It is currently Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:07 am
The old left—the Wobblies, the Congress of Industrial Workers (CIO), the Socialist and Communist parties, the fiercely independent publications such as Appeal to Reason and The Masses—would have known what to do with the rage of our dispossessed. It used anger at injustice, corporate greed and state repression to mobilize Americans to terrify the power elite on the eve of World War I. This was the time when socialism was not a dirty word in America but a promise embraced by millions who hoped to create a world where everyone would have a chance. The steady destruction of the movements of the left was carefully orchestrated. They fell victim to a mixture of sophisticated forms of government and corporate propaganda, especially during the witch hunts for communists, and overt repression. Their disappearance means we lack the vocabulary of class warfare and the militant organizations, including an independent press, with which to fight back.
This is not only an awful comparison, but a rejection of socialist ideas.The propagandists of globalization—from Lawrence Summers to Francis Fukuyama to Thomas Friedman—do for globalization and the free market what Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky did for Marxism. They sell us a dream.
garth cartwright wrote:Yes, good stuff. The Guardian's economics writer wrote well yesterday on how the US lives in denial . . .
Jonathan E. wrote:Could you give us a link, please.
NormanD wrote:The propagandists of globalization—from Lawrence Summers to Francis Fukuyama to Thomas Friedman—do for globalization and the free market what Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky did for Marxism. They sell us a dream.
This is not only an awful comparison, but a rejection of socialist ideas.
Neil Foxlee wrote:It might well be this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010 ... o-disaster .
An accurate and clear summary but you could read this in the FT or DT. You say the US is in denial but there's an argument to be made that the denial goes way beyond the US, the current levels of consumption are unsustainable globally. Your argument is essentially 'back to business as usual'. This is understandable for someone well versed in conventional economics.
Until we confront the profound issues and consider the long term health of the planet and all that it sustains, our kids and future generations are going to curse us as contemptible failures. The doomsday scenario you paint is perhaps the one that will confront our hubristic complacency. Not easy I'll concede but essential for our survival. Greed, ego and selfishness are the enemy and yes there is a spiritual aspect to life, even economics.
garth cartwright wrote:Yes, good stuff. The Guardian's economics writer wrote well yesterday on how the US lives in denial - it no longer produces things people want yet allows its populace to believe they can still "have it all" thus sinking deeper and deeper into debt with new jeeps and McMansions and such.
America's structural problem is that it has been in long-term industrial decline for the past 30 years and is in a state of denial about it. Countries succeed when they get the fundamentals right: they see the need for the whole population to be well-educated, not just an elite; they spend time and effort getting products right and making small but important incremental improvements; they make things that other nations want to buy.
yet allows its populace to believe they can still "have it all" thus sinking deeper and deeper into debt with new jeeps and McMansions and such.
Return to Economics, Politics & anything else you can think of
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest