A comment: Revisiting George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four in 2010 see: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/jun2010/1984-j12.shtml
On Jun 19, 3:54 pm, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > Archytas, you are quite right that the history of human trade and > power are rife with examples of abuses, excesses and every dastardly > deed known to and by our species. In fact the history of humanity in > all it's splendor is rife with those sames abuses and excesses. It is > also true that when it comes to abuses, excesses and downright > nastiness, there is no species in existence (that we know of) which > outdoes the human species. > > It is an age old truth and therefore trite that when it comes to nasty > behavior, there is nothing new under the sun. Or any other star for > that matter. However, I'd be willing to bet a solar unit or two that > if there are other intelligent and sentient species in existence, that > they've been through the same horrific growth process to becoming > civilized. > > I become lost by your statement that you don't believe in capitalism. > I'm not sure what you mean by that -- what it is that you don't > believe in. It sounds to me much like saying you don't believe in > trade or commerce. It's not a matter of belief. It just is. We've > brought capitalism into existence by virtue of our penchant for trade, > business and living better than the Joneses. We created profit in the > same manner and for the same reasons. When we began to lay off those > profits by investing in other money making schemes, we created > capitalism. > > The way transactions work is really very simple. They work according > to the principles and parameters of supply and demand. An area I > think that needs working on is rather than going after the highest > profit or making the most money, we concentrate on a fair profit and > making a fair amount of money. Win-win transactions that benefit all > parties are the stuff of moral economics. > > Looking at what unions have created in western society, I'm not so > sure that the preying isn't on both sides of the fence. There is > something somewhat out of kilter when an assembly line worker in > Detroit makes more in wages and benefits than a nurse or skilled > technician. > > On Jun 19, 2:44 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Even Marx and Lenin thought there was some good in capitalism, at > > least in markets. The problem was always to do with competition > > producing monopoly once one lot got really efficient. Capitalism at > > least freed us up from feudalism. My own suspicion is that even > > these arguments failed to take into account what the historic > > conditions and mechanisms of trade and power had really been about. I > > don't believe in capitalism because I'm sure it's as mythical and > > religious stories and both communism and democracy have roots in > > societies in which the rich came up with the ideas on the backs of > > work done by slaves. We are overdue for our own ideas and something > > that allows for very different people in it. I think we had some > > brief eddies some years back when jobs were not scarce of what it > > might feel like not to be beholden to the boss class. I would guess > > we have missed the chance for a sane (ish) society since WW2 by > > encouraging huge population expansion and failing to be sensible about > > religion. Capitalism is probably just b-play to this wider lunacy. > > What we need in systems of transaction is to understand how they self- > > regulate so that we can trust to do work and feel it won't be stolen > > in one way or another. Capitalism always preys on some labour that > > cannot protect itself. This shouldn't blind us to its good bits.
