CCDS FORUM & DISCUSSION BOARD

NAME: John J. Neumaier
EMAIL: Neuluther@aol.com
DATE: 09/04/2007

TITLE: Why It's Important to Understand Theory

Why It's Important to Understand Theory

If you are still with me (after that title), you probably know that newspaper columnists hardly ever discuss theory, much less its relation to practice. One reason is that an analysis of theory or of specific theories usually requires book-length treatment. Plus the fact that theoretical inquiry is mostly practiced in academic institutions and by research scientists, intellectuals, and specialized experts (many of them working or consulting for corporations and government).

Many of the leaders of powerful and privileged governing elites (and their think-tanks) are especially concerned with political and social theories. For example, the neo-conservative theory traceable to the philosopher and political scientist Leo Strauss, and subscribed to by leading hawks of the Bush administration, including Vice-President Richard Cheney, former Deputy Secretary of Defense and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz (a one-time University of Chicago student of Strauss), former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, all of whom promoted the current US policies in the Middle East, particularly the war in Iraq.

Obviously, there are different kinds of theory at different levels of complexity. I am using the term here mostly with reference to social and political theories. My comments are meant as introductory remarks for readers not already familiar with the importance of theoretical thinking as a tool for understanding of what is going on in our world and as a guide to practical action.

This is not to underestimate the obstacles that need to be overcome. People are inundated with vast amounts of misinformation which has to be sorted out, and daily life is full of time-consuming obligations, especially working for a living. The greatest obstacle, I believe, is the subtle but powerful reach of influential interests which oppose the kind of democracy that allows for the full political participation of people, organized, and empowered by comprehensive access to education and to current and historical background information. The dominant elites don’t want people to gain theoretical understanding of what is occurring in our and other societies, in peace or at war. They realize that an overall understanding of such interrelated matters as production and commerce policies, corporate and labor interests, social and environmental needs, and governmental decision-making, might lead to practical action by the majority of people that would undermine the interests of those wielding institutionalized power.

Bypassing sophisticated definitions of theory, let’s initially think of it as a higher level explanation of facts, events, developments, actions, and other relevant phenomena and their interconnections. An example in the political and socio-economic area is the theory of checks and balances which the framers built into the Constitution. Like other theories, it was based on experience, including inquiries into the past and anticipations of future developments, as well as the interests involved. With respect to this last point, it is important to see just how the formation of a theory can be influenced by group- and self-interest.

A theory can serve not only to explain social and individual behavior, but also as guide to future action by policymakers. Accordingly, it has far-reaching social implications, political, socio-economic, and military. Further, we should note that to the degree that a theory proves valid or invalid, it is always subject to future experience, further inquiry, modification, or abandonment.

While the above sketch necessarily neglects how theories of knowledge, including investigations into the truth-related and probability claims of such theories, the example of a checks and balances theory points to the practical import a theory can have on the lives of people. Therefore, citizens need to be concerned, informed, and active with respect to a theory like that of checks and balances and how it is applied. Complex as theories are, it’s no reason to give up exploring them, any more than giving up life itself because of its complexities and challenges. After all, people’s struggles have brought about a number of democratic achievements over the centuries, bringing significant progress for millions of people, especially in the industrial world. Still, humanity has a long way to go to reach a higher and more peaceful state of civilization.

To gain a better understanding of the problems that face us, individually and as a people, requires learning more about how the fragments of the daily news reports fit together, about their historical background, and the relevance they have to our own lives and the lives of the mass of people. We must learn to see through the drumbeat of seductive advertising that flows from the television 24 hours a day. The corporate advertisers, especially on TV and radio, not only sell their wares but strongly influence the selection of so-called news and the ways in which it is reported by the corporate newspaper chains and electronic networks. It’s not accidental that so much of the news consists of murder stories, sensationalist reports, particularly gossip about the rich and famous, and other distracting and irrelevant infotainment.

Is it mere coincidence that Halliburton and its subsidiaries, which are profiting so enormously from the Iraqi war, had Dick Cheney as its CEO before he became Vice-President (probably the most powerful VP in American history)? Is it mere coincidence that former oil executives Cheney and President Bush still have the same ideological affinity regarding corporate profits as against a living wage of low-level workers? How come that most corporate-owned mass media seldom report to their listening millions how Halliburton (also under Cheney) and other U.S. corporations had extensive dealings with Hussein’s Iraq? Is it surprising that leading hawks like Bush and Cheney evaded military service in a theater of war in spite of their readiness to send others into combat?

Is it coincidence that Republican presidential candidates like chief 9/11 firefighter Rudolph Giuliani and flip-flopping Mitt Romney, tend to view government services to the people and regulation of corporate economic activities with great suspicion but readily grant government tremendous power in making and regulating war, like in Iraq and Afghanistan? Is it coincidence that influential Republicans bless the use of government power to bail out the mortgage companies but regard government-supported health insurance for children as abhorrent? As for Democratic presidential candidates, is it coincidence that not a few of them are leaning “moderately” in the direction of Republican ideology regarding both domestic and foreign policy, careful not to jeopardize corporate campaign contributions or unnecessarily offend powerful and influential interests?

To understand all this requires not just piece-meal information, but a higher level overview, in other words, the theoretical understanding that arms us with the ability to analyze and distinguish between what is really happening, as opposed to the widely propagated way it is depicted for us in the mass media. Difficult as that is, we must continue our efforts toward a better understanding of who does what, how, and why to us and the rest of the world. For theoretical understanding by the many and not just the few can be a powerful weapon in the hands of the people towards action in bettering their lives and helping our fellow citizens on this ever smaller globe to better theirs, a necessary condition in working toward peace. Continued discussion of that challenge, dear reader, must wait for future columns.

Poughkeepsie resident Dr. John J. Neumaier was president of SUNY New Paltz from 1968-72 and of Moorhead (Minn.) State University from 1958-68. He is philosophy professor emeritus of Empire State College, New York City. His column appears in the first Sunday Freeman of each month.

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