RANGER AGAINST WAR: Gods of the Marketplace <

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Gods of the Marketplace


Unfettered capitalism is white collar crime,
with which the people have become too familiar 
--RangerAgainstWar 

The trouble with selfish motive
 is that they begin to look like principles,
 and you end up sending your kids to die for them 
--Robert Brault 

~Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben,
or do you think that we can stimulate growth
through temporary incentives?

~ As long as the roots are not severed,
all is well. And all will be well in the garden 
--Being There (1979)
___________________

Some apres-election thoughts:

First: the primary system that serves us our cookie-cutter twins every four years is a dud; it may work at the state or local level, but cannot operate adequately on the National.  Instead, it reliably delivers demagogues who lack the aptitude to govern The People.  They are Pandars.

We have learned to take what we are given -- superficial, shallow leaders with a veneer of poise, confidence and and verbal acumen, with a faint whiff of elan (not too much!).  Like children being coaxed to eat some unsavory, we are told that there are starving children elsewhere (Be happy you have food!)

The primary system delivers losers wearing various masks of success and we buy into the gambit, wasting our votes on buffoons or downright righteous idiots.


Second:  Capitalism is no longer a functioning adjunct to democracy; ultimately, Capitalism will destroy our United States system of democracy.

Democracy requires discipline, production and commensurate consumption. Capitalism today is delivering the opposite bill of goods:  It is undisciplined, and productivity is no longer our yardstick of excellence. Today's Capitalism is based upon profit versus the good of society at large.  Additionally, Capitalism fosters the flow of our wealth to regions beyond our borders.  Presidential contender Mitt Romney's closed Swiss bank accounts and his offshore Cayman money are examples of this.

The consumption process in Capitalism and in Democracy are conflicting ideas.  The Republicans want the benefits of Capitalism to accrue to the monied strata, which has always been a goal of Capitalism (up to now) but this is in opposition to what a Democracy needs in order to sustain individual freedoms and liberties.

Our Constitution addresses democracy and freedom, and this is translated today into Free Markets and Global Economy, but this sort of Capitalism will destroy out way of liberal thought.  This is true in both foreign and domestic policy.

Neither presidential candidate addressed this issue, and the "S" word (socialism) has been carefully excised from both party's national dialog.  The topic is not about what to do with General Motors or any other company, but rather, what are our national priorities and what are we?

Capitalism and Democracy have two competing sets of requirements, while our election cycles are always about Capitalism at the expense of Democracy.  Monetary concerns have clearly trumped Democratic concerns, at the latter's expense.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Brooklyn Red Leg said...

Ummm, what Free Markets? Calling our current Corporate system a Free Market means you understand neither Incorporation (a legal shield granted ONLY by Government) nor Free Market (a system unfettered either positively or negatively by a government). We don't have Free Market Capitalism, we have Crony Capitalism (aka Corporatism). Please, learn the difference:

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/blaming-capitalism-for-corporatism

Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 11:03:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger FDChief said...

I wish I thought that we could blame the primary system. But can you imagine the U.S. public giving the time of day to anyone who told them the unvarnished truth about themselves and the political and economic system they want, where they pay nothing and get everything?

The nation's collective head would explode.

No, we get what we pay for; people who tell us comforting lies.

BRL: But the real bottom line is that capitalism - the real, true, raw, unfettered thing - is as bad or even worse. Whenever it's been tried - like Victorian Europe - the results have been so Dickensian that the eventual hatred and horror towards the plutocrats that result from the mess has produced the modern welfare state.

ANY economic system is "fettered" by governments. That is the only way to prevent the rampant cheating, grifting, and chicanery that will result from things as simple as not regulating things like scales and measures.

Pining for a "Free Market" is like mooning over the Perfect Date. Never happened, never will.

Now...have we allowed crony capitalism to overrun the regulated system we have? Yes, I agree. The present degree to which corporate entities can influence our government is becoming Zimbabwean, and should be stopped.

Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 7:26:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger Robert Brault said...

FDChief, yours is the most concisely eloquent summation of the topic I have read to date (and I read everything).

Ranger, thanks for quoting one of my lines. I offer the following in a more whimsical spirit:

"Wall Street greed is increasing by leaps. It knows no bounds."

"Meanwhile, another Wall St. broker has been given a life parole with no chance of a sentence."

rb

Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 9:38:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger Lisa said...

Robert,

I second that: FDC has summed it up well (as he usually does).

Thank you for your much-appreciated whimsy :)

Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 11:33:00 AM GMT-5  

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