The hits just keep on coming! Thanks Thom. Great essay, yet again. The problem is capitalism. I am not opposed to capitalism, AFTER basic needs for everyone are considered - food, housing and health care. But, Capital always....always...aggregates into fewer and few hands. Politics can't stop this because eventually, Capital buys politic…
The hits just keep on coming! Thanks Thom. Great essay, yet again. The problem is capitalism. I am not opposed to capitalism, AFTER basic needs for everyone are considered - food, housing and health care. But, Capital always....always...aggregates into fewer and few hands. Politics can't stop this because eventually, Capital buys politics. Think of Capital as a hungry beast that constantly feeds, grows and needs ever more. The right-wing SCOTUS has endorsed Capital aggregation and hurried it along. The only thing that can mitigate or slow this process is regulation. However, eventually capital (as we see now) buys off regulation, too. When people are desperate, there comes some type of revolt. MAGA is but a symptom. It's an endless cycle. It really doesn't have much to do with "we" and "me." The "me" hoarding the wealth is only a tiny percent of a tiny percentage of "us." The handful of "me's" force people who otherwise would be more communal, to withdraw from community and focus on saving themselves and their families.
The same mega people who support unlimited greed are the ones who want more babies on the planet for cheap labor. Until there is a maximum wage about 10 times the minimum wage and a flat tax the Earth is not safe for babies and all other living things!
Gaia is taking her revenge it was once thought that mammalian life had until the 22nd Century, now climate scientists admit that they estimate was too conservative, things are accelerating at an unforeseen pace, apparently they were looking at it through arithmetic progression, now it is geometric progression.
For instance Hurricane Hillary, on the west coast of the continent was not predicted, nor was the heat dome.
Aug 10, 23 "the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated its predictions for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season from "near normal" to "above normal," saying we can expect to see 14-21 named storms this year, with six to 11 of those becoming hurricanes.
Mr. S I read Polyani many years ago in grad school. It was not assigned reading. Some grad students just can't stick to the program. Thankfully. Polanyi was great. I think I must pick up his Great Transformation again. Thank you for the reminder.
Your welcome and thanks for that. I got through a lot of it found it to be a challenging but rewarding read. I certainly gained more understanding about the development of industrial society, the enclosure movement and the English laws he covers in depth.
This is very astute. That inevitable process of capitalism is so well-described. This has taken me many more words: "Capital always....always...aggregates into fewer and few hands." But how about now? What to do? Regulation isn't the only possible way to progress and I'm on a track of what we-the-people can do with our power. Not that many people seem to be thinking like we think and I'd love to hear what you'd say about what I put out. Get on my mailing list so we stay touch: https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/about.
I can only claim to have summarized. The book, Capital, by Thomas Piketty, is a great "root source" of information about this process. "In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th century, to uncover key economic and social patterns."
Just know that Michael Hudson is a severe critic of Piketty's work, and they've engaged in a debate. Not that Piketty is bad or wrong necessarily, but just pointing this out because Hudson's work is at least as important.
Hudson's work IS important, but I don't see how that clashes with Picket's work. There are a few differences here and there, but mostly both see debt as the method for protecting the Capital of the 1% at the expense of the 99%. This is destroying every communal urging that the country might have. This is not by accident. To my understanding, this actually IS the goal of the Federalist Society, which has a solid belief in oligarchy - keep the masses poor and the oligarch's rich as a way to supposedly push the country forward. People, they believe, must be forced to work - at whatever wages are offered, even if those wages don't support life. The debate (and than you for the link) is them mostly agreeing with one another. Both say that debt is a form of rent. Rather than using land or other resources to claim rents, the finance industry has gone to direct rents in the form of Capital. "Basically, the American philosophy is that the way to prevent an independent middle class from developing is to keep them so deeply indebted that they have to go to work and go into debt or forego a costly education, not be hired and starve."
Here is a personal example. I used to write bids for very large infrastructure projects for the government/military, woking for what was, at the time, the 3rd largest defense contractor in the world. To get to the winning price, I would commission a Price To Win analysis from an outside, independent source. For very large jobs, I would commission up to two more. When reversed engineered, these analyses would be able to get us to competitive price. Only problem was finance had totally taken over the company. What they demanded, they got. They had a number in mind they "needed" and it was always higher than the analyses. Short story: the company ignored the analyses and bid what finance told them to bid, resulting in lost bid after lost bid - 30% higher in some cases then our competition. I finally got tired of losing and putting in 80 hours a week to do so, and left the company.
I was to find that most large companies are essentially run by finance, which will eventually run them into the ground. The company is now somewhere around 9th globally. Yet, nobody has the cajoles to question finance.
I agree. I didn't mean to overstate their differences, although Hudson is emphatic about them. I think the most important part is that hudson focuses much more on the USA and its foreign policy and financial - currency systems whereas piketty is more generic. But it's worth noting Hudson's work just because it didn't get the publicity splash of piketty's book.
You are correct about finance - I have been a senior corporate counsel in a nyse company and worked with hundreds of large financial companies. Most people probably don't even know what CFOs do, I certainly didn't until I worked in house inside companies where every business decision derived from financial analyses and projections, the predictability of revenue, and EBITDA.
The hits just keep on coming! Thanks Thom. Great essay, yet again. The problem is capitalism. I am not opposed to capitalism, AFTER basic needs for everyone are considered - food, housing and health care. But, Capital always....always...aggregates into fewer and few hands. Politics can't stop this because eventually, Capital buys politics. Think of Capital as a hungry beast that constantly feeds, grows and needs ever more. The right-wing SCOTUS has endorsed Capital aggregation and hurried it along. The only thing that can mitigate or slow this process is regulation. However, eventually capital (as we see now) buys off regulation, too. When people are desperate, there comes some type of revolt. MAGA is but a symptom. It's an endless cycle. It really doesn't have much to do with "we" and "me." The "me" hoarding the wealth is only a tiny percent of a tiny percentage of "us." The handful of "me's" force people who otherwise would be more communal, to withdraw from community and focus on saving themselves and their families.
The same mega people who support unlimited greed are the ones who want more babies on the planet for cheap labor. Until there is a maximum wage about 10 times the minimum wage and a flat tax the Earth is not safe for babies and all other living things!
Gaia is taking her revenge it was once thought that mammalian life had until the 22nd Century, now climate scientists admit that they estimate was too conservative, things are accelerating at an unforeseen pace, apparently they were looking at it through arithmetic progression, now it is geometric progression.
For instance Hurricane Hillary, on the west coast of the continent was not predicted, nor was the heat dome.
Aug 10, 23 "the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) updated its predictions for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season from "near normal" to "above normal," saying we can expect to see 14-21 named storms this year, with six to 11 of those becoming hurricanes.
Those high-pressure areas also are helping keep Florida oppressively hot. As it has all week, the National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings and watches across the state, warning of "feels like" heat indices of up to 115. Residents are advised to stay indoors in cooled rooms as much as possible, stay hydrated, and if you must go outside, wear sunscreen and protective clothing." https://www.jacksonville.com/story/weather/2023/08/10/florida-hurricane-season-outlook-remains-calm-4-tropical-waves-tracked/70558657007/#:~:text=Don't%20expect%20it%20to,11%20of%20those%20becoming%20hurricanes.
Correct Ms. Coyote, CAPITALISM is the problem. Read the Marxist and Socialist scholars and spread the word. Start with Richard Wolff on line.
There's at least one thing I wouldn't argue with Bob Kuttner about -
Karl Polanyi explains it all.
https://prospect.org/power/karl-polanyi-explains/
Mr. S I read Polyani many years ago in grad school. It was not assigned reading. Some grad students just can't stick to the program. Thankfully. Polanyi was great. I think I must pick up his Great Transformation again. Thank you for the reminder.
GFD
Your welcome and thanks for that. I got through a lot of it found it to be a challenging but rewarding read. I certainly gained more understanding about the development of industrial society, the enclosure movement and the English laws he covers in depth.
This is very astute. That inevitable process of capitalism is so well-described. This has taken me many more words: "Capital always....always...aggregates into fewer and few hands." But how about now? What to do? Regulation isn't the only possible way to progress and I'm on a track of what we-the-people can do with our power. Not that many people seem to be thinking like we think and I'd love to hear what you'd say about what I put out. Get on my mailing list so we stay touch: https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/about.
I can only claim to have summarized. The book, Capital, by Thomas Piketty, is a great "root source" of information about this process. "In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piketty analyzes a unique collection of data from 20 countries, ranging as far back as the 18th century, to uncover key economic and social patterns."
Just know that Michael Hudson is a severe critic of Piketty's work, and they've engaged in a debate. Not that Piketty is bad or wrong necessarily, but just pointing this out because Hudson's work is at least as important.
https://michael-hudson.com/2021/10/piketty-vs-hudson/
Hudson's work IS important, but I don't see how that clashes with Picket's work. There are a few differences here and there, but mostly both see debt as the method for protecting the Capital of the 1% at the expense of the 99%. This is destroying every communal urging that the country might have. This is not by accident. To my understanding, this actually IS the goal of the Federalist Society, which has a solid belief in oligarchy - keep the masses poor and the oligarch's rich as a way to supposedly push the country forward. People, they believe, must be forced to work - at whatever wages are offered, even if those wages don't support life. The debate (and than you for the link) is them mostly agreeing with one another. Both say that debt is a form of rent. Rather than using land or other resources to claim rents, the finance industry has gone to direct rents in the form of Capital. "Basically, the American philosophy is that the way to prevent an independent middle class from developing is to keep them so deeply indebted that they have to go to work and go into debt or forego a costly education, not be hired and starve."
Here is a personal example. I used to write bids for very large infrastructure projects for the government/military, woking for what was, at the time, the 3rd largest defense contractor in the world. To get to the winning price, I would commission a Price To Win analysis from an outside, independent source. For very large jobs, I would commission up to two more. When reversed engineered, these analyses would be able to get us to competitive price. Only problem was finance had totally taken over the company. What they demanded, they got. They had a number in mind they "needed" and it was always higher than the analyses. Short story: the company ignored the analyses and bid what finance told them to bid, resulting in lost bid after lost bid - 30% higher in some cases then our competition. I finally got tired of losing and putting in 80 hours a week to do so, and left the company.
I was to find that most large companies are essentially run by finance, which will eventually run them into the ground. The company is now somewhere around 9th globally. Yet, nobody has the cajoles to question finance.
I agree. I didn't mean to overstate their differences, although Hudson is emphatic about them. I think the most important part is that hudson focuses much more on the USA and its foreign policy and financial - currency systems whereas piketty is more generic. But it's worth noting Hudson's work just because it didn't get the publicity splash of piketty's book.
You are correct about finance - I have been a senior corporate counsel in a nyse company and worked with hundreds of large financial companies. Most people probably don't even know what CFOs do, I certainly didn't until I worked in house inside companies where every business decision derived from financial analyses and projections, the predictability of revenue, and EBITDA.