Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation By Walter Mosley Summary

Cost and Worth (Rough 2)
How much does it cost? How much is it worth? These are two questions that sound similar, but have totally different meanings. How much is an apple worth in the market versus how much a customer pays for it? Is the price fair due to the amount of resources it took to bring it to the market, or has its price been inflated beyond comprehension? How much is a television worth to its owner? How much is a person worth to their country? These are the kinds of questions (among many others) that Walter Mosley, author of the essay Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation, aims to help answer. In his essay one can find Mosley’s that Mosley argue about the value of goods and people; however, even Mosley seems to be unaware that one cannot put a price on everything.
Walter Mosley’s essay, at its core, is just what it sounds like.
It is a series of steps that give some insight to what Mosley believes to be problems of modern America society, and gives some general suggestions that can point towards solutions. He makes arguments on many different aspects of politics as well as public life in general, and makes quite a bit of sense in doing so. On the other hand, there are some chapters (or steps as they are commonly to as) that, overall, hurt Mosley’s credibility rather than helping it. Chapters ten and eleven are such examples. These chapters are titled, “Understanding Cost” and “Understanding Your Worth” respectively. In these chapters Mosley explains his thinking about how Americans need to understand the cost and value of American products, as well as the American Individual, so that they might be able to fight back against the Joes (normal people in America with money). Yet, while Mosley mainly uses logic to explain his arguments, there seems to be some reasoning that has escaped Mosley’s
grasp.
In chapter/step ten, “Understanding Cost,” Mosley argues that the costs of goods and services in America’s free market are drastically different from what the average person may believe. He argues that the cost is not simple the price of the good, but the aftereffects it may have on a person’s mind and body. For example, Mosley makes a simple, yet excellent, point with regards to fast food:
What does a high-fat, fast-food, antibiotic-treated, whole herd of cattle in a single burger cost? It’s probably cheaper than you can make at home; but what about the addictions you and your children develop to fast foods? What about the clogged veins, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, colon problems, and a host of other maladies? What do they cost? (Mosley, p.71-72)
This quote sums up a good portion of the argument. Yes, fast food may be cheap; however, is it worth the potential health risks that it may inflict on one’s body? Are a few cheap meals possibly worth a human life? No, no it is not.
Not only that, but Mosley also offers some potential solutions to relieve the issue. He first suggests establishing a “rule of thumb” to help people understand what the value of the goods they are spending money on is. His second step to a possible solution is to have people organize into unions or special-interest groups. These suggestions are wonderful additions to his argument and make a good deal of sense when it comes to the need of a person to understand cost. The main weakness with the argument of step ten is the lack of data and experience dealing with the economic system of America. He even states it himself in the text: “…I am not an ecologist and so don’t have the training to present argument in those terms.” (Mosley, p.74) Mosley tries to make his argument based on common sense and observations alone. While both are valuable tools to establish a good argument, it is very difficult for a dispute to have any sort of merit without any kind of statistical data to back it; no matter good it sounds. Chapter eleven, entitled “Understanding Your Worth”, talks about how Mosley believes that every American should understand their value in their country. In this argument he makes the argument that China owns most of America through their debt, stating that it the United States government can put a price tag on the country, why can’t each American person get a share of what the country is worth (Mosley, p.80-81). This argument makes sense from a logical point of view. For instance, if three people equally own a business that makes $300,000 a year in profit, each owner is entitled to their $100,000 cut. Mosley also goes on to hint that the U.S should take away Medicare and insurance and give them what they are worth. Where this argument falls short is comes mostly from the fact that there is really no fair way to put a price tag on a person. The value of a human life is priceless to most people, especially when the conversation turns to discuss themselves and their loved ones. And just suppose that the government decided to give each person what they are worth and nothing more. Who would get to decide this amount of money each American would be receiving? Even then, who wants to be the person to tell John Smith, that his life is worth just a measly million dollars to the government? Overall, Walter Mosley makes a lot of sense when it comes to cost and worth of the goods of America. Nevertheless, no argument is perfect, and Mosley’s is no exception, with the lack of actual data being a big part of the problem. Twelve Steps Toward Political Revelation is a fine read, but a person should always be ready to take what Mosley has to offer with a little grain of salt.