This Is Capitalism. And If We Want To Survive, Or Thrive, It Must Die.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 10:36am

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFn0UqgRrx8]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJufEfWifqo]

People in this country seem to profoundly lack any real understanding of how systems work. To many people in the west, there's always some mysterious outside force that's fucking western civilization in the ass. This force has many names. Whether you call it the New World Order, The Deep State, Cultural Marxism, The Jews or some other thoughtless, nebulous term, it obfuscates the fact that everything happening now is a literal requirement in order for capitalism to function.

And even when capitalism is questioned, it's done in such a way as to ignore the contradictions and problems caused by capitalism. That's not REAL capitalism. That's "crony"-capitalism, or corporatism, they say. This wouldn't happen under a truly free market, or a heavily regulated one, they scream, while conveniently forgetting that for capitalists, the worst aspects of humanity are considered a business model. Regulation of such behavior is fleeting, and less than a decade later the robber-barons go back to their usual ways anyway.

From the wars for resources to the 'management' of disease to destruction caused by natural and man-made disasters and so on, everything is an opportunity for profit. Hell, disasters are created for the sole purpose of profit. Flint, Michigan, anyone?

A lot of people talk about empire, too. And yes, imperalism is a terrible thing, but for the capitalists, empire is a means to an end. After all, how else are these bastards going to keep the steady stream of profit going? These SOBs have to keep labor and resources cheap somehow. Yes, yes, I know, free trade agreements, but those are imperialist as well given how incredibly one-sided they are.

And profits for the shareholders and owners can never be allowed to go down under any circumstances, even if it means quality of life improves for humanity as a whole. That means no cures for cancer or AIDS. No renewable energy. No single-payer or publicly funded hospitals or medicines. No public education. More people in prison than the rest of the world.

No more half-assed measures like The New Deal. No more reactionary bullshit. Either capitalism dies, or we do. It's that simple.

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capitalism must die

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Comments

Submitted by FreeSociety on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 1:12pm

What do you propose?

So what would you propose instead? Socialism?
But do "Planned societies work"?

Isn't the death-grip that we live under today of: Central Bank based control, and "The New World Order", Globalism, the G8, and their contrived "Think Tanks" (Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, WTO, World Bank, IMF, International Bank of Settlements, etc.) a result of a deliberate contrived and planned society? (which, of course, is supported by Military violence and "Black Ops").

I maintain that this rule of Corporatism and Cartels (which is what we have) is not the same as free-market exchange (capitalism).

But I also maintain that a robust social safety net is also not incompatible with free-market capitalism either. They can co-exist, and they clearly should. So should robust and aggressively enforced Anti-Trust Laws.

The real problem is that the system of Government we have is setup to corrupt any economic system that you can name. A Republic (which is how our Country was designed), is necessarily doomed to failure.

Why?

Because it invests all the policy making power, not in the people, but instead in the hands of a small group of remote "representatives" or chosen actors. And any small group of people can easily be corrupted by the tactics of bribery, by blackmail, by intimidation, by physical threats, by defamation, or by any combination of these.

When you only have just a small group that needs to be corrupted, it is just a matter of time before this group stops functioning on behalf of the people and invests its efforts serving 'special interests' (i.e. corruption).

And obviously Elections are no remedy when they are based upon raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and are put under the control of a Media Monopoly to spin the narratives.

Was the Media Monopoly a result of free-market Capitalism? No. The U.S. Media was infiltrated and taken over (essentially) by the CIA with Operation Mockingbird back in the late-1940s. And back in the early 1900s, the Bank Cartel bought off all the leading Newspapers to begin the process of destroying the 4th Estate. That's also the same time when the Country was manipulated into the "Federal Reserve" (Central Bank) takeover of our money, and the IRS, and World War I.

And that was the same time that we stopped defending ourselves against Great Britain who was our oppressive enemy .. and magically started fighting all of the British Elites (and Europe's) Wars for them on their behalf (and later Saudi Arabia, and Israel).

So the problem is much bigger than capitalism, or any one economic system.

What we need first is direct democracy. It is always a lot harder to corrupt millions of people to agree to self-injuring policies, then it is to corrupt 100 elite "chosen representatives" who don't have to live under the same rules.

If we have direct democracy, we can then finally have policy controls and bribery controls where needed, and something that we do not have today -- free-market consumer-driven capitalism -- can finally work as intended.

Submitted by Wink on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 1:10pm

We need to double the

number of congress critters
@FreeSociety
as a start. From 435 congressional districts to 870. That right there makes them more accountable. And Terms need to be extended from 2 yrs. to 3 yrs., with 1/3rd of congress up for reelection every year (like the Senate does it). That way there's less pressure (and time) spent on raising funds for reelection, and more time spent actually representing the districts.
Those two steps go a Long way toward fixing what ails congress.

.

So what would you propose instead? Socialism?
But do "Planned societies work"?

Isn't the death-grip that we live under today of: Central Bank based control, and "The New World Order", Globalism, the G8, and their contrived "Think Tanks" (Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, WTO, World Bank, IMF, International Bank of Settlements, etc.) a result of a deliberate contrived and planned society? (which, of course, is supported by Military violence and "Black Ops").

I maintain that this rule of Corporatism and Cartels (which is what we have) is not the same as free-market exchange (capitalism).

But I also maintain that a robust social safety net is also not incompatible with free-market capitalism either. They can co-exist, and they clearly should. So should robust and aggressively enforced Anti-Trust Laws.

The real problem is that the system of Government we have is setup to corrupt any economic system that you can name. A Republic (which is how our Country was designed), is necessarily doomed to failure.

Why?

Because it invests all the policy making power, not in the people, but instead in the hands of a small group of remote "representatives" or chosen actors. And any small group of people can easily be corrupted by the tactics of bribery, by blackmail, by intimidation, by physical threats, by defamation, or by any combination of these.

When you only have just a small group that needs to be corrupted, it is just a matter of time before this group stops functioning on behalf of the people and invests its efforts serving 'special interests' (i.e. corruption).

And obviously Elections are no remedy when they are based upon raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and are put under the control of a Media Monopoly to spin the narratives.

Was the Media Monopoly a result of free-market Capitalism? No. The U.S. Media was infiltrated and taken over (essentially) by the CIA with Operation Mockingbird back in the late-1940s. And back in the early 1900s, the Bank Cartel bought off all the leading Newspapers to begin the process of destroying the 4th Estate. That's also the same time when the Country was manipulated into the "Federal Reserve" (Central Bank) takeover of our money, and the IRS, and World War I.

And that was the same time that we stopped defending ourselves against Great Britain who was our oppressive enemy .. and magically started fighting all of the British Elites (and Europe's) Wars for them on their behalf (and later Saudi Arabia, and Israel).

So the problem is much bigger than capitalism, or any one economic system.

What we need first is direct democracy. It is always a lot harder to corrupt millions of people to agree to self-injuring policies, then it is to corrupt 100 elite "chosen representatives" who don't have to live under the same rules.

If we have direct democracy, we can then finally have policy controls and bribery controls where needed, and something that we do not have today -- free-market consumer-driven capitalism -- can finally work as intended.

—

the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 1:12pm

How much are the bourgeoisie paying your ass?

@FreeSociety They must be paying you a pretty penny to spew this libertarian mental gymnastics you call a comment. Capitalism is a literal impossibility without government intervention. Hell, without government research or public funding, we wouldn't even be exchanging comments on this thread to begin with.

When the bourgeoisie send people like you with all your buzzwords and boogeymen to whine about free markets, what you really mean is freedom for them to do what they want, when they want, where they want to whoever they want with no recourse for those they rob blind.

The free market is like santa claus or the tooth fairy. It can't exist because no society would survive with one. Everything from the Fed to the CIA and military is a literal requirement for the function of capitalism because they are a means to an end, in this case, a steady profit stream. They know this. They always have. No amount of romanticizing that you or any other capitalist wannabe does will change this.

.

So what would you propose instead? Socialism?
But do "Planned societies work"?

Isn't the death-grip that we live under today of: Central Bank based control, and "The New World Order", Globalism, the G8, and their contrived "Think Tanks" (Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, WTO, World Bank, IMF, International Bank of Settlements, etc.) a result of a deliberate contrived and planned society? (which, of course, is supported by Military violence and "Black Ops").

I maintain that this rule of Corporatism and Cartels (which is what we have) is not the same as free-market exchange (capitalism).

But I also maintain that a robust social safety net is also not incompatible with free-market capitalism either. They can co-exist, and they clearly should. So should robust and aggressively enforced Anti-Trust Laws.

The real problem is that the system of Government we have is setup to corrupt any economic system that you can name. A Republic (which is how our Country was designed), is necessarily doomed to failure.

Why?

Because it invests all the policy making power, not in the people, but instead in the hands of a small group of remote "representatives" or chosen actors. And any small group of people can easily be corrupted by the tactics of bribery, by blackmail, by intimidation, by physical threats, by defamation, or by any combination of these.

When you only have just a small group that needs to be corrupted, it is just a matter of time before this group stops functioning on behalf of the people and invests its efforts serving 'special interests' (i.e. corruption).

And obviously Elections are no remedy when they are based upon raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and are put under the control of a Media Monopoly to spin the narratives.

Was the Media Monopoly a result of free-market Capitalism? No. The U.S. Media was infiltrated and taken over (essentially) by the CIA with Operation Mockingbird back in the late-1940s. And back in the early 1900s, the Bank Cartel bought off all the leading Newspapers to begin the process of destroying the 4th Estate. That's also the same time when the Country was manipulated into the "Federal Reserve" (Central Bank) takeover of our money, and the IRS, and World War I.

And that was the same time that we stopped defending ourselves against Great Britain who was our oppressive enemy .. and magically started fighting all of the British Elites (and Europe's) Wars for them on their behalf (and later Saudi Arabia, and Israel).

So the problem is much bigger than capitalism, or any one economic system.

What we need first is direct democracy. It is always a lot harder to corrupt millions of people to agree to self-injuring policies, then it is to corrupt 100 elite "chosen representatives" who don't have to live under the same rules.

If we have direct democracy, we can then finally have policy controls and bribery controls where needed, and something that we do not have today -- free-market consumer-driven capitalism -- can finally work as intended.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 3:10pm

the so-called "free market"

@The Aspie Corner

The free market is like santa claus or the tooth fairy. It can't exist because no society would survive with one.

Actually, the so-called "free market" does not and cannot exist for an even more basic reason: As soon as an unregulated market starts producing major winners (which such always does), said winners devote their new-found capital strength to making competition impossible. These want to be monopolies -- the only ones selling what they sell, so they can set the price for maximum profit. At this point, the market is no longer free in any way; monopoly capitalists make the rules. Ideally for those monopoly capitalists would be the WalMart position, where they are not only monopoly sellers, but monopsonists as well: the only buyers of raw materials and their own customers' labor, as well as the only seller of everything said laborers use in their lives.

BeLIEvers in "free market capitalism" or "laissez-faire" need to change their choice of recreational hallucinogens. In mnost cases, that means they need to start consuming such, so they have some idea of things that exist in one's head alone versus things that exist in the one empirical reality we all live, and move, and have our being in.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by k9disc on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 7:50pm

Planning... Too Much Credit... It's a " 'Coincidence' "

Reminds me of the Gore Vidal quip about being accused of Conspiracy Theory.

Nah. No conspiracy... It is a coincidence.

Davos? That's just some billionaires "bumping" into each other. And the Chemical Manufacturing Association have no agenda.

That's all just coincidence.

Our entire economic and political system are just an unending stream of coincidences. Pay no attention to the correlating data and public policy...

@FreeSociety

.

So what would you propose instead? Socialism?
But do "Planned societies work"?

Isn't the death-grip that we live under today of: Central Bank based control, and "The New World Order", Globalism, the G8, and their contrived "Think Tanks" (Council on Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, WTO, World Bank, IMF, International Bank of Settlements, etc.) a result of a deliberate contrived and planned society? (which, of course, is supported by Military violence and "Black Ops").

I maintain that this rule of Corporatism and Cartels (which is what we have) is not the same as free-market exchange (capitalism).

But I also maintain that a robust social safety net is also not incompatible with free-market capitalism either. They can co-exist, and they clearly should. So should robust and aggressively enforced Anti-Trust Laws.

The real problem is that the system of Government we have is setup to corrupt any economic system that you can name. A Republic (which is how our Country was designed), is necessarily doomed to failure.

Why?

Because it invests all the policy making power, not in the people, but instead in the hands of a small group of remote "representatives" or chosen actors. And any small group of people can easily be corrupted by the tactics of bribery, by blackmail, by intimidation, by physical threats, by defamation, or by any combination of these.

When you only have just a small group that needs to be corrupted, it is just a matter of time before this group stops functioning on behalf of the people and invests its efforts serving 'special interests' (i.e. corruption).

And obviously Elections are no remedy when they are based upon raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and are put under the control of a Media Monopoly to spin the narratives.

Was the Media Monopoly a result of free-market Capitalism? No. The U.S. Media was infiltrated and taken over (essentially) by the CIA with Operation Mockingbird back in the late-1940s. And back in the early 1900s, the Bank Cartel bought off all the leading Newspapers to begin the process of destroying the 4th Estate. That's also the same time when the Country was manipulated into the "Federal Reserve" (Central Bank) takeover of our money, and the IRS, and World War I.

And that was the same time that we stopped defending ourselves against Great Britain who was our oppressive enemy .. and magically started fighting all of the British Elites (and Europe's) Wars for them on their behalf (and later Saudi Arabia, and Israel).

So the problem is much bigger than capitalism, or any one economic system.

What we need first is direct democracy. It is always a lot harder to corrupt millions of people to agree to self-injuring policies, then it is to corrupt 100 elite "chosen representatives" who don't have to live under the same rules.

If we have direct democracy, we can then finally have policy controls and bribery controls where needed, and something that we do not have today -- free-market consumer-driven capitalism -- can finally work as intended.

—

“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

Submitted by Azazello on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 1:38pm

There are no systems.

There is no capitalist system, there is no socialist system, there is no communist system.
All of these are ad hoc approaches used in indifferent degrees by different governments in different circumstances.
Would you kill capitalism ? You must eliminate private property and you can't do that without terror. It's been tried.
And no, it's not that simple.

—

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 1:52pm

"It's been tried." Said every anti-communist/socialist ever.

@Azazello Were there problems? Did people die? Of course. But western sources had a tendency to exaggerate the bad and ignore the good when it comes to the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and other socialistic countries.

And with the Soviet Union dead, the capitalists have all but dropped the pretense of Social Democracy in favor of the total privatization and terrorizing of everything that isn't nailed down.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 3:17pm

private property

@Azazello

Would you kill capitalism ? You must eliminate private property and you can't do that without terror. It's been tried. And no, it's not that simple.

Systems -- or as close as any society ever comes to having them -- exist where the right to reasonable amounts of private property exists, while prohibiting the excess accumulations whose sole use is to terrorize and oppress.

Look to the Scandinavian nations for examples. France, too, before 2000.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by Azazello on Fri, 04/20/2018 - 4:47pm

Well yeah ...

@thanatokephaloides
Those countries have laws and traditions that allow for both capitalist and socialist elements. You couldn't call them "capitalist systems" or "socialist systems". That's what I meant.

—

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.