Why the Republican's View of Success Is a Path to Self-Destruction

Republicans, at their peril, are ignoring the shift away from sole self-interest that is taking place in society. A growing awareness of interconnection is happening all over the planet--in science, in social/political issues, and in religions/spirituality.  Read this wise article by Douglas LaBier to see how those who ignore this change are contributing to their own demise:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/douglas-labier/republican-party-success_b_1207521.html

EXCERPTS:
The prospect of a societal shift towards a more inclusive view of success and how it can contribute solutions to our challenges is heightened by trends in that direction already visible. Some examples:

• A growing movement towards serving common good through charity and individual acts.
• The application of scientific research to building compassion and diminishing egocentrism.
• The simple expression of a little girl who, in this video, instinctively "gets" the reality of interconnection.
• New management philosophies about sustainability and leadership.
• The growing merger of new psychological perspectives about emotional health, ancient spiritual teachings about the authentic self, and the discoveries of modern science, as Deepak Chopra and others have written about.

BUT
the Republican candidates embrace a self-interest-oriented, wealth-based view of success. It maintains that success and stability occur and prevail through unfettered pursuit of self-interest and in the absence of government regulations. It includes the failed policies of deregulation, lower taxes for the wealthiest and reducing the deficit. It also includes social and religious values that are acceptable to them as necessary for a successful life, as they define it.

In short, the Republican candidates' view of success is exclusionary, anti-inclusive, and opposed to serving the common good. Consistent with that view, Romney sees any criticism of it and of the financial inequality it creates as simply "envy" of the rich. But describing its negative consequences isn't "putting free enterprise on trial," as Romney likes to claim. Nor is it a stepping stone to a "European-style social welfare state." In fact, the recent polls showing opposition to the growing inequality between the rich and the rest of society reflect increased awareness of the negative impact the singular view of success had, the one that Republican candidates willingly embrace.

Until recently, that is. By attacking Romney's work at Bain Capital as "vulture capitalism" and destructive to people's lives, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have -- perhaps unwittingly -- heightened public awareness of the damage created not by capitalism, per se, but by different kinds of capitalism, as E.J. Dionne pointed out in his recent Washington Post column. It's the contrast between the goals of extracting value vs. building something that generates value; "vulture" vs. "creative" capitalism.