Short answer: Maybe incrementally more diffuse than some places, but HELL no! The confluence of government and business interests is one of freedoms biggest threats. It is anything BUT a free market!
Brilliant synthesis Pen. Two other books delve into a slightly different angle: “The 9.9 Percent” by Matthew Stewart (quite philosophical, some big jumps in logic that were new to me, acerbically funny) is one. The other is “Thank you for Your Servitude” by Mark Leibovich. It’s darkly harsh, and more rooted in everyday realities.
Both have left the idea of the 1% behind mainly. They are a terrible drag, but focusing on them excuses by ignoring the next tier down.
The big idea, so to speak, is the myriad of ways that capitalism unchained has hollowed out the middle class. The top 10% have created a self-perpetuating system that it would take years for any government to unwind.
Truthfully it reminds me of the pre WWI aristocracy in Britain, an area of study for me in my university days. It took two wars and a Depression to leave but a shadow of it left - a shadow that stills punches, unfortunately, above its weight.
You said, "The big idea, so to speak, is the myriad of ways that capitalism unchained has hollowed out the middle class. The top 10% have created a self-perpetuating system that it would take years for any government to unwind."
I have no desire to ask the rich for beneficence. If they are unwilling to share their obscene wealth, we should take it away from them by whatever means necessary. No human being should have to suffer pointlessly because another human being has decided to hoard enough resources to solve the problems of hundreds of millions of other humans.
I appreciate the book recommendations. I purchased audio book versions of each. Expect reviews here when I finish listening!
I would make 2 points. One is that the rule of law cannot be abandoned to effectuate greater income inequality.
Our tax system must be changed to address the gaping loopholes written by lobbyists, and to reverse the corporate tax cuts. Of course, given the current partisan extremists comprising SCOTUS, there is little hope that legislation would prevail, even if the political will existed.
Second, there is blame to be shared across the country re the devastating spiral of climate change. Gov Inslee ran on a simple platform of a 'whole of government ' approach to climate change. Neither millenials nor GenZers exploded his campaign with donations or resources.
Nothing is ever simple in this country...not the problems or the solutions.
I applaud your passion, but history shows (at least, to me) that Americans need to be faced with no other options before finally making the hard choices.
Rule of Law is malleable, like everything else in the human domain. It changes with power and the powerful. How will Americans know when there are no other options?
We've seen the chaos erupting in the wake of partisan GOP justices, judges, and governors upending the rule of law to enact their personal ideology.
Society would collapse if both parties ignored the rule of law.
Your question is a good one. I've no idea what the final straw will be...a pandemic with a $1M+ death toll, suffocating heat domes, devastating wildfires, relentless floods, the loss of civil rights have collectively moved the needle very little.
Will potential convictions make a difference? I have no idea...but there will be a final straw at some point. If we lack the foundation of the rule of law, there is no way to move forward from the massive backlash that we're living through.
Pen, the words “by whatever means necessary” are capable of infinite interpretation. I am sure that many of the crowd storming the Capitol on January 6 felt that they were going to ensure that the result of the election of 2020 would be a reversal, “by whatever means necessary”. I draw the line at violence.
As you say, the wealthy are not going to share their wealth in a beneficent manner. But progressive taxation and a seriously staffed IRS could make a difference. Eliminating or at least reducing ways to shelter capital abroad would be another. Laws that ensure that all public schools are funded equally would help.
I remain convinced that the solution is a long way off. As I wrote recently, a meaningful solution would begin with vast reforms to give the next generation of children a good start in life. Reforms in education would further that. Then a new generation would feel morally impelled to tackle inequality.
As hw said above Americans make the right choice when all other options are exhausted. Revolution is not the best choice in my opinion.
I was intentionally leaving my future options wide open. I don’t want violence, but certain forms of violence are effective catalysts for social change. It’s a mixed bag, to be sure.
In the USA, we seem to be numb to violence. The gun fanatics would rather tolerate the culture of violence than give up a single weapon because their entire sense of purpose in life revolves around the imaginary machismo that accompanies that sub-culture.
At this juncture I believe reshaping American subcultures built around honoring violence and intolerance of other subcultures is the most effective thing I can do.
Somehow though, we must foment change in our federal systems. They are feeble. They are not working for the vast majority of people.
To paraphrase Churchill, “capitalism is the worst form of economy, except for all the others”. The problem arises when the government starts exerting too much power in the private sphere and vice versa. That attracts the worst from both the private and the public realms. The free market has its issues, and nothing human is perfect, but it incurs far less than any other.
Markets self-correcting is a myth. Capitalism isn't self-regulated. Governments regulate, subsidize, and bailout corporations. There is no real-world pure capitalist society. That is a fantasy peddled by libertarians.
Granted. However, there's no real world socialist society on this world, either. As I alluded to earlier since we are human we are flawed. This being undeniable, I'd rather have an imperfect capitalist society where power and corruption are diffuse, than an imperfect socialist one where they are concentrated.
I know we get snarky with each other from time to time, but I think you and I are pretty close identifying the problems. We just disagree on the solutions.
Follow up: do you think American power and corruption are diffuse? Be as detailed as you like in responding.
Short answer: Maybe incrementally more diffuse than some places, but HELL no! The confluence of government and business interests is one of freedoms biggest threats. It is anything BUT a free market!
Brilliant synthesis Pen. Two other books delve into a slightly different angle: “The 9.9 Percent” by Matthew Stewart (quite philosophical, some big jumps in logic that were new to me, acerbically funny) is one. The other is “Thank you for Your Servitude” by Mark Leibovich. It’s darkly harsh, and more rooted in everyday realities.
Both have left the idea of the 1% behind mainly. They are a terrible drag, but focusing on them excuses by ignoring the next tier down.
The big idea, so to speak, is the myriad of ways that capitalism unchained has hollowed out the middle class. The top 10% have created a self-perpetuating system that it would take years for any government to unwind.
Truthfully it reminds me of the pre WWI aristocracy in Britain, an area of study for me in my university days. It took two wars and a Depression to leave but a shadow of it left - a shadow that stills punches, unfortunately, above its weight.
Thanks for your insights and well-crafted pieces.
Eric,
You said, "The big idea, so to speak, is the myriad of ways that capitalism unchained has hollowed out the middle class. The top 10% have created a self-perpetuating system that it would take years for any government to unwind."
I have no desire to ask the rich for beneficence. If they are unwilling to share their obscene wealth, we should take it away from them by whatever means necessary. No human being should have to suffer pointlessly because another human being has decided to hoard enough resources to solve the problems of hundreds of millions of other humans.
I appreciate the book recommendations. I purchased audio book versions of each. Expect reviews here when I finish listening!
I would make 2 points. One is that the rule of law cannot be abandoned to effectuate greater income inequality.
Our tax system must be changed to address the gaping loopholes written by lobbyists, and to reverse the corporate tax cuts. Of course, given the current partisan extremists comprising SCOTUS, there is little hope that legislation would prevail, even if the political will existed.
Second, there is blame to be shared across the country re the devastating spiral of climate change. Gov Inslee ran on a simple platform of a 'whole of government ' approach to climate change. Neither millenials nor GenZers exploded his campaign with donations or resources.
Nothing is ever simple in this country...not the problems or the solutions.
I applaud your passion, but history shows (at least, to me) that Americans need to be faced with no other options before finally making the hard choices.
Rule of Law is malleable, like everything else in the human domain. It changes with power and the powerful. How will Americans know when there are no other options?
We've seen the chaos erupting in the wake of partisan GOP justices, judges, and governors upending the rule of law to enact their personal ideology.
Society would collapse if both parties ignored the rule of law.
Your question is a good one. I've no idea what the final straw will be...a pandemic with a $1M+ death toll, suffocating heat domes, devastating wildfires, relentless floods, the loss of civil rights have collectively moved the needle very little.
Will potential convictions make a difference? I have no idea...but there will be a final straw at some point. If we lack the foundation of the rule of law, there is no way to move forward from the massive backlash that we're living through.
I understand if you don't agree.
Pen, the words “by whatever means necessary” are capable of infinite interpretation. I am sure that many of the crowd storming the Capitol on January 6 felt that they were going to ensure that the result of the election of 2020 would be a reversal, “by whatever means necessary”. I draw the line at violence.
As you say, the wealthy are not going to share their wealth in a beneficent manner. But progressive taxation and a seriously staffed IRS could make a difference. Eliminating or at least reducing ways to shelter capital abroad would be another. Laws that ensure that all public schools are funded equally would help.
I remain convinced that the solution is a long way off. As I wrote recently, a meaningful solution would begin with vast reforms to give the next generation of children a good start in life. Reforms in education would further that. Then a new generation would feel morally impelled to tackle inequality.
As hw said above Americans make the right choice when all other options are exhausted. Revolution is not the best choice in my opinion.
I was intentionally leaving my future options wide open. I don’t want violence, but certain forms of violence are effective catalysts for social change. It’s a mixed bag, to be sure.
In the USA, we seem to be numb to violence. The gun fanatics would rather tolerate the culture of violence than give up a single weapon because their entire sense of purpose in life revolves around the imaginary machismo that accompanies that sub-culture.
At this juncture I believe reshaping American subcultures built around honoring violence and intolerance of other subcultures is the most effective thing I can do.
Somehow though, we must foment change in our federal systems. They are feeble. They are not working for the vast majority of people.
To paraphrase Churchill, “capitalism is the worst form of economy, except for all the others”. The problem arises when the government starts exerting too much power in the private sphere and vice versa. That attracts the worst from both the private and the public realms. The free market has its issues, and nothing human is perfect, but it incurs far less than any other.
The balance between governance and greed is not correct.
No, it’s not. That’s why you let the market handle the imbalance.
Markets self-correcting is a myth. Capitalism isn't self-regulated. Governments regulate, subsidize, and bailout corporations. There is no real-world pure capitalist society. That is a fantasy peddled by libertarians.
Granted. However, there's no real world socialist society on this world, either. As I alluded to earlier since we are human we are flawed. This being undeniable, I'd rather have an imperfect capitalist society where power and corruption are diffuse, than an imperfect socialist one where they are concentrated.
That's worth thinking about. So I will. Thank you for the civil exchange of ideas.
I know we get snarky with each other from time to time, but I think you and I are pretty close identifying the problems. We just disagree on the solutions.