Wednesday June 23, 2004 at  3:46 PM

Reagan: A Turn for the Worse

Appearing in  Truth & Justice

Although I’m a bit behind the curve on this one, with the body of former president Ronald Reagan now entombed in a quiet hillside in Simi Valley and flags still flying at half-mast, it seems a relevant but respectful distance from which to reflect on the legacy of the man Republicans hold forth as the King of All Things Conservative.

In the days immediately following his death, supporters of Reagan were quick to credit him with everything from the fall of Communism to the economic boom of the nineties. Historians, colleagues, politicians and friends all paraded across our televisions reflecting on his optimism and essential goodness. Reagan they said, was a “good man”.

Somehow though, such characterization don’t quite square with the policies and actions of a man who directly and indirectly contributed to the death of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people. As represented by his complete ignorance of AIDS, his apathy towards the world’s poor, his indifference to the economic plight of the nation’s working class, or his belligerent military operations around the globe, Reagan’s policies hardly stand as the great symbol of moral action or compassionate behavior that many self-righteous Conservatives would have us believe.

Rather, Reagan’s policies, attitudes, and philosophy clearly point to a man that valued Capitalism over Democracy, economics over people. When he declared that “Government isn’t the solution. Government is the problem.” Reagan announced to us all that he believed that the institution of government, and the principles of democracy and equality on which it rested, was fundamentally incapable of serving our needs. And in its place, he put forth Capitalism as the guiding institution of our society.

In describing the Cold War in zero-sum terms — “It’s simple. We win, they lose.” — he left as ambiguous the “we” and the “them”. Perhaps he meant it politically, Democracy versus totalitarianism, but it’s just as likely that he meant it economically, Capitalism versus Communism.

While supporters will continue to claim that Reagan’s lasting legacy was the fall of Communism — it would have fallen anyway — and opponents will continue to highlight the failings of his economic and social policies — many of which were later reversed or repaired by subsequent Administrations — Reagan’s true legacy, the one that still haunts us today, is the degree to which he moved the country away from the values of Democracy and towards the values of Capitalism.

By the end of the Reagan Presidency vast numbers of people had come to believe that not only was government the problem but that free-market Capitalism was the solution. And that shift in attitude directly led to a nation where open debate, productive compromise, and equal opportunity has been replaced by the brutality of markets, the insecurity of workers, and the spiritual vacuum of consumerism.

Certainly no friend of civil rights, the working poor, or the environment, Reagan’s much celebrated optimism was emblematic of his belief that he would always win personally and that we would always win as a nation. His was the optimism of a competitor and as such, stands in stark contrast to that of humanitarians like Martin Luther King, Gandhi, or even Ray Charles.

Through his policies, attitudes, and actions, Reagan demonstrated his belief in the benevolence of markets and the forces of Capitalism. Forces that are as often as not, in direct opposition to the underpinnings of Democracy including a faith in the fundamental goodness of man and respect for the connectedness of the planet.

Whether you see him as a cause or an effect, the unquestioning faith in the power of Capitalism that took root during the Reagan Presidency has not only left us with a society increasingly driven by consumerism and greed but also a citizenry largely disenfranchised from its government.

Ronald Reagan represents many things to many people. But to me, he will always stand as an unfortunate turning point in the values and virtues of Our Great Democracy.

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