What is more intrinsically corrupt than allowing people to engage in high-reward/no-risk capitalism — where they reap tens of millions of dollars and more every year while their reckless gambles are paying off only to then have the Government shift their losses to the citizenry at large once their schemes collapse? We’ve retroactively created a win-only system where the wealthiest corporations and their shareholders are free to gamble for as long as they win and then force others who have no upside to pay for their losses. Watching Wall St. erupt with an orgy of celebration on Friday after it became clear the Government (i.e., you) would pay for their disaster was literally nauseating, as the very people who wreaked this havoc are now being rewarded.
– Glenn Greenwald, on the bailout
Filed under: Socio-Political
It’s starting to crack… look when i was in uk from 1999 the west thought it had reached the end of history, that capitalism is so obviously right- it’s a no brainer, like why would u even think of questioning it?
The only people who hadn’t figured it out moaned sullenly in self inflicted poverty in places like Syria, North Korea or Cuba.. and thusly they would always be poor. Only now it seems that it’s not so straighforward afterall and the whole of America’s financial infrastructure can collapse like some Pakistani bank- just implode. So it’s not the end of history afterall and capitlalism isn’t the antidote to stupidism we was led to believe? What now then?
Cos u crack capitalism u also smash the west’s confident self image and it’s essential message to us- that free markets and free politics generate both wealth and stability. Only they don’t…. capitalism seems to create poverty for us and now it’s wheels have just fallen off it’s little choo choo wall street gravy train, and as for democracy stamped by CENTCOM on us- think anarchy.
Here’s what’s more worrying….. i just hope the west doesn’t redefine itself as Christian when all else fails cos then we really are in trouble.
Hmmmm. Although I agree with the sentiment of this post, I think that communism and capitalism fail for the same reasons.
Greed, cronyism and avarice at the top.
In other words, the worst aspects of human nature.
Have you read any Jared Diamond
Yes, I have (Guns Germs, etc).
I think I agree about communism and capitalism, but am currently half-heartedly giving communism another lookover.
i think our community if we make one like in Canada, it’s communistic- cos everyone helps everyone. And if u want to know how apostate’s commune (in Canada) is in essence, never think it’s a corrupt place, apostate herself would sleep only in a simple horse hair blanket, that material corruption isn’t possible, cos we overcome that long ago, if some persons eat just a bowl of rice- apostate eats just half a bowl, like that, so what’s it like in essence?
I Canada we will be rich cos we farm rice and crops and do internet banking also- we soon get rich, but our values are such our compound is a cross between Sparta and a Buddhist monastery in Zanskar.