>On Fri, 12 Dec 1997, Ed Weick wrote:
>
>> [..Big snip...]
>> We do not need to get rid of capitalism. We could not do it in any event.
>> What we do need, in my opinion, is a change in our values that moves us to a
>> more caring global society. How this might be accomplished will, I believe,
>> be one of the largest issues of the coming century.
>>
and Charles Reid responded:
>-- Right now, business controls politics, leading to the castration of
>politics, and a new system of corrupt Corporate Feudalism. We need to
>recognize that it's in all our interests to rejuvenate politics,
>castrate business through fiscal policy, and create a humane and human
>civilization. ....... In short, the American people, who are products of
>their own irrational fantasies, exist in a state of denial. In the long
>run, an environment like that existed just before the French or Russian
>revolutions will emerge, and all hell will break loose. At the global
>level. Something like Global National Socialism, with its police and
>'global security' apparatus, undoubtedly will be the emergent state of
>the system.
>
Charles,
I would agree that there are strong links between business and politics and
that the influence of the business elite has gained and that the influence
of populist(?) organizations such as labor unions has waned. But I would
suggest that everything is a little out of control. As recent events in
Asia have demonstrated, business is not really even in control of itself and
politicians are running desperately just to keep from falling too far
behind. It is as though a genie has been let out of the bottle.
This genie is technological in character. At least three revolutions are
underway simultaneously: in transportation; in communications; and in
information. The speed with which these revolutions are taking place may be
accelerating. We don't know where they are taking us or how fast. And most
importantly, very few organizations and institutions have fully figured out
how to adapt to them. As many people have pointed out on this list, these
revolutions have played hell with the nation state, with national
boundaries, with national currencies, and even with national loyalties.
And, undoubtedly, they have favored organizations, such as large
corporations, which are highly mobile and can move assets about quickly, and
have had a negative, at times devastating, impact on many a localized labor
force.
Politicians are in a dilemma. They know something big is happening, but
they are not sure of what. They must try to contain it and make laws about
it. And as was demonstrated in earlier times of rapid change, when
politicians are uncertain of what to do, the door can open for leaders of a
more dangerous stripe. While I doubt that we are in danger of national
socialism on a global scale, I would agree to the possibility of an increase
in extremist forms of government at the national level. Countries
particularly hard-hit by change would be ripe for it.
By all means castrate American business if that makes you feel better (and
if you can), but I don't think that is going to fix anything. America,
while still very powerful economically, no longer exists in isolation. When
the Asian Tigers sneeze, it too catches cold. The problem is global, and no
one - apart from historians who will write a hundred years from now - is
quite sure of what it is.
Ed Weick
