Security narrative

She felt more secure, and had more room and perspective for consideration, in her longer, individual, critical essays (many of them revised for the two Common Readers) on authors from the past. These were usually constructed from several sources - a new edition of the works, a memoir, a collection of letters, a new biography. Her numerous essays on little-known Lives (often, though not always, of women) might work in a similar way, as a narrative synthesised from several sources. 

What in fact emerged from the interview was a remarkable personal account of the changes in thinking which led Walker and his colleagues to embrace inclusion. This was not simply a technical description of change but a narrative about the way it happened - from the seed of an idea to the difficult and sometimes painful process of turning that idea into actuality. This included confronting the reality that a school which had been a second home to many children and a secure place of employment for staff would have to close. 

The confluence of crises of the late 2000s left most citizens deeply concerned for the economic and physical security of their families and their country. The Great Recession spawned by the financial meltdown of 2007-08 put millions of Americans out of work, and millions more in fear of losing their jobs, their pensions, and their health benefits. At the same time, the Deepwater Horizon spill, the Upper Big Branch mining disaster, the recalls of millions of toxic toys, and the dire predictions of climate scientists made ordinary citizens fearful for their health, safety, and environment. These powerful demonstrations of the failure of laissez faire minimalism can provide the grist for an easily accessible and compelling narrative about the necessity of maintaining robust institutions of responsibility and accountability in a modern political economy. 

Freedom and security are two widely shared human values. We understand that economic freedom allows corporations to develop innovative products, to match those products to our desires as consumers, and to provide useful services at the least cost. But we also know that corporations have only one lawful goal —to maximize the return to their shareholders. We therefore desire the security of knowing that companies will not use their economic freedom irresponsibly to harm our families. Since corporations cannot be motivated by concerns for others insofar as they do not contribute to the bottom line, government must play a large role in providing for the economic and physical security of its citizens. Progressive activists may therefore weave a narrative around the shared... 

All four of these narratives—security, corporate responsibility, corporate accountability, and social costs —may be employed by a new progressive idea infrastructure in the air wars over the proper role of government in the political economy. They should be illustrated with stories from the ground wars highlighting the damage caused by irresponsible corporate behavior, the virtues of strong rules of responsibility, and the need for robust institutions of responsibility and accountability to articulate and enforce those rules. 

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