political environment, a shut down presents bigger unknowns beyond temporarily closing a few offices and services. Choke the gas too much and you might be able to restart the system as easily as one would have thought.  

Cost of Government Shutdown

General Mark Milley Retiring: He should stick around and share his knowledge.

There are few people out there that have particular character and the ability to navigate hard situations. The military is a great place to grow talent. It creates good people and gives people a greater purpose. I think he did a lot for the country and the institution and hopefully his knowledge and lessons won't be lost to the next generation of military-civilian leaders. We should learn from such skill sets and put that knowledge to good use.

The military was always a great place to develop talent and ability. Its one of its finest attributes and has a great purpose in society. Personally, I think the military is prime spot for growth for our young who are motivated and want pathways to success. It provides opportunities that would not have been there otherwise. Most of the military people I have met in my life were good and noble characters. 

If your interested in joining I'm sure there is room for interested young men and women.

 

Groups that Encourage Hate Among Other Groups (Language and Content Analysis)

Language can mean a lot and it can impact and influence group behavior. Whether we are discussing large groups or small groups they are going to have certain roles, norms and beliefs (Not to mention behavioral markers) Core groups will have deeply held values and they will encourage other to adapt those values. It makes no difference if your talking about good values or you are talking about poor values. When it comes to hate and those in official positions it creates problems. 

Consider Content Analysis

When we listen to the language of certain groups we come to find specific themes and behaviors that go along with those language choices. Language sets expectations on how to view others through improper anchoring (i.e. all Blacks are this way, all Muslims are this way, all Jews are that way, all White people are that way, etc.). As one analyzes, formally or informally, language use you can typically start to see how social association impacts the type of language and the expectations of such language. 

Move closer to the group and hate narrative and hate based behaviors rise in frequency and depth. Move away and hate narrative and hate based behaviors become weaker. It gives you a general direction of who is professing these corrupted and dangerous beliefs that put at risk others (Not to mention the key actors in influencing poor behaviors.). The same can be said on getting closer and increased incidents of violence, moving away and less violence.

Let us consider that you are dealing with an embedded hate group. They are spreading hate language to other people within their official and unofficial networks. For example, when we talk about rights of Americans they might roll their eyes. When you talk about rights of minority Americans they actively discount such rights and the people i.e. the dehumanization process that often leads to criminal violence, targeting, and other illegal behaviors. 

This could become particularly a big problem if other groups are taking clues from a central group and in turn making decisions based on an intentionally set hate narrative already mixed within a culture of corruption. Those who are on the receiving end of that hate become increasingly aware of how people view others and how they set expectations for others to violate these rights. If your not on the receiving end you probably don't care (i.e. lack of empathy as a sign of poor leadership skills and ideological emptiness).

The same process can be said for any type of group but in hate groups the narrative and chasing back the narrative to the core group of authority figures/influencers within that network becomes problematic. Even more so if there are not checks and balances on that behavior and misuse of authority. Accountability or justice becomes more difficult in systems that accept hate as an acceptable norm and normal course of action. 

The lesson here is that when people hate and profess inappropriate values in positions of authority we should consider stripping them of that authority. That becomes doubly so if they have been known to stalk, put people in harms way, and commit violations of the law. To fail to do that means we have come complacent in those values and/or agree with them in some way. You can see that in some division among people that has been artificially created by self-interested others.

Failure to remove or punish such behavior is a sign of bigger problems not only for American minorities but also for the institution itself. i.e. lack of accountability. This is also why minorities have almost no protection against behaviors that would have likely landed people in prison in other places. As societal demographics change the perceived "icky" people want more accountability and fairness. That could also mean that everything this group does has likely been tainted and falsified. Its a bigger problem then just a few rogue elements that broke trust and sold out their American values.

If you are confused by what those values should be see Pledge of Allegiance. Please feel free to file a report on those who are not following that pledge.

Lets turn the page.....

Unemployment by State: Maximizing Human Capital and Heterogeneous Skills for National Growth

Source: Axios-Neil Irwin

One measure of the economy is the unemployment rate. The goal of government is to keep as many people employed as possible. The other aspect of that is to put people in the most advantageous higher wage earning jobs that increase GDP output. If you have limited resources, i.e. older system of worker headcount, then you will want to expand that through maximize productivity and creativity. 

Consider that each job has value and that in turn can be maximized through education, training, creativity, innovation and technology. Thus, greater focus on maximizing that for long term human capital development and crime reduction is helpful. 

I came across a two articles. One by Axios that has some helpful information and the second article is by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Where the job market is growing and shrinking in the U.S. and Local Area Unemployment Rates.

Michigan isn't doing too bad, you may want to check out your own state. Keeping the unemployment low is beneficial.. We want a little greasing for job mobility but there are lots of people who silently quit the market and are not reflected in the numbers at all. We want them to be engaged and contributory to our society. Anything that detracts from that is likely to cause some issues somewhere else in the economy. These are the soft confounding variables and secondary influences.

This study below also discusses the relationship between unemployment and heterogeneous skills. Its not perfect 1 to 1 but it appears to be statistically significant.  We want to make sure that diversity in skills and people are strong and that it encourages the highest amount of engagement from the broadest sectors of society. They call this broad based human capital development. I like to call it America's Renaissance as technology, science, and human develop match with infrastructure, manufacturing/business (of many types large and small) and drawing back investment in a way that is helpful to society and long term growth. Human capital heterogeneity of the unemployed and jobless recoveries

Why Institutional Integrity and Institutional Trust Are Important?

For those of you who know me, I have been a big supporter of integrity in our systems and have done my part in supporting that. Not all people believe the same way and while they should know better there is too much vested interest in the status que and/or one's own self interest. So change comes from aligning our beliefs and actions toward that which helps society and away from that which helps certain groups or people. 

Appropriate checks and balances can help but its the ability for each person to see their behavior in context of the greater good that makes a difference. Institutions must also have checks and balances to ensure that integrity. It is a choice many of us have to face and let me say that those who take the high road do not have an easy path. There is often not enough support or feedback loops to ensure the greater good takes precedence. 

However, for those of us who desire good things for our communities and our country don't loose faith. Slowly but surely people are beginning to realize that meaningful change is becoming ever more important to our nation's future. As with all things, there will be those who agree and those who don't really care (I guess there are also those who double down on corruption.). Yet that is precisely what makes one a good citizen and another a bad citizen. 

This is why I support protections for whistleblowers, those who stand against corruption, and those who have a higher moral conscious (Its that dirty word again!) Let me also add that personally I think anyone who is aware of corruption and fails to act on it when it is their duty to do so is culpable; at least theoretically.

You may be interested in a study on the personality of those who are more likely to engage in corruption. Does the Dark Triad of Personality Predict Corrupt Intention? The Mediating Role of Belief in Good Luck

Cat-Man-Dos Hosts Classic Cars for Biker

Escanaba brought in some cool old cars near Cat Man Dos. They blocked off Ludington Street and auctioned off some stuff, from what I was told, for a biker who was injured. I was down at my favorite two clubs Eagles and Elks so I missed part of the event. From what I heard from an inside sources lots of bikers come up and visit regularly and vacation in the area. This past year we were up based on people who want out of the way places. Something unique!