What’s probably nice about being Matt Damon? Well, besides being rich and famous and married to Luciana Barroso?
Well, for starters, you get to lend a voice to causes you believe in, and people sometimes listen. Alternatively, a hack ‘journalist’ from a libertarian website like Reason.tv (sorry, I’m not even linking to them and giving them traffic) shoves a mic in your face, and you get to teach them a few big words:
Damon actually touches on something very interesting here, perhaps unintentionally. One of the first things you learn in your Intro to Management classes in an MBA program is the difference between Theory X and Theory Y styles of motivation and leadership. Theory X generally assumes that folks are lazy and need coercion and fear as motivators. Theory Y assumes that people respond well to being treated as valued contributors and that respect and flexibility is a motivator.
Theory Y has, in the majority of studies, proven to be more effective in terms of productivity and morale. Though, fear of job loss and retribution are generally seen as a better way to ensure passivity and compliance. Wonder which method libertarian parasites like the Koch brothers and their brethren embrace?
At some point, maybe we, as a country, will elevate the discourse in this country above ‘Boo! Teachers get summers off and sometimes make $55K a year. Burn them!’ and talk about how having a quarter of our kids living in poverty might be affecting their ability to learn.
