Thanks for the book tip. Coincidentally (?) just a couple of days ago I re-read the WSJ story about Larry Summers and a (metaphorical) bag full of public cash to exchange for private corporate cash in Indonesia. I had asked a scholar for suggested readings about the role of Henry Cabot Lodge in the coup in Vietnam. One of the recommendations was a book by Jonathan Kwitny of the WSJ -- The Crimes of Patriots. I wondered if Kwitny was the journalist in the Larry Summers story and so looked it up. Still wondering about Cabot Lodge.
Gene On Mar 23, 2014, at 9:19 PM, Eubulides <[email protected]> wrote: > [Easily the best book to read alongside “Capital in the 21st Cent." is > Jeffrey Winter’s “Oligarchy”, which won the 2012 book award in comparative > politics from the APSA. A teaser: “The analytical emphasis in a Marxist > framework is on the power of owning and investing classes rooted in their > control of capital for investment and on extraction of surpluses from direct > producers. Nothing in the materialist approach to oligarchy developed here > conflicts with this framework. Instead, there is a shift in emphasis to the > politics of defending extreme material inequalities.” Krugman’s claim below > of only a “nascent oligarchy” in the US, along with Piketty’s claim we aren’t > there yet shows an almost willful naiveté when it comes to the historical > record, as Winters shows with amazing clarity in his text. The chapters on > Indonesia alone are worth the price of the book and made me think of the > article Gene Coyle posted about Larry Summers and Indonesia several years > ago.] > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/opinion/krugman-wealth-over-work.html > > [snip] > He also makes a powerful case that we’re on the way back to “patrimonial > capitalism,” in which the commanding heights of the economy are dominated not > just by wealth, but also by inherited wealth, in which birth matters more > than effort and talent. > > To be sure, Mr. Piketty concedes that we aren’t there yet. So far, the rise > of America’s 1 percent has mainly been driven by executive salaries and > bonuses rather than income from investments, let alone inherited wealth. But > six of the 10 wealthiest Americans are already heirs rather than self-made > entrepreneurs, and the children of today’s economic elite start from a > position of immense privilege. As Mr. Piketty notes, “the risk of a drift > toward oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism.” > > Indeed. And if you want to feel even less optimistic, consider what many U.S. > politicians are up to. America’s nascent oligarchy may not yet be fully > formed — but one of our two main political parties already seems committed to > defending the oligarchy’s interests. > > Despite the frantic efforts of some Republicans to pretend otherwise, most > people realize that today’s G.O.P. favors the interests of the rich over > those of ordinary families. I suspect, however, that fewer people realize the > extent to which the party favors returns on wealth over wages and salaries. > And the dominance of income from capital, which can be inherited, over wages > — the dominance of wealth over work — is what patrimonial capitalism is all > about. > [snip] > > > http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/politics-general-interest/oligarchy > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
