And the Swiss and Norwegians have elements of functional social democracy with comparatively little inequality and poverty, a massive social safety net, an equal and high quality public education system that emphasizes critical thinking over test scores, and thus immunizes much of the population from the siren call of consumerism. Economic insecurity is a very distant threat. In short, the cooperative impulse is still more powerful than the competitive impulse. The community impulse is still stronger than individualism. So their guns go to the range or lay in their bureau drawers, unraised in anger.
Competitive individualism is our barren and lonely credo.
It has cut us off from one another. It has pit us against one another. I went to the gun show to bolster my case for stricter gun control. Instead, I discovered that I and other progressives are on the wrong case. The problem is far deeper and more frightening than a policy debate.