Forum Post: 'The principle of endless accumulation that defines capitalism synonymous with exponential growth and the later, like cancer, leads to death.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 18, 2011, 7:22 a.m. EST by abmebratu
(349)
from Washington, DC
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
However, in our current case capitalism is not allowed to die. The state is the ultimate guarantor of capitalism, through the various modes of bailouts, cash injections, subsidies, and general corporate welfare programs.
"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.
"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."
Robert F. Kennedy Address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968
Any economists around? Capitalism has cycles of growth and crisis, that should be obvious if you pay attention to our current situation. Why does the state bolster capitalism? I guess because it is the only game in town. Any economists?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIcqb9hHQ3E&feature=share
this video says it all. the occupy wall street movement has force and passion and is rooted in widespread frustration. however its target - -wall street -- is off the mark. look at this you-tube video to see where the OWS efforts would be more appropriately targeted.
Capitalism with out state sector support is finished. I think this is the point missed by many conservatives and Tea party members.
if we removed the state and had pure capitalism, I imagine what would crop up would resemble a banana republic with a minority of wealthy elites guarded by private militias and a discontent lower class for service and labor. The middle class would diminish as the private mechanisms consolidated powers. It would resemble a Feudalistic hybrid of Capitalism.
Yes, you are right. This is why one can prove the enviability of capitalism without corporate welfare. Without the nanny state capitalism has no legs to stand on, at least not for any long walk.
this is partially true. Capitalism in the U.S. is totalitarian in that it is embedded in our daily lives from small decisions to large ones. I am not apologizing for it, but I am looking for both specific details and nuance to understand a proper exit. Would the state sector fall apart without capitalism? Capitalism also supports the state through the military industrial complex and other means. Mixed economy of private and state operated enterprises could co-exist, but would be full of a great deal of other problems. I would like to see a committee of very progressive and imaginative economists, lawyers, as well as non-specialists who might draft an interesting outline which includes alternative economies, experimental organization, among other things.