Laboratories of Reform

The Crimson hasn't published the editorial that is dearest to my heart yet. But the ball has been moving forward on multicultural theater regardless. I have many updates to share later. In the meantime, it appears that the Harvard Political Review has finally updated its website.

I have to say, I'm four for four on being a featured article in either the Covers Section or the U.S. Section!! This is awesome, because I have no idea what the editors think of what I write before I submit. Apparently something is being done write (I typed write originally and decided not to change it.) I'm still not a staff writer though, because I refuse to get five of my friends to pay for something they can read online for free, so it's funny that they'd give me the honor of featured status...

In any case! This issue of the HPR I think is particularly interesting. You can read the editor's introduction here. I've attached the published article I wrote below.

Laboratories of Reform

Local governments are chipping away at national issues

BY JASON WONG

In 1932, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously mused that “a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” These days, however, cities have had to step into this experimental role in order to address issues that state and federal governments have left unaddressed. On issues such as the environment and healthcare, cities are taking advantage of their unique capabilities to create and experiment with progressive public policies.

A Green City
When cities perceive federal environmental regulation to be lacking, mayors may seek to address green issues at the local level. In an interview with the HPR, Chicago environment commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna explained, “The federal government certainly has not been pro-environmental. There are too many competing interests and the priorities do not seem to be where they need to be.” Reacting to the federal government’s inaction, Chicago has become but one example of environmental activism spearheaded by a local government.

When he took office in 1989, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley made environmental action a priority; he set out to make Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the country. Since then, the city has passed legislation to reduce carbon emissions, encourage low-sulfur diesel fuel in city vehicles, plant more than half a million trees, and develop almost four million square feet of green roofs. When asked how Chicago became so focused on the environment, Commissioner Malec-McKenna said, “There was an evolution of perspective for all of us… being environmentally friendly became a part of the city infrastructure.” Newly created city departments and public works have allowed Chicago to take advantage of its eco-friendly policies – such its ability to hasten construction permits for green projects – to truly become one of the nation’s greenest cities.

Healthcare by the Bay
On the issue of healthcare, progressive city governments are similarly taking the initiative. Despite federal deadlock concerning the state of healthcare in the United States, or perhaps because of this impasse, San Francisco decided earlier this year to phase in universal access to health care for all San Franciscans in city and county clinics. People, regardless of ability to pay, immigration status, or existing medical conditions have access to this affordable and preventative care.

As in Chicago, leaders in San Francisco felt that federal and state governments were neglecting a critical need in society. Dr. Dana Hughes, a professor of health policy and member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California, San Francisco, told the HPR that “for whatever reason, healthcare is not a priority in the country. San Francisco decided that it didn’t want to wait.” Zachary Tuller, legislative aide to San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, who sponsored the critical healthcare legislation, told the HPR, “The city pays a lot of money to treat people who have not received preventative care. There has been no help from the state and federal governments in any meaningful way to address the situation. We had to do that independently of the state and federal government.”

Support for the health care legislation, strongly advocated by Mayor Gavin Newsom, was overwhelming. “It passed with a unanimous vote of the board, which on controversial issues almost never happens,” said Tuller. This push for health care even seems to be catching on at the state level, according to Tuller, because “since the health program has come online, new programs from the state have been formed to defer some costs for innovative health care.”

On issues where state and federal policy has left gaps, local governments are increasingly assuming the role of “laboratories” to generate creative solutions. As Barry Matchett, co-legislative director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center, explained, “Cities are flexible. They’re smaller than states; they’re certainly smaller than the federal government, so they can do things that work for their localities, that work for their business communities, and that work for their citizens.” In the absence of progressive reform at higher levels, cities are likely to continue spearheading action on critical, but contentious, issues. When it comes to urgent problems like health care and the environment, many Americans seem unwilling to wait for national solutions.

Equal Opportunity Casting

This started when my friends, who know that I come from an arts school, constantly asked me why I'm not active with the arts here. I finally opened up to share with some of them my thoughts and they told me I wasn't crazy nor unreasonable (thank you for that), and inspired me to write an editorial which I hope to publish in the school newspaper, and share with the theater folks here. Then I found out that there have been many others who have also thought about this issue for a long time, and that I am not the first nor am I alone. I love theater with all my heart, and this is an issue dearly important to me. I wanted to share the most updated draft of this op-ed with you, and if you had any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,
Jason

1/13/08 Update: THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! for your support, ideas, criticisms, love, and corrections. I feel like each draft has truly become more meaningful and thoughtful than the last, and I hope you do too. Please feel free to continue sending me feedback, criticisms, ideas, etc. through either of my two email addresses: jjwong@fas.harvard.edu or jwong.ofcounsel@gmail.com or through the comments section.

1/13/08 Update: I was emailed this evening by the President of the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club!! She wants to meet and discuss the op-ed's concerns. I will continue to send updates, and I hope that one or two people will accompany me because honestly the changes proposed are definitely meant to embody diverse interests, not just my point of view. Keep sending suggestions and ideas, and I will do my best to present them! If you are available to meet, email me your cell phone number, so I can let you know of the time and place!! Thanks again! This is a really positive sign.

1/14/08 Update: We have continued our discussion and decided to initially meet alone regarding the editorial. However, it seems clear that from this we can initiate processes that will allow for everyone interested to voice their opinion and be involved in this issue. Please, continue sending contact information if you're interested. This is an amazing opportunity for some positive change. I hope you won't let it die out. I'll continue keeping you informed. Keep in touch!

1/15/08 Update: I met with the Prez today for three hours! It was fairly productive. We had quite the discussion over the root causes of underrepresentation, silly hobbits (just testing you!), HRDC responsibility, next steps, etc. Even though we had a few disagreements, we found many areas of common ground and my impression is that she is genuinely interested in seeing this issue through, and doing what she can in her role so that we may start taking some meaningful action and sooner or later start seeing some meaningful results. I'm actually really impressed with her concern and dedication for this issue. I honestly think this is the beginning of an opportunity for many members of the community to start actively participating in discussions and actions that increase minority representation on stage. I talked with Jimmy (the former president of AAA), and we are hoping on having a meeting of interested Asian Americans/Asians who are interested in this issue over intersession, around the 24th. We will talk begin to initiate talks with the board of AAA about this. If you're interested please email me! We'll keep you updated on the details. We'd also like to get in touch with BlackCAST, compania del teatro bilingue, etc. to start the ground work on coalition building and community representation. This is a really important time right now in community organizing, and in pro-actively working with the HRDC to commit to a more multicultural Harvard theater community. Definitely help if you can, either in submitting ideas over the email which we can represent, in showing up for meetings in person, in involving other affected groups, etc.!

Equal Opportunity Casting

Note: In this article I reference Oh Dad, Poor Dad and The Mikado as an example of a pattern of productions at Harvard. The mention is not intended to single out various plays, but instead to make a point in general about Harvard theater.

This past fall, the New College Theater celebrated its grand re-opening with an excellent production of the hilariously absurd play, Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. However, two very important things were missing: 1) the presence of minorities, and 2) awareness of this absence. Unfortunately, the audience and production staff were oblivious to this lack of minority representation.

That Harvard-affiliated and -subsidized productions should better represent the diversity of its student body is a no-brainer. That there is little movement toward this goal, and also a history of homogeneity in Harvard’s theater community, is a cause of concern for all of Harvard’s artists, activists, and students. Too few conceive of ethnic leads in major productions, and too few wonder why minorities are conspicuously absent from the main stage.

Minorities make up nearly half of the Harvard population. Yet minority actors, directors, producers, and techies are few and far between. When you go to watch Harvard productions, can you find more than a handful of active minority actors—apart from those who participate in productions that are inherently ethnic or are produced by ethnic organizations, such as BlackCAST or Bodas de Sangre? Certain ethnicities, particularly Asian and Middle Eastern ethnicities, are nearly absent in key Harvard productions. Where are these underrepresented minorities onstage in productions, or even on the HRDC board, or in the Office of the Arts?

No one goes to a theatrical production expecting that 21% of the cast should mirror the Asian student population proportionately; or that at Harvard a cast that is 40% minority is representative of the larger student population. At the same time, it is unfortunate that no one expects to go to a production to see ethnicities play roles in productions that were written in an era that Caucasians predominated.

No one can blame a producer, director, or casting director for looking at a quintessentially American role like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and visualizing a white actor. Even though Willy Loman’s character encompasses all people and ethnicities who struggle to achieve the American Dream, theatrical representations of this play predominantly utilize white actors. However, is there any reason Willy Loman cannot be played by an African-, Asian-, or Latino-American, or by a representative of one of the many other groups of people who also struggle with the American Dream?

There are none; because in fact the American Dream is inherently multicultural and involves people of different ethnicities. But no one at Harvard openly discusses this, and we’re used to reading and watching shows written by Miller, Kopit, et al. and imagining only white actors in these productions. People need to start imagining these plays and storylines encompassing a broader range of people and experiences, rather than limiting them to the monochromatic theatrical productions they are currently stuck in.

The problem is that no one is questioning why we have an obsession with white actors, especially in this day and age. Casts of various plays can be taken from the pre-Civil Rights era and planted on today’s stages and no one would even know the difference. For example, it is almost taken for granted that the major roles of Jonathan and Rosalie in Oh Dad, Poor Dad, will be cast white. Many people may believe that the plays worth producing are written for white actors, but this line of thought leaves little room for actors from other ethnicities to find roles that are not a stereotype of their ethnic appearance and/or are not minor roles. Furthermore, this line of thought does not explain why inherently Asian roles in productions such as The Mikado are played by white actors, even though the characters are supposedly Japanese.

For whatever reason, we almost seem to reject ethnic talent automatically, and we miss key opportunities to expose theater-going audiences to the modern multicultural experience.

Of course, the idea of “color-blind” casting is a controversial one in the larger theatrical world; many question whether or not ethnicities can be successfully merged with their white counterparts in theatrical productions. August Wilson argued that ethnic experiences are distinct and unique, and therefore could not be intermingled. His opposite, Robert Brustein, argued that they could when he stated that “theater works best as a unifying rather than a segregating medium.” At Harvard this discussion should be happening publicly, regardless of which side of the debate you are on. Activists on both sides should be promoting, and producing, theatrical performances that represent their beliefs with actors of all ethnicities. But they aren’t. If this discussion is taking place at all, it is not taking place in a public forum, much less in theatrical performances here. The theater scene still does not involve nearly the number of minorities that it should, whether in ethnic-oriented productions, or in “color-blind” productions.

Because of my experience in theater, I am a firm supporter of “color-blind” performances. The question ultimately arises: if we cast ethnic actors in major roles, will the quality of our productions be the same as they would without ethnic actors? No, these productions won’t have the same quality. Nor should they, because these productions will finally embrace and acknowledge the diversity of our society. Productions will evolve to become more inclusive, and more meaningful to a multicultural society than they would be if we maintained the status quo.

At my arts high school, productions are naturally nontraditionally cast. For example, it was determined in high school that an African American actor should play Dennis Shepard in The Laramie Project, the father of a gay student (Matthew Shepard) who was killed in a hate crime. He was cast because his performance and talents merited such an important role. He brought the entire audience to tears, every time. Audiences would not have had that chance to see him were the director to limit himself to the idea that Dennis Shepard should be a white character. Coincidentally, even though I am Chinese, I played a redneck farmer and a homophobic priest among other roles in that same play. The casts for all our performances were full of such examples. No one thought anything of the ethnicity of the actor who played the role, only that he or she played it well.

A few Freshman Urban Program colleagues pointed out to me in an email that we should recognize organizations such as BlackCAST, compania del teatro bilingue, and Student Theater Advancing Growth and Empowerment (STAGE) for attempting to encourage theater participation by people who have traditionally never had the opportunity to be involved. We should definitely recognize their Herculean efforts to diversify the talent pool not only at Harvard but in high schools all over the Boston area. But their efforts alone are not enough. We need to call for broader diversification in mainstream Harvard productions before the dream of multiculturalism can be truly said to have arrived.

In places where diversity has a history of being conspicuously absent, we need to determine whether or not we really do have monochromatic preferences, and then determine that we will not be limited by our predilections toward actors of one type. By this I mean we need to open up our minds, and stages, to the idea of ethnic leads in traditionally white roles. Other solutions include creating ethnically conscious productions, and using ethnicity in creative ways: Patrick Stewart famously reversed the colors in his production of Othello a few years ago in Washington D.C. We simply must not just sit around, do nothing and allow the current state of affairs to persist.

Isn’t theater, after all, supposed to challenge society, the human condition, and traditionally held beliefs through art?

At some point, one wonders when the status quo will ever change to better represent our increasingly diverse society. It won’t change until we consciously will ourselves to confront this issue, today. If we wait, more decades might pass before we recognize that this may be a racial and equal opportunity issue. We cannot wait for a better time than now to challenge ourselves to consider imagining an African American, or an Asian, or a Latino, in major American roles such as Willy, or Rosalie, or Jonathan. Only when we, as actors, directors, casting directors, critics, producers and audience members, open up to the idea of such a possibility will ethnic actors truly be given an equal chance to perform in those roles.

Many of us, of all colors and stripes, are waiting for that day to come.

Jason Wong, a sophomore in Quincy House, played Jonathan in “Oh Dad, Poor Dad” in high school and graduated with honors from the Drama Department at San Francisco School of the Arts. He is also a California State Arts Scholar in the Dramatic Arts.

SOTA Graduation Speech

I just dug this up from my computer. Here it is for posterity.

This is a very special school. If there is one thing that I really appreciate about School of the Arts, it has been being challenged every day about what it means to be human, living in this world, seeing things through the eyes of an artist.

None of our heroes, political or artistic, professional or comedic, started out as titans. Just like us, they are mortal, human, emotional creatures. And we are more than flesh and bone. We are more than busy ants surviving in a colony, because we do more than survive. We create: we live in a world filled with life, and art, and vitality. Every day, we face obstacles, and yet it is those very obstacles that shape us. They challenge us to be bigger than we are, they challenge us to utilize every tool we've got. They make life interesting, and in overcoming them, we become titans.

I think that we are caterpillars chasing a dream. How can a caterpillar chase a dream? They are slow, and fat, and vulnerable. But they are also more than that. Inevitably, after a long and arduous journey, they will blossom into butterflies. SOTA 2006, we are those blossoming butterflies. We are passionately chasing a dream, and today is the fulfillment of one more chapter of that real-life dream.

In Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", the protagonist is a salesman who chases the American dream of acquiring wealth and fame. Like Willy Loman, our dreams are subject to the harsh conditions of reality. Sometimes these obstacles can get the better of us: in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's quest consumes him, and the ultimate tragic solution was for him to collect on his life insurance, and he passes away in a car crash. Willy Loman chased the wrong dream. Just like in the play, our quests can consume us—if we are not careful about what we wish to attain and how we go about attaining it.

The great thing about being an artist, and receiving a liberal arts education, is that we are better equipped with the tools necessary to handle the temporary tragedies that befall us, pick ourselves up, and yet still reach for our goals. We are prepared through our study of works of art just like Death of a Salesman, to analyze our human flaws. To create art, we have to.

In essence, our works, our songs, our dances, our plays, our art, are our rehearsals for the real performance of our lives. As actors, we may be portraying fictional characters, but the obstacles and stories behind them can be very real, allowing for our tears and our joys and our emotions to be just as real. This experience isn’t something that can be commonly taught or embraced at any other place, except SOTA.

Here at this school, we have learned to go beyond ourselves; we have overcome obstacles in our paths, we have faced our challenges, and here we are. We carry in our hearts and souls the potential to become titans.

Thank you.

Abby and Matt Young

Update: The Park School, the high school that Matt attended, released an issue of their school newspaper The Postscript the other day that covers these events in great detail. Here's a link:
http://academics.parkschool.net/upper/postscript/special%20issue.pdf

Tomorrow morning I start heading down to Baltimore for the services on Saturday. I have no idea what to expect. A lot of people will be there, as well a lot of family. I'll be there from Thursday evening to Monday morning.

Abigail Young, Matthew Young

Matt, 16, remembered as 'a real standout'; 11-year-old Abby 'made you feel happy.'

Undated photo of Matthew and Abigail Young. (Picture courtesy of the Young family / December 11, 2007)

By Jacques Kelly and Frederick N. Rasmussen | Sun reporters

December 12, 2007

His teachers recalled Matthew Sam Young for his wry sense of humor, his ability to master the cello and cross-country running, but most of all for his intelligence and ability to write. Mary Abigail Young was known for making her own way as the youngest of four children, full of confidence and with a knack for making those around her happy.

Services for the brother and sister, whose lives were claimed by a fire at their Roland Park home, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church, 4200 St. Paul St.

Matthew, who was 16, died Saturday at Sinai Hospital. Mary Abigail, who was 11, died Thursday, the day of the fire, at the same hospital. Their father, Stephen A. Young, a deputy copy desk chief at The Sun, was seriously injured as he attempted to rescue his children. He remained hospitalized in fair condition yesterday.

Matthew and Mary Abigail - known to all as Abby - were born in Baltimore and lived on Abell Avenue in Charles Village and in Guilford before moving to Ridgewood Road in Roland Park.

Matthew excelled academically, first at the Calvert School, where he graduated in 2006, and then at the Park School, where he was in the 10th grade.

"Matt was a real standout in everything he did - academics, athletics and drama. He was a nice kid, not in any way arrogant, and very humble," said Andy Martire, Calvert School headmaster. "When he won an eighth-grade writing contest, he gave a presentation to the board of trustees and donated the winnings to a fund at Calvert for a boy who had died in 2003."

Mike Shawen, who has been on the Calvert faculty for 27 years, taught Matthew history in sixth and eighth grade. "He was an exemplary student and one of the top two that I've ever taught," Mr. Shawen said. "He had an incredible maturity."

Matthew had studied the cello for 10 years and most recently was performing with the Greater Baltimore Youth Concert Strings.

"He had a real sense of musicality to him," said Andrew Shaud, his cello teacher. "One day, we were doing a jazzy piece, and he was one of the few who really understood it."

At a concert Sunday at the McManus Theatre at Calvert Hall College High School, about 150 students wore white ribbons in Matthew's memory. A bouquet of white roses was left on the chair where he would have played.

John Kessinger, a Park School history teacher who was Matthew's adviser, remembered Matthew for more than the straight A's. "He was nurturing of his classmates and worked well with the other kids. He was always understated and quiet, but because of his varying interests, he plugged into all the different groups at the school."

Since 2004, Matthew had attended Echo Hill Camp in Worton, and last summer had been selected to be a counselor-in-training. "His leadership skills were very mature and responsible, and he would have been a great counselor," said Peter P. Rice Jr., camp director.

Matthew also played lacrosse and, at the urging of his classmates, joined the school's cross-country team this fall. His coaches soon began discussing him as a "keeper in terms of attitude and approach" - recalling how he had ended a rain-soaked practice by diving into a puddle of mud and how his teammates followed.

"It was just a goofy, joy-filled celebration of being alive," said his cross-country coach, Paul Hulleberg.

For Abby, setting her own path at Calvert School was important.

"She was one of those students who'd come up to you, cock her head, give you a smile, and say 'Hi' - and it was most genuine. That sort of ability to disarm with her personality is something I'll always remember," said David W. Skeen Jr., middle school dean of students. "She always struck me as ... very much her own person."

This afternoon, when Calvert's girls basketball team meets Notre Dame Preparatory School, an empty chair courtside will be draped with Abby's uniform. The team will start four players.

"Abby was a very talented guard. She was fun and easy to coach, and was open and always willing to improve," said Roman A. Doss, the team's coach, who also teaches math and science.

Nicole H. Webster, who had been Abby's academic adviser at Calvert, would often slip her a piece of candy when she visited her office. "Abby loved candy, and I've been known to break a few rules," Ms. Webster said. "Her smile was more of a smirk. She knew something you didn't know, and the joke was on you."

Michelle Woods, who was Abby's second-grade teacher, recalled her as someone who "made you feel happy" to be around. "She was disorganized, but she didn't care. She had that charming smile, and when you asked her where her spelling homework was, she'd shrug her shoulders, and then we'd go through her desk and find it," Mrs. Woods said.

An uncle, Hank Young of Baltimore, said, "Abby was the hippest 11-year-old I ever knew. She could carry on conversations with older people or kids her age. It was pretty amazing."

He added that Matt and Abby were "very close and got along pretty well. They loved engaging in good-natured sniping." Last April, he said, they were baptized at Second Presbyterian.

In addition to their father and mother, Nancy Young, Matt and Abby are survived by two sisters, Laura Young of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Carrie Young of Roland Park; their paternal grandparents, retired federal Judge Joseph H. Young and Doris O. Young of Roland Park; and their maternal grandmother, Meilai Wong of San Francisco.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com

Sun reporter Nick Madigan contributed to this article.

A fund to aid the Young family has been established by The Sun through M&T Bank. Contributions can be mailed to: Young Family Fund, c/o The Sun, Attn: Cashier's Office, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278-000

Rest in Peace Abby and Matt

We all love you.



Boy, 16, dies after fire in Roland Park home

Quiet vigils follow deadly city fire

Korematsu v. United States

I'm trying to start a paper for my History and Literature tutorial on Japanese internment... more specifically on Korematsu v. United States.

I'll let you know how it goes. When I think about this case, I can't help but think of similarities between Korematsu and what's happening today, such as in Guantanamo Bay. Definitely an interesting topic to write about.

:sigh:

What do you say to such tragedies? How does one react? What can I do to help? How did this happen?

Why?

Please get well, cousin. Please stay strong. I don't know what else to say.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-fire1206,0,508456.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

Reflections from Last Friday

Last Friday, approximately two hundred or more friends, relatives, and well-wishers of John Edwards stood vigil out of 20 Dewolfe to honor and remember the memory of John Blodgett Edwards, a sophomore at Harvard College. We heard from those close to John, and for a moment were lost in our thoughts to the song "Stairway to Heaven", one of John's favorites.

I lived with John last year, and it is surreal for me to think that I won't be able to see him again after seeing him every day and night for an entire school year. I can't imagine what his current roommates, who will now have to live with that emptiness, and his family, who lived with and raised and were raised with John, now feel.

It was said that night, that as many friends as John had, he personally struggled with his loneliness and high expectations. And I can see the truth in that statement. I can say that John would rather bottle his thoughts and feelings in rather than share the burden with his friends and roommates. He was that generous, nice guy who helped others, and neglected helping himself.

His death came suddenly, and most importantly to those who were closest to him, unexpectedly. I don't know if there were any signs that he was under any immediate danger, leading up to his suicide Thursday evening.[1] Of course, in retrospect, there were many signs.

Sometimes, I wonder if I had been a more compassionate roommate, I might have noticed John's inner struggle sooner and tried to help him more. Sometimes, I think about our small arguments and disagreements, and realize how trivial that all is compared to how much I enjoyed his company and miss it now that his company is unavailable to us forever.

I will have to think about these thoughts over the coming months and years, and personally I am more motivated to be extra compassionate and considerate and understanding to others. And yet, I know now that of the most important things that can be learned from this experience besides treasuring more the beauties of life, is that it is also important to recognize when you need the help of others, and important to reach out and get that help, no matter who, what, when, where or how.

Only we know ourselves the best in this regard. We can trust our friends and family to notice when things are amiss, but when there is something boiling inside, burning and churning and we choose to hide it from others for whatever reason, to spare them pain or acrimony, we do us, and them, a great disfavor.

The pain, and suffering, and lost potential of a life taken needlessly, or affected to the point that it no longer functions normally, hurts many more than we may realize. Ultimately, this incident will affect hundreds directly, and many more indirectly. I had no doubt that John would have made a great researcher, and that in fact, he already was a great researcher. Communities cannot afford it when pain and suffering take the place of life and happiness of any of its individual members, or any part of the group thereof.

John Edwards was a great friend, roommate, brother, son, grandson, student, researcher, and many other things to many people. He was generous, kind, incredibly intelligent, athletic, hard working, focused, and charitable. One of his goals was to run 26.2 miles and raise over $2,000 in the Harvard College Marathon Challenge for PBHA and Project Health. You can learn more about this challenge and donate directly to these organizations at http://www.firstgiving.com/jbedwards

---

[1] http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=521043

John Edwards 1988 - 2007

I just learned that a my other former roomate last year has passed on as of yesterday night. While I was sleeping, this guy that I roomed with for an entire year was struggling for his life.

John Edwards is a great guy. He studied science and was in the process of become of the world's best doctors/researchers. And he enjoyed life. He worked hard, and played hard definitely.

We don't know the details yet. But why? Why?? He was only 19 years old, and still had so much to give to and receive from the world.

Thank goodness I only have one class today because I can't concentrate on anything else right now. I'm so sorry John. You deserved much more.

I can't tell you how this experience is making me appreciate everyone's life. Please stay well.

Another Harvard Political Review Article

(Finalized article not yet published.)

City Laboratories of Democracy

I

In 1932, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously mused that “a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” These days, however, cities have had to step into the role of democratic laboratories in order to address critical issues where the efforts of state and national government leave much to be desired. On issues such as the environment and healthcare, cities are progressively creating and experimenting with public policy to address these critical issues.

A Green City

For many, the federal government has not taken enough steps to preserve the environment and mitigate global warming. In an interview with the HPR, Chicago Department of the Environment Commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna stated that “the federal government certainly has not been pro-environmental. There are too many competing interests and the priorities do not seem to be where they need to be.” Lackadaisical attention to global warming and issues concerning the environment prompted cities such as Chicago to address problems at the local level that arose from these federal deficiencies.

Ever since 1989 when Mayor Richard Daley first stepped into office, one of his major goals was to the make the city of Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the country. Since then, the city has passed legislation ranging from reducing carbon emissions, encouraging low sulfur diesel fuel in city vehicles, planting more than half a million trees, and developing almost four million square feet of green roofs. When asked about how Chicago had become so obsessed about the environment, Commissioner Malec-McKenna stated that “there was an evolution of perspective for all of us… being environmentally friendly became a part of the city infrastructure.” Newly created city departments and infrastructure allowed Chicago to utilize its unique resources, such as being able to hasten the building permit approval processes as an incentive for green development, to truly become one of the nation’s greenest cities.

Healthcare by the Bay

Despite federal deadlock concerning the state of healthcare in the United States, or perhaps because of the impasse, San Francisco decided earlier this year to phase in universal access to health care for all San Franciscans in city and county clinics. People, regardless of ability to pay, immigration status, or existing medical conditions have access to this affordable and preventative care.

Similarly to Chicago, leaders in San Francisco felt that federal and state governments were neglecting a critical need in society. Dr. Dana Hughes, Professor of Health Policy and member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at University of California San Francisco, told the HPR that “For whatever reason, healthcare is not a priority in the country. San Francisco decided that it didn’t want to wait.” Zachary Tuller, legislative aide to Supervisor Tom Ammiano, the legislation’s primary sponsor on the Board of Supervisors, told the HPR that “The city pays a lot of money to treat people who have not received preventative care. There has been no help from the state and federal governments in any meaningful way to address the situation. We had to do that independently of the state and federal government.”

Support for the health care legislation was overwhelming, as Zachary Tuller described matter-of-factly to the HPR. “It passed with unanimous vote of the board, which on controversial issues almost never happens.” It even seems to be catching on at the state level too, Tuller adds, because “since the health program has come online, new programs from the state have been formed to defer some costs for innovative health care.”

When state and federal government fail to take charge or gridlocks on important issues such as the environment and healthcare, it is up to local governments as a last resort to respond to these problems and experiment for their country through their own “laboratories.” When asked what mayors and other city leaders should think about when considering progressive urban reform, Barry Matchett, co-legislative director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center, told the HPR that “Cities are flexible. They’re smaller than states; they’re certainly smaller than the federal government, so they can do things that work for their localities, that work for their business communities, and that work for their citizens.”

Politics and Popular Culture in Historical Materialism

Politics and Popular Culture in Historical Materialism

In this essay I discuss the nature of Karl Marx’s historical materialism and evaluate his philosophy in terms of modern day examples. While Marx was right about many things, including the tendency of capitalists to exploit workers in his time and to this day, I argue that he did not adequately take into account the political and cultural influences on human history in his materialist conception of history. Instead, he emphasized economic conditions which motivate change in human history. Throughout the essay I use several examples to support the importance of political and culture influences on the development of society, such as stock options, psychology, political aspirations, etc. In the end I use China as an example to show the complexity of politics, culture, and economics in historical developments to both prove certain aspects of Marx’s philosophy, and disprove other aspects of Marx’s historical materialism.

During the 19^th century, laborers worked in squalid conditions for subsistence wages. A great question of that time was how society would react to labor exploitation, and what political processes would be devised to ensure that the poor were taken care of. To this day, in many places such as parts of China and Africa, this question still exists. The conditions of extreme labor exploitation led Karl Marx (1818 to 1883), a political philosopher whose methodological study of history, economics and philosophy influenced his understanding of human society, to the conception of historical materialism. An important tenet of historical materialism invokes the role of economics in the development of human society. Human history, he believed, is shaped by the methodology and quantity of goods and commodities that humans are able to produce. The rise of China and the growth of popular culture in the United States show, however, that his use of historical materialism and reliance on economic circumstances, particularly the conditions of the laborer, to explain the inevitable rise of communism from capitalism is fundamentally flawed. While people in general are motivated by their economic condition to seek improvement, historical evidence has shown that the economic condition of mankind is one of several factors that influence history.

Marx’s materialist conception of history is that human history is a linear development between human societies and modes of production. Marx derives his authority in being able to forecast the future rise of communism based on the predictable nature of linear history. A basic premise in historical materialism involves the tension between social classes. To establish this tension, Marx begins with the basic idea that humans create commodities and their means of subsistence through a combination of nature and human labor, which he defines as the mode of production. Marx observes that the division of labor, however, is unequal—which results in the division of social classes. Inherent conflict exists between the economic base and the social superstructure of society when the modes of production develop more rapidly than changes to the relations of production. Finally, the superstructure of society evolves when an emerging class overcomes the dominant class and creates a new social superstructure to fit these changes in production.

Following Marx’s theory, there have been several historical stages of economic development which have led to new superstructures of society: tribal society, ancient society, feudalism, and capitalism. Marx states that each superstructure was adapted to fit the new economic conditions of that time. In Marx’s theory of socio-economics, capitalism divides human labor between the work force and those who own the means of production. Those who own the means of production have acquired the role of masters, and those who provide human labor serve as slaves. The relationship between master and slave is shaped by the capitalist social superstructure that keeps order in society and allows the current economic condition to persist. The capitalist superstructure, Marx asserts, will fall when the next reforms to modes of production are made.

According to Marx, inherent contradictions within the capitalist system will result in capitalism’s downfall. In his A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Marx states that “The bourgeois mode of production is the last antagonistic form of the social process of production – antagonistic not in the sense of individual antagonism but of an antagonism that emanates from the individuals' social conditions of existence – but the productive forces developing within bourgeois society create also the material conditions for a solution of this antagonism.”[1] Therefore, the rise of communism from capitalism, according to Marx, is inevitable because of inherent tensions within the rules of capitalist society itself, not of the people who comprise capitalist society. Furthermore, in The German Ideology, Marx states that millions of “excluded” proletariats and communists will, in time, lead a revolution in which to force their inclusion into society.[2] This is problematic because it is based on a faulty assumption. First, Marx assumes that proletariats are excluded from society and that their interests are mutually excludable from those of the “bourgeoisie” and the capitalist. Such an assumption underemphasizes and neglects the role of political, cultural, and other incidental and/or spontaneous events in human history that do not necessarily arise from economic conditions.

Marx’s idea that the proletariats are excluded from society and that their interests are mutually excludable from those of the capitalist can be explored in part six of Marx’s Capital, Volume 1, where Marx discusses how capitalists exploit workers through unpaid labor and conceal exploitation under the guise of paying wages. In effect, once the laborer is hired by the capitalist for a period of time, the worker no longer owns his labor-power. Marx states that “as soon as his labour actually begins, it has already ceased to belong to him; it can therefore no longer be sold by him. Labour is the substance, and the immanent measure of value, but it has no value itself.”[3] In this manner, the capitalist can exploit the worker by deriving more value from his laborer during the working day than the capitalist pays the worker.

As the value of labour is only an irrational expression for the value of labour-power, it follows of course that the value of labour must always be less than its value-product, for the capitalist always makes labour-power work longer than is necessary for the reproduction of its own value. In the above example, the value of the labour-power that functions through 12 hours is 3 shillings, which requires 6 hours for its reproduction. The value which the labour-power produces is however 6 shillings, because it in fact functions during 12 hours, and its value-product depends, not on its own value, but on the length of time it is in action.[4]

In this example, the capitalist pays three shillings for an entire day’s labor that creates six shillings worth of value. To Marx, the idea that labor-value could create six shillings of wealth and yet only be worth three shillings is an absurd contradiction within the modes of production in capitalist society. Marx continues to argue in subsequent chapters that the surplus profits of the capitalist who underpays their laborers is used to maintain worker-laborer versus owner-operator class relations that are perpetuated in a cycle of capital accumulation, re-investment, and under-payment for labor services.

Modern theories on economics and modern examples conflict with the Marxist view of labor exploitation and capital accumulation. First of all, Marx’s theories on the exploitation of laborers would lead us to believe that capitalism will predominantly breed two classes in modern society and that their interests conflict: the low-paid worker class and a smaller upper-echelon of individuals who own the means of production. In the United States, this does not seem to be the case. Most households currently occupy a decidedly middle area of the income spectrum. Marx doesn’t take into account United States government policy that enhances its middle class, and the rise of a white-collar professional class that was a relatively smaller sector of his 19^th Century European experience. Furthermore, Marx doesn’t take into the account the benefits of capitalist re-investment into society. By raising the amount of goods and commodities available to consumers and by increasing efficiency and productivity through new inventions or new production methodologies, the innovative capitalist is able to raise the living standard of everyone in society. In essence, as the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. There are also many examples of rich capitalists such as Bill and Melinda Gates, Rockefeller, and Warren Buffett, who re-invested their riches not only in capital development, but also directly in society itself.

In fact, the interests of a company’s success and a company’s workforce can be intertwined in many ways. Most directly, the interests of a company and its workforce can be merged through employee stock options. A real-life example of this can be seen in the case of Bonnie Brown, who was Google’s in-house masseuse but who is now a multi-millionaire because of her Google stock options[5]. Therefore, the benefits of increased corporate profit and efficiency do not have to be monopolized by an elite class that excludes the proletariat. Furthermore, most workers in the United States who have a retirement account, or who own a brokerage account, have (and are currently) invested in corporations and are thereby directly affected by corporate growth and profits. Secondly, and this is especially true in the modern state, companies are increasingly competing for skilled employees. With the proliferation of public schools and the increased availability of colleges since Marx’s time, access to these jobs and demand for these skilled employees are at its highest at any point in history. Thirdly, Marx doesn’t take into account the psychological relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in instances where the proletariat’s goals may be similar to that of the bourgeoisie. In some cases, a number of proletariats may come to identify with the bourgeoisie and similarly desire the continuation of capitalism in the hopes of one day owning the factory that he/she works in, which is possible in our fluid society. These psychological implications are more complex than Marx details in his philosophical texts. Finally, un-skilled employees are able to resort to unions and government in order to address their needs so that they are not entirely excluded to the degree that Marx implies. Companies may even offer perks and higher wages preemptively in order to prevent their employees from organizing, such as in the case of Starbucks. Workers are able to organize without resorting to revolutions in order to get management and/or government to address their needs.

Marx would correctly point out, however, that even in light of these circumstances there is still a vast income inequality between the richest members of society compared to that of the poorest members of society—and that this disparity is increasing. Another counter-argument is that the excluded proletariat does exist, if not within the same country such as that of the United States or Japan or England, then it exists in other countries such as Bangladesh and Mexico. If there is to be a proletariat revolution, however, it does not seem likely that the currently most advanced countries such as Japan, United States, England, Germany, etc. are ready to move toward communism. Their support would be necessary for a worldwide switch from capitalism into communism. Furthermore, movements toward more democratic governments have negated many of the needs of the proletariats to revolt. In this case, Marx might have been right about the tendency of the capitalist to take advantage of the lower classes and increase their wealth, but his solution may be too extreme. United States and Western European history has shown this to be the case (so far), because they have resorted to shaping social policy to help the proletariat rather than switch from a capitalist society to a socialist society. These are the very states that Marx believed would lead the change toward communism because of the great labor exploitation of his time. Then again, it is true that there are companies that are still known to be exploitative in their labor policies, a prominent example would be Wal-Mart. Even in the case of Wal-Mart, however, the company has responded to widespread negative criticisms and has started offering more perks and health care to its workforce.

Marx argues on another level that the alienation of workers from society also exists fundamentally when humans sell their labor and are consequently removed from their labor-product. In conceding this point to Marx (some jobs are undeniably dull), I would argue that the effects of worker alienation has been lessened through the development of popular culture since Marx’s time. While workers may be alienated from their labor, after work and on weekends laborers have the opportunity to pursue their hobbies and interests, or partake in social mass culture as an outlet for creativity. Furthermore, especially in countries such as the United States, typically its most impoverished citizens (excluding extreme examples), that is to say a great majority of its citizens, earn a living that supports some luxury. That is to say, most people have a television, access to a computer, access to books, and social clubs and organizations, etc. that allow them to enjoy life and these luxuries negate some of the need for revolution. Even citizens who cannot afford these luxuries in the United States are able to access them through public services such as libraries, affordable housing for the poor, social welfare, etc.

In his “Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy”, Marx states that it is the economic condition of man that determines man’s social consciousness. “The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.”[6] In this philosophy, the economic conditions of China should not have led to the People’s Revolution in the 20^th Century. Rather, the poor economic conditions of the Chinese at the beginning of the 20^th Century should logically, in Marx’s linear historical development theory, first led to capitalism and then communism. China, however, skips capitalism and moves right into communism. How and why did this happen? There is a strong argument that political influences helped China make the leap to capitalism. The Communist Party of China is still the primary political party of China to this day. While this example may prove that Marx underestimated the role that political aspirations of people such as Mao Zedong may play in the making of human history; China’s failure as a communist state is evidence supporting Marx’s theory that states need to move to a proper level of productive capacity only available to capitalists, before successfully moving onto the communist stage. Regardless, it has been shown that political and cultural influences, shaped in part by popular culture, psychology, technology, etc. complicates Marx’s reliance on economics as the driving factor behind the development of human history.

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[1] This quote is derived from a Marxist online database of Marx’s writings. The website sources K. Marx’s A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1977 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm

[2] Marx, Karl The German Ideology Norton The Marx Engels Reader, Second Edition Page 168 reads “Thus if millions of proletarians feel by no means contented with their living conditions, if their “existence” does not in the least correspond to their “essence,” then, according to the passage quoted, this is an unavoidable misfortune, which must be borne quietly. The millions of proletarians and communists, however, think differently and will prove this in time, when they bring their “existence” into harmony with their “essence” in a practical way, by means of a revolution.”

[3] Marx, Karl Capital, Volume One Penguin Classics Part 6 Chapter 19 Page 677

[4] Marx, Karl Capital, Volume One Penguin Classics Part 6 Chapter 19 Page 679 to 680

[5] http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/technology/12google.html?_r=1&em&ex=1195016400&en=e5d6c0dae476cfbe&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

[6] This quote is derived from a Marxist online database of Marx’s writings. The website sources K. Marx’s A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy, Progress Publishers, Moscow 1977 http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1859/critique-pol-economy/preface.htm

A Humbling Day In Burma

9 Killed in 2nd Day of Myanmar Crackdown
Kenji Nagai of the Japanese video news agency APF News tries to take photographs as he lies injured after police and military officials fired upon and then charged at protesters in Yangon, Myanmar Thursday. Nagai, 52, who was shot by soldiers as they fired to disperse the crowd, later died. Reuters Photo

Thoughtful Response to a Blog Post

I was reading Professor Mankiw's blog the other day, and in this particular post Mankiw lists the economists who have agreed to contribute to the NYTimes, and asks the question on how his readers think the list could be more balanced, if possible.

Unfortunately this response was labeled anonymous, but I think he brings up an interesting point. Here's some food for thought:

UNFORTUNATELY, MANKIW'S QUESTONS ARE BIASED BY DISCIPLINARY MYOPIA.

It is unclear to me why "diversity" only includes the political spectrum of ECONOMISTS. Social policy should not be governed by one discipline, but also be the viewpoints of 1) political scientists, 2) sociologists, 3) anthropolists (strange, huh?), 4) epidmiologists, and 5) doctors.

It does not make sense that a degree in finance will give us any knowledge in social policy any more than a degree in, say biology. In too many cases economists speak out of their ambit of knowledge.

Here's a question that isn't asked: Why is there a council of economic advisors, and not a council of social science advisors?

Contrast the disciplinary myopia with a country like Brazil, or like France. In those countries, the state of society (not just the economy) is consulted all the time by the wealth of non-economists.

Why don't we have THAT kind of diversity? I challenge anyone to answer that question! A propelsis: 1) economists are not better trained at statistical methodology, as least when talk about the creme de la creme, 2) they are not less biased, though that has often been used as a reason to discount anthropologists (yet social policy is often driven by illustrative anecdotes and detailed descriptions, whether factual or not. E.g. remember the myth of the welfare queen? Imagine if we had a detailed ethnorgaphy to fill that empirical lacuna).

Instead of wimperings about why Becker or Cutler, or some other Harvard economist isn't in the loop, why don't we provide some "real" diversity in terms of social policy. I don't have very much sympathy.

Like I have said before, for mosts economists, you know what they are going to say if you know who they are. Is that the make of an empirical science, or of demagoguery?

How can the "facts" or the reality of the social necessitate "balance" of viewpoints? Shouldn't such viewpoints or assessments exist independently of the person making them? Just a question to be provocative.

1:17 PM

Two Interesting Comments and a Response

So, a while ago I asked that my name be removed from an article in the HPR written for the spring issue that concerned education funding. At the time, I felt that because my co-author (Margot) and I held too many different ideological beliefs to put together a coherent article, and I felt that I submitted for her opinion the best draft I could come up with, and I asked that my name be withdrawn so that she could have more latitude in determining which way the article should go. Needless to say, I was wrong, and she came up with an article that (although I disagree with parts of it) has such an inherently uncontroversial conclusion that I don't mind having my name attached to it. I like the fact that it presents facts, and raises more questions than answers, rather than editorializing.

With that said, we received two comments dated May 16, 2007 in which I feel I should respond to as a fellow blogger and as a co-author of the article:

Asian American Special, and Some Clever Test Answers

While you're checking out clever test answers from this blog, and are interested in procrastinating further, you may be interested in checking out: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/asian.american/index.html

CNN is doing a special on Asian Americans for Asian American month. It has articles concerning the model minority myth, some history and a timeline on Asian American immigration, notes some of the past challenges of Asian Americans and what challenges Asian Americans may face ahead, and even includes a video on what it's like to grow up a hapa, among other things.

Kudos to CNN for putting this on.

I was especially interested in the article on Heroes star Oka, given my background in theater. Being a fourth generation Asian American on one side, and first on the other, it definitely has been tough finding an identity and being comfortable with it, given that stereotypes on how asians should behave still perpetuate. It's interesting to think about. Thoughts?