Any word means whatever you want it to mean.
I use Justice to describe the rules and laws that a society uses to govern its behaviors. I would say a society is just when the laws apply equally to everyone. There are some other things that make a good law, such as need for it and the fact that it is sensible. But the crucial thing that makes a society just is the equality of everyone under the law.
When you mention the bad things done by the rich, you are not referring to their wealth - but to their behavior. You don't have to be rich to bribe politicians. Anyone can do it. I have often been surprised at how little will buy a politician.
I suppose the most buying is done by the corporations, the trades unions, and special interest groups like the AMA and the Real Estate Lobby.
Then, of course, the drug companies have one lobbyist for every two congressmen, so they can help our representatives to come to the right decisions.
However, I don't blame the buyers. I prefer to indict the bought.
The downfall of Argentina was not caused by some rich folks buying
up all the bacon. It may have been caused by them buying the
municiple water works and raising the rates 400%. It may have
been caused by the rich, who control the IMF, from "encouraging" the
Argentine government to cut social programs.
But, think a little and perhaps read again a little. Then, you'll recall what I said about Argentina. The country was going down the tubes. Would you like to live in a country with a 5000% inflation rate?
The IMF tried to do something about this - something to save the country from disaster, but it failed. I have never supported the IMF. I think it becomes a sink-hole for other people money.
However enthusiastic they may have been originally, I'm sure that the enthusiasm is long gone as they face the reality that when corrupt governments go wrong, you can't patch it into health. They appear to have stopped treating each country as a separate entity and appear to have adopted - as one person put it - "one size fits all".
Remember - it's so easy to forget - that the IMF is called in when the country is already perilously close to going down the tubes. Their prescription is pretty obvious - rather like you going to a firm that specializes in "debt-management". They tell you to cut back on your expenses - stop eating out, sell your car, get rid of your Beverly Hills doctor, spend no more than you earn, and so on. If you do all these things, they'll help you with a loan. They will "consolidate your debt" - a great phrase if I've if I've ever heard one.
So, Argentina has to stop inflating the currency at 5,000% - she has to stop bankrupting the social security system - she has to stop protecting the profits of greedy corporations with import controls and tariffs - all in all, if she cuts back on her expenses and does things right, the IMF will "consolidate her debt".
Then, of course, as you put it " . . . given leadership willing to make government work in the public interest, we can have a more egalitarian society."
So, what did the Argentine people get?
Steve Kurtz sent us a very good piece by Albert Manguel. Here's a quote.
"The money lent to Argentina, several times, by the International Monetary Fund (that modern incarnation of the sin of usury) was pocketed by the same well-known ruffians: ministers, businessmen, industrialists, congressmen, bankers, senators. Their names are familiar to every Argentine. The IMF's refusal to lend more was based on the safe premise that it would simply be stolen again (thieves know one another's habits all too well)."
So, the IMF is (a) blamed for lending money, then (b) blamed for not lending the money.
I suppose we can leave the "businessmen" and "industrialists" out of Manguel's bit. They are probably put in to show solidarity with the left. Anything they get of the IMF's largesse comes through the political pipeline from the leaders "willing to make government work in the public interest".
Actually, Dennis, when I read that statement of yours, my immediate reaction was "and if pigs has wings they could fly". Politicians attain the good life pretty quickly these days. It's a life they soon don't want to give up, and to keep it they fall naturally into the "system".
I suggest you stop looking for leaders who inevitably will fail you and start leading yourself.
Harry
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Dennis wrote:
I'm not so sure what a "just" society really means.
But I am sure that the rich buy more than bathrooms, pools and bacon
with their wealth. They also buy politicians and social and economic
control over their poorer fellow citizens. And that, I feel, is wrong.
The downfall of Argentina was not caused by some rich folks buying
up all the bacon. It may have been caused by them buying the
municiple water works and raising the rates 400%. It may have
been caused by the rich, who control the IMF, from "encouraging" the
Argentine government to cut social programs.
The argument that governments never get it right and are always
screwing their citizens is just not true. That many governments
nowadays seem to be implementing a lot of unhealthy programs
is related to the fact that politicians are being bought by those
with concentrated wealth, Ken Lay for example.
Instead of throwing out democratic governments we should be
throwing out those politicians whose motives are not in line
with the public's welfare. I do believe that, given leadership
willing to make government work in the public interest, we
can have a more egalitarian society. No, everyone won't
necessarily be happy, but our present cynicism may become
much reduced.
Dennis Paull
Half Moon Bay, CA
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Harry Pollard
Henry George School of LA
Box 655
Tujunga CA 91042
Tel: (818) 352-4141
Fax: (818) 353-2242
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