Preventing the next Enron will require more than Nader's proposed reforms.

• Author: Dolack, Pete
• Position: Thinking Politically - Ralph Nadar

The Enron scandal must be seen in its full context. It can't be looked upon as an isolated incident, as an isolated act of one bad apple--what business leaders and their hired guns in the corporate media have been furiously arguing in an attempt to minimize the damage. The behavior of Enron executives differs from other corporate oligarchs more in that they were caught than in their behavior.

Calls for reform are welcome, but we shouldn't get caught up in illusions that reforms will solve the very real structural issues exposed by the Enron ponzi scheme. And, yes, this includes the somewhat illusory reforms put forth by Ralph Nader, the Green Party's past (and future?) presidential candidate.

In the March 2002 issue of Tire Progressive, Mr. Nader presented a damning indictment of Enron while making the case that there are many Enrons in Corporate America. Indeed there are. But while Mr. Nader's proposed reforms are certainly far more thorough-going than the meek bleatings of Democrats--and his critique is far stronger than anything put forth by the "Left" wing of the two-party corporate duopoly--it still falls well short of the analysis that Greens should be making.

The problem here is the problem that has always been Mr. Nader's--he sees us only as consumers, not as the producers we are. Mr. Nader wishes to "empower" consumers and it is undeniable that we do have some power as consumers, if we unite in a boycott or other organized fashion. But this power is ultimately limited and, in the end, potentially counterproductive.

Let's look at specifics. Mr. Nader, to his credit, indicts corporate crime. "Crime in the suites damages more people's health, safety and economic resources by far than crime in the streets," writes Mr. Nader. "But crime in the suites is not on the top of the agenda of the Democratic and Republican parties." This is certainly true. But this should be a starting point, not the culmination, of an argument. At this point, it could, and should, be argued that the Democratic and Republican parties merely represent different sectors of the corporate class that completely dominates the United States. What does Mr. Nader call for? Certainly not for American workers to demand the fruits of their labor, which are stolen every day by corporate executives and by Wall Street, nor for the empowerment of American workers. Instead, he calls for appealing to Congress.

Mr. Nader calls for "the American people to organize as investors and...