We've watched the Democrats and many progressives in congress passively or actively support vastly expensive bailouts of financial giants, automobile manufacturers, huge banks, etc. I've gone along with most of it without being able to put my finger on exactly why. The reason suddenly came clear for me when I read "To Each According To His Greed" by Slavoj Zezek in HARPER'S, October 2009.
We and most of the world, including China, now live in a capitalist system. That is a fact of life. In a capitalist system, who gets hurt the most when a part of the system breaks down? If "X" breaks down in a capitalist system, the rich often get richer. The middleclass gets hurt. The poor suffer intensely.
I understand little about economics, but its obvious that when a capitalist system fails, the poor absorb the pain. Once you see that the poor get hurt the most, the efforts by FDR and Obama to rescue key but failing elements in the system make sense.
As long as we remain in a capitalist system, punishing Wall Street will harm the poor. This, as Zezek points out, is blackmail. We are trapped. For those of us on the Left, the major problem is that we have not come up with a viable worldwide alternative to the capitalist system. And that is what the Left needs to invent.
Gary Goss
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2 comments:
I agree, Gary, we haven't found a viable alternative to capitalism.
Since capitalism depends upon low-paid labor and the exploitation of the environment, the economic system does need to change.
Do you have any ideas of how that change could look (leaving apart the implementation)?
I'm curious as to what others think about cures for capitalism. Do you think there is such a thing as sustainable or equitable capitalism?
I'm struck by the staggering complexity of any economic system and the unintended consequences of changes. That is why (I think) central planning has not worked out and why economists make mistakes.
I look at some European countries with heavily regulated capitalism, and they seem to be working okay while providing food, clothing, shelter and medicine for everyone. That seems like a short-term solution
In the long run, as machines do more and more of the real work, where will jobs that pay a living wage come from? If most American jobs don't pay a living wage, we will need a different system. But what?
Gary
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