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Bacon’s
Rebellion
commenced publication five years ago – on July 22,
2002, to be exact -- as an electronic newsletter, or
e-zine, billing itself as the “op-ed page for
Virginia’s new economy.” About two-and-a-half
years ago, we added a blog, which allowed e-zine
columnists to comment daily on unfolding events.
Soon thereafter, supported by a
Piedmont Environmental Council sponsorship, we launched the Road
for Ruin initiative, which allowed us to create
original journalistic content on the topics of
transportation, land use, energy and the
environment.
Our
mission has been to create a forum for thinking creatively
about Virginia’s critical issues. In my own
columns, I have tried to probe beneath the
conventional wisdom: Republicans vs. Democrats,
liberals vs. conservatives. While I tend to the
conservative, Republican end of the spectrum on
national and foreign policy issues, I have argued
that the traditional polarities are useless in
understanding the major issues facing Virginia at
the level of state and local government.
In
the early days of Bacon’s Rebellion, I
examined issues primarily through the prism of
economic competitiveness. How can Virginia maintain
its prosperity in a globally competitive,
knowledge-based economy? The broad answer: by
building a culture of productivity and innovation.
Over time, I expanded the scope of my questions: How
can Virginia maintain its prosperity and quality of
life in an era characterized by rising energy costs
and severe environmental constraints? The broad
answer: by re-thinking the pattern and density of
land use and the energy intensity of our economy.
Over
the years, I have written about economic
development, the state budget, transportation
policy, education, urban design and energy
restructuring. It may not be apparent to readers,
but there is an underlying and interconnecting logic
to the positions I have staked out on these topics.
I have endeavored to apply throughout my writing a consistent set of
principles, which I set to words in the outline of a
book I provisionally entitled, “Economy 4.0.”
Although I long ago concluded
I would never have the time to complete the book,
the principles I identified have continued to guide
my thinking.
I
had never given much thought to publish any version
of the “Economy 4.0” online until a particularly
animated dialogue took place on the Bacon’s
Rebellion blog last month. Surveying the
politics that guided the Comprehensive
Transportation Funding and Reform Act of 2007 –
the financing portions of which I considered an
abomination – I had concluded that no meaningful
principles divided Virginia Republicans and
Democrats on issues of governance. The only
important differences between the political parties
were the particular constituencies they favored with
their ill-considered schemes for redistributing the
wealth extracted from taxpayers.
A
regular participant in the blog who goes by the
pseudonym of Groveton responded enthusiastically
that the time had come to create an independent
party in Virginia. Groveton, a senior Northern
Virginia technology executive, offered $25,000 of
his own money to fund a start-up if others would
match it by the same amount and if I committed a
significant amount of time to the project. While I
agreed that disenchantment with the two incumbent
parties was endemic, the history of independent
parties in the United States was none too
encouraging. The effort would be worthwhile, I
suggested, only if someone could articulate a core
set of principles that appealed to a demographic
constituency broad enough to potentially win a
majority of votes. I had no interest in devoting my
energies to creating a marginal party like the
Libertarians or Greens. The effort would be
worthwhile only if there were an opportunity to
spark a fundamental realignment comparable to the
origins of the Republican Party in the 1850s.
Otherwise, it made sense to work within the existing
two-party system.
Then
it hit me: I had already outlined a set of
internally consistent principles for thinking about
Virginia’s future. The principles were forward
looking: how to build more prosperous and livable
communities in a globally competitive and
environmentally constrained world. For the most
part, the ideas in “Economy 4.0” were
mainstream. The strategies were based upon fiscal
conservatism and environmental sustainability. They
emphasized marketplace solutions to
problems over bureaucratic, command-and-control
solutions. They prioritized the creation of wealth
and economic opportunity for all segments of society
over the redistribution of wealth and the
cultivation of grievances by minorities and special
interests.
The principles
avoided hot-button,
culture-war issues. Like many, perhaps most, Virginians, I
personally respect traditional values while acknowledging the
need to accommodate evolutionary change in cultural norms. If
Democrats and Republicans want to embrace the cause
of the culture warriors on the left and right, then
let them go right ahead. The rest of us just want to
muddle through life as best we can.
Thus
was born the new “Economy 4.0,” as a 10-part
series in Bacon's Rebellion. This series does not
issue a clarion call for a new political
party, however. Rather, it provides a framework for
analyzing the challenges facing Virginia in the
early 21st century. It provides a systematic way of
looking at the crucial issues and appreciating how
they are interconnected.
If
“Economy 4.0” provides the philosophical
underpinnings for a new, broad-based political
party, then that would be wonderful. But it is
important, even in this age of technological
marvels, to put the proverbial horse before the
cart. First, we must articulate a cohesive set of
ideals, principles, goals and solutions. Only then
does it make sense to organize a political party
around them.
In
future editions, I will adapt the outline for
“Economy 4.0” into columns for the Bacon’s
Rebellion e-zine. Then I will post them on the Bacon’s
Rebellion blog for commentary and feedback. I
encourage the widest possible participation.
First,
do you, as a Bacon’s Rebellion reader, find that
the principles and priorities make sense? And,
second, if you do, do you think they could form the basis
for a third political party? Or should we work
within the current, two-party system to implement
them?
--
Sept. 4, 2007
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