I've read several articles of late by a few left-leaning pundits who, on the one hand, try to defend American-style capitalism as being the best economic system the world has ever known, while, on the other hand, pointing out that the great wealth disparities rampant today and the predatory nature of this beloved system are too blame for much of the world's ills.
To argue the one position simultaneously with the next, they need a gambit that somehow can smooth over the vexing problems. The gambit they have chosen to employ is to say that the problem today is with unrestrained capitalism.
They way they see it is that, if capitalists can be restrained somewhat from pursuing the singular goal -- short-term profit -- that capitalism inherently requires, then equilibrium will be restored and we can return to the vision of sugar plums dancing in our heads.
But how does one restrain a monster that seeks to cast off any and all restraints? Each time the people (in the form of the state) throw down an obstacle into the river of unmitigated greed, the stream itself begins to erode the obstacle -- a good Taoist reference there -- and, before we know it, the obstacle has been dispatched with.
Try as we might, one of the underlying premises of the capitalist model -- to profit upon the suffering and misery of others -- is, in my opinion, hard to escape from. If we look at the economic ills and evils that plague America and much of the rest of the world too, they exist precisely because a very small minority is profiting mightily at the expense of the overwhelming majority.
Calamity, catastrophe and war are always good for some business enterprises. When things are going south for most people and the planet, these firms enjoy a great bonanza of wealth and power. What Naomi Klein uncovered and chronicled in her book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, is that the corporations and individuals who profit the most have made the conscious decision to manufacture crisis after crisis to keep the mother lode of dollars flowing their direction unimpeded.
I am not suggesting that, at some point, we won't be able to place a bridle on this out-of-control horse, but the bridle won't stay in place for long. As soon as we get the thoroughbred under control (restraint), he immediately will begin to devise new strategies to break free. History has shown he WILL succeed and then we'll have to go through the whole scenario all over again!
There has got to be a better way to order society so that a small minority is not allowed to prey on the misery of others.
To argue the one position simultaneously with the next, they need a gambit that somehow can smooth over the vexing problems. The gambit they have chosen to employ is to say that the problem today is with unrestrained capitalism.
They way they see it is that, if capitalists can be restrained somewhat from pursuing the singular goal -- short-term profit -- that capitalism inherently requires, then equilibrium will be restored and we can return to the vision of sugar plums dancing in our heads.
But how does one restrain a monster that seeks to cast off any and all restraints? Each time the people (in the form of the state) throw down an obstacle into the river of unmitigated greed, the stream itself begins to erode the obstacle -- a good Taoist reference there -- and, before we know it, the obstacle has been dispatched with.
Try as we might, one of the underlying premises of the capitalist model -- to profit upon the suffering and misery of others -- is, in my opinion, hard to escape from. If we look at the economic ills and evils that plague America and much of the rest of the world too, they exist precisely because a very small minority is profiting mightily at the expense of the overwhelming majority.
Calamity, catastrophe and war are always good for some business enterprises. When things are going south for most people and the planet, these firms enjoy a great bonanza of wealth and power. What Naomi Klein uncovered and chronicled in her book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, is that the corporations and individuals who profit the most have made the conscious decision to manufacture crisis after crisis to keep the mother lode of dollars flowing their direction unimpeded.
I am not suggesting that, at some point, we won't be able to place a bridle on this out-of-control horse, but the bridle won't stay in place for long. As soon as we get the thoroughbred under control (restraint), he immediately will begin to devise new strategies to break free. History has shown he WILL succeed and then we'll have to go through the whole scenario all over again!
There has got to be a better way to order society so that a small minority is not allowed to prey on the misery of others.
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