General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCapitalism is failing, and it's time to panic
(Guardian UK) The neoliberalist capitalist model has resulted in civil wars and economic disaster, and its only going to get worse. Unless, Paul Mason argues, we take advantage of the technological revolution we are living through and create a postcapitalist sharing society. If we let prices fall and delink work from wages, we can save the world from disaster.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2015/aug/12/paul-mason-capitalism-failing-time-to-panic-video
olddots
(10,237 posts)I wish I had some faith in humanity left but things look bleak .
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)By all means, work weeks need to be shortened because there's a global surplus of labor. But I'm not clear about how falling prices helps the situation, nor am I convinced that we live in a world in which wages for not working will be generally accepted.
lostnfound
(16,191 posts)And it will be interesting to see how the experiment in Utrecht works out.
malaise
(269,187 posts)more war more war more war more war more war
and even if that fails as it will, they will enrich themselves
Octafish
(55,745 posts)May I introduce Tyler Cowen, malaise?
Scholar. Sage. Pro-business. Very practical. Down to earth.
The Pitfalls of Peace
The Lack of Major Wars May Be Hurting Economic Growth
Tyler Cowen
The New York Times, JUNE 13, 2014
The continuing slowness of economic growth in high-income economies has prompted soul-searching among economists. They have looked to weak demand, rising inequality, Chinese competition, over-regulation, inadequate infrastructure and an exhaustion of new technological ideas as possible culprits.
An additional explanation of slow growth is now receiving attention, however. It is the persistence and expectation of peace.
The world just hasnt had that much warfare lately, at least not by historical standards. Some of the recent headlines about Iraq or South Sudan make our world sound like a very bloody place, but todays casualties pale in light of the tens of millions of people killed in the two world wars in the first half of the 20th century. Even the Vietnam War had many more deaths than any recent war involving an affluent country.
Counterintuitive though it may sound, the greater peacefulness of the world may make the attainment of higher rates of economic growth less urgent and thus less likely. This view does not claim that fighting wars improves economies, as of course the actual conflict brings death and destruction. The claim is also distinct from the Keynesian argument that preparing for war lifts government spending and puts people to work. Rather, the very possibility of war focuses the attention of governments on getting some basic decisions right whether investing in science or simply liberalizing the economy. Such focus ends up improving a nations longer-run prospects.
It may seem repugnant to find a positive side to war in this regard, but a look at American history suggests we cannot dismiss the idea so easily. Fundamental innovations such as nuclear power, the computer and the modern aircraft were all pushed along by an American government eager to defeat the Axis powers or, later, to win the Cold War. The Internet was initially designed to help this country withstand a nuclear exchange, and Silicon Valley had its origins with military contracting, not todays entrepreneurial social media start-ups. The Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite spurred American interest in science and technology, to the benefit of later economic growth.
War brings an urgency that governments otherwise fail to summon. For instance, the Manhattan Project took six years to produce a working atomic bomb, starting from virtually nothing, and at its peak consumed 0.4 percent of American economic output. It is hard to imagine a comparably speedy and decisive achievement these days.
SNIP...
Living in a largely peaceful world with 2 percent G.D.P. growth has some big advantages that you dont get with 4 percent growth and many more war deaths. Economic stasis may not feel very impressive, but its something our ancestors never quite managed to pull off. The real questions are whether we can do any better, and whether the recent prevalence of peace is a mere temporary bubble just waiting to be burst.
Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/14/upshot/the-lack-of-major-wars-may-be-hurting-economic-growth.html?_r=0
The guy seems to specialize in Big Ticket themes:
Just when I thought, maybe, we had reached bottom and were ready to bounce up -- I discovered there may be no bottom -- for me and the large part of the 99-percent.
Economist Tyler Cowen of George Mason University has seen the future and it looks bleak for most of us. Thankfully, those at the top, though, are in for some more good times. He spoke about his findings with NPR's Steve Inskeep. I almost dropped my smartphone into my coffee while texting during rush hour, listening to the report this morning, I was so steamed.
Tired Of Inequality? One Economist Says It'll Only Get Worse
by NPR STAFF
September 12, 2013 3:05 AM
Economist Tyler Cowen has some advice for what to do about America's income inequality: Get used to it. In his latest book, Average Is Over, Cowen lays out his prediction for where the U.S. economy is heading, like it or not:
"I think we'll see a thinning out of the middle class," he tells NPR's Steve Inskeep. "We'll see a lot of individuals rising up to much greater wealth. And we'll also see more individuals clustering in a kind of lower-middle class existence."
It's a radical change from the America of 40 or 50 years ago. Cowen believes the wealthy will become more numerous, and even more powerful. The elderly will hold on to their benefits ... the young, not so much. Millions of people who might have expected a middle class existence may have to aspire to something else.
SNIP...
Some people, he predicts, may just have to find a new definition of happiness that costs less money. Cowen says this widening is the result of a shifting economy. Computers will play a larger role and people who can work with computers can make a lot. He also predicts that everyone will be ruthlessly graded every slice of their lives, monitored, tracked and recorded.
CONTINUED with link to the audio...
http://www.npr.org/2013/09/12/221425582/tired-of-inequality-one-economist-says-itll-only-get-worse
For some reason, the interview with Steve Inskeep didn't bring up the subject of the GOVERNMENT DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT LIKE IN THE NEW DEAL so I thought I'd bring it up. Older DUers may recall the Democratic Party once actually did do stuff for the average American, from school and work to housing and justice. But, we can't afford that now, obviously.
Oh, the good news is the 1-percent may swell to a 15-percent "upper middle class" while the rest of the middle class goes the other way. Gee. That sounds eerily familiar. Oh..."Commercial interests are very powerful interests" uttered same press conference where Smirko said, "Money trumps peace." Pretty much always the on-message 24/7/366 for most of the last century.
Tyler Cowen, man of the Final Hours.
malaise
(269,187 posts)by the oligarchs.
We are already here.
malaise
(269,187 posts)my bad
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Address at Madison Square Garden, New York City -- October 31, 1936
EXCERPT...
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peacebusiness and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for meand I welcome their hatred.
CONTINUED... http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15219
malaise
(269,187 posts)another FDR is needed desperately
Mnpaul
(3,655 posts)Our country did well with a mix of capitalism/socialism. There is no example of a successful country being run on pure capitalism. It is an Ayn Rand pipedream.
RadiationTherapy
(5,818 posts)Enough of this inefficient, demoralizing, "human employee" nonsense.
tk2kewl
(18,133 posts)GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)because no country I see fits this definition:
Every major industry in the US and UK has a strong government component. Oil, banking, real estate, manufacturing, air travel and agriculture are each a web of regulations, subsidies, and tariffs and, as we saw in 2008 they are taxpayer-insured.
What we seem to have is:
His faith in technology is misplaced. The replacement of human labor means the oligarchs need us less than ever. Technology created MRSA, cancer, global warming, Fukishima, cluster bombs, derivative swaps and the surveillance state. Technology turned music from a service into a commodity, for better or worse a very cheap one. Technology can do wonderful things too but the ultimate problem is human: our institutions, religions, governments and organizations quickly become corrupt, self-interested and self-sustaining.
Zorra
(27,670 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)and train the dogs to kill anyone who objects.
https://www.marxists.org/subject/art/literature/children/texts/orwell/animal-farm/index.htm
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Decided to search first if it had already been posted and yes here it is.