Editing Social Enlightenment Thought (section)

== Economic Theory ==
1. America's present economic condition is proving to be inadequate to the demands of the working-class.
*1a. The extent of this could be debatable (especially relative to conditions internationally), but regardless of the occasionally exaggerated reports, there remains cause for actionable concern at the ''bare'' minimum.
*1b. To this point, one need only look around, at the system neglecting unprofitable societal needs, remaining hands-off while the working class struggles to keep up with rising costs (stagnant wages vs inflation rate, straining total purchasing power), failing to reward labor proportionately, enabling an uncompetitive snowball effect that perpetuates inequity (''beyond'' personal responsibility), failing to uphold meritocracy and equal opportunity, all while basic livability is existentially threatened by externalities (family, medical, transportation, maintenance costs, etc.) and those "fallen in the cracks" are without any realistic pathway to security (in spite of the "bootstrap" sentiment), I could go on.
*1c. It is, of course, nearly impossible to eliminate all these negative potentialities completely, but there is a demand for at least a more adequate attempt (if any are made at all).
2. Caring sincerely about rectifying any of these failures requires realism in praxis, otherwise having such a value is functionally meaningless.<br>
3. In America, revolutionary Marxist leftism remains the antithesis of realism.
*3a. In fact, it's a complete non-starter, predestined to fail on the basis of being a fundamentally counter-liberal philosophy in a fundamentally liberal society. In reality, the overwhelming majority of the government and total population would just snuff out any attempt at a complete structural overhaul, whether it's attempted via violent insurrection or the democratic process.
*3b. Furthermore, the cost-benefit ratio of any such overhaul is debatable to begin with, as the market system itself, while deserving of criticism for its apparent challenges, is also not without its objective advantages (i.e. economic growth, market stability, risk-allocation, etc.). It should be criticized only for the right reasons, and addressed with only with the right solutions, or otherwise cause economic conditions to fall even further. (This becomes only increasingly true in modern civilization, where our economic condition at its scale is increasingly reliant on the system it's built from.)
*3c. There must also be an understanding that providers, workers, and consumers are roles in which every change in one affects the others. This creates the need for a healthy equilibrium, which not only comes from avoiding negative market distortion, but also correcting the imbalances that result from an unfettered market (if exercising wisdom, leaving only positive distortion remaining).
4. In contrast to colloquial "radicalism", ''classical'' liberal radicalism and its related movements (i.e. welfarist, Georgist, Ricardian/liberal socialist/cooperative, labour movements, etc.) remain natural extensions of the principles that America was founded on (despite branching into more counter-Western forms). In other words, the drive towards equity is ''entrenched'' in American values, in spite of being led to believe the contrary, and that drive still remains to address a demand that is only increasing.