Is "Capitalism" Failing?

Hi Dan,

Thanks for writing.

I came across the Minsky article on-line and skimmed it.

The prediction that Capitalism would self-destruct originally came from
Marx, or so many say.

You would get ancient (1932) arguments from insidious Capitalists who
infiltrated the Socialist Party of "Great" Britain, that Marx was wrong
(based on recoveries that happened from previous recessions or panics) and
today's version of those Oxford (b)Rats would point to the recovery that
followed the Great Depression (ignoring the horrors of World War II and the
continuing military build-up and population/unemployment "relief" of active
military service in "skirmishes" like Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Iraq,
Afghanistan, etc. - of course such "Keynesian" stimulus of the economy is
hardly "free enterprise", but the issue that we were discussing was
"Capitalism" not "free enterprise"). Most of us, had our wits about us and
pointed out that it was wars and military build-ups and actions that "saved"
Capitalism.

I don't think that will happen again. It looks like Obama is going to reject
the escalation that the Generals and Military Industrial Complex want in
Afghanistan, and if we stay on the case, eventually, maybe, they will
withdraw all the USA insurgent troops from occupied countries. I don't sense
that the people of the USA have the will to escalate to a full-blown
insanity, and since we don't have the youth manpower, if such was the route
taken by the "Economic" Generals then it would be a missile to missile war
that would have the danger of becoming nuclear. Anyway, despite the
ridiculous grumblings over North Korea, there really doesn't seem to be much
potential for a Western "theatre" this time, especially given the leadership
on climate change most recently taken by Hu Jin Tao and Obama's seemingly
sympathetic harmony.

Hope is hard to find and Hu's proclamation was brief, but he did mention
that development need be focused on the common people. If Hu is accepted as
World Leader in this regard, then that is an obvious step in the correct
direction regarding the evolution to a socialist world. However, a small
proclamation does not a fundamental economic change make. No specifics from
Obama and other "Western"/"Northern" leaders whether they are willing and/or
know how, and can get their bosses and their minions to cooperate in such a
fundamental/radical change in the economic modus operandi.

I do know this. Capitalism is dead and the only way that I see to a recovery
is the pooling of equity and assets, the writing down of the ridiculously
inflated prices of real and capital assets, and using that opportunity to
shift to an economy that focuses on human needs and equity sharing rather
than profits for the relatively few with usurious loan and unscrupulous
equity trading and investing as is extant in the system today.

We also need to move to an economic system that does not eschew
externalities (social, environmental). A planned ecological economy based on
the sovereignty of the local village/neighborhood, inter-community and
inter-regional unity and cooperation, which allocates resources to and
within communities and within and among economic sectors, based on the
principles of inclusion, humanity, equity, quality of life,
environmental/public health and wellness, sustainability, and peace based on
the concepts of cooperative communitarianism, mutualist organizations,
socialism, and economic democracy would be the model.

We do not have a dearth of declarations in the last generation.

We have:

The Earth Charter
The Ten Key Values of the Green Party
The Seven Basic Principles of the International Cooperative Alliance
The Belem Declaration and
Jeremy Rifkin's Declaration of Interdependence...


Thanks again for writing.

Keep in touch.


Mike