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American powerful and their politics
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by YankeeJim | September 6, 2010 at 05:18 am
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In America wealth is power. In a capitalistic society everything is about money as that translates to power and control over one’s destiny. I have never been one to complain about capitalism, but now I am getting wiser. Is a better economic system possible? You bet.
In America, we believe everyone is born equally with certain rights as defined in the Bill of Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
I say, Americans are born equally, each with their own advantages and constraints.
Our innate rights may be assured, though we surely are not on equal terms. Some of us have parents with more wealth and better education than others. In a capitalistic society, people have an unequal chance at getting a better start.
If you are one who has considerable advantage, then it is easier to contemplate sacrifice. Maybe that is why Tolstoy was so generous in sacrificing his current state of affairs to anarchy. Capacity for freedom of thought has something to do with financial means in some cases.
Today it is Labor Day in America. It is a celebration of working people and their families that is coincident with the end of summer. Working people in a capitalist society found it necessary to organize as a means of balancing the power between themselves and their employers. Organized labor becomes complicated in administration as there are requirements for joining, and formal processes for negotiation. As with many things in America, organized labor is uneven because some states permit it and others do not.
In hard times, there is a surplus of labor and more people are willing to work without constraints, without joining organized labor.
“Hard times for workers on Labor Day 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
On Labor Day 2010, the state of America's workers is appalling.
Millions have lost their jobs. Millions have had their lives put on hold or thrown into reverse.
Granted, it's a global recession. The state of the world's workers -- at least in the advanced democracies -- should be equivalently appalling. But it's not. The Great Recession has taken a far greater toll on our nation's workers than on workers in similar countries, even those whose economies have dipped more steeply than ours.”
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (11)
at 06:28 on September 6th, 2010
Name any economic system, or political system for that matter, that does not have a portion of the population better off than another. I'll stick with capitalism where my entire future is not defined by institution or birth. I quit school in grade ten to go to work. I used that employment to make a better life for myself and later to further my own education. I worked my way to college and then on to university. If I could do it anyone else can too. I have always been a worker. Whether that was washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant, falling trees, driving truck, working steel or hustling bricks for a bricklayer, and a number of other jobs that were stepping stones to my education and eventual self employment. I never considered myself a victim or wanted to be anyones equal. And I sure as hell don't want my work ethic, nor my children's, dictated by the simpering, whining victims of society mob who hold themselves as a norm to be emulated. The trouble with American's today is that they want the world handed to them on a silver platter and the idea of getting up and working for it unfair to their fragile sensibilities. There's no jobs. Really? 12 million undocumented workers in the US says different. Here's a novel idea. Get off your fat, lazy ass and make something out of yourself with your own two hands and you will soon stop blaming others for their successes as being unfair to you.
at 06:55 on September 6th, 2010
"future is not defined by institution or birth"
I worked similarly hard, working my way through life. One grandfather quit school at age 8 to work in a machine shop. Those skills served him and his family well throughout his life. One grandmother was the first to graduate from college on her own merit, and taught grades 1-8 in a one room schoolhouse.
I thoroughly respect hard working people. That is not the point.
It is possible to satisfy your one criterion a number of ways. There is no single best system. When we stop searching and stop developing, that's when we can become victim to stalled fate.
at 07:44 on September 6th, 2010
Like I said; name a system and there will always be those who excel, who work harder and put more into their lives achievements. Those who don't want to put the effort forward will always be looking for a better system. And blaming the system. There is a single best system. It's one where the individual shines. Where the individual can work to his or her best potential with out constraint. When I go to the Doctor, seek advice from a Lawyer, hail a cab or go into a McDonald's I don't compare my own condition to theirs or envy them. They're all honorable jobs and I don't hold one above the other nor put any down. I have heard a great many fat sloppy employable youth mocking the worker at the McDonald's they just left while stuffing their face with a burger and fries. They're too good for that and are waiting for the job they deserve. They're entitled to nothing but the best and will go back to their x-box until it lands in their lap. Until then the system sucks and the world is unfair. I guess the world will always be unfair to some.
at 08:52 on September 6th, 2010
There is no blaming in this conversation. There are two dimensions to laziness: 1) not working hard, and 2) not thinking hard.
at 10:17 on September 6th, 2010
The entire approach is individualistic.Success story of an individual or handful of individulas can never be a yardstick to judge the success of a system,political or economic.True, no system is perfect,but the available systems are comparable and the best is one which is good for the maximum number of people.A system where two to three percent of the popolutation is filthy rich,and majority has to work much beyond normal duty hours to make both the ends meet is not a good system.India has more billionaires than Japan,but 70 percent population lives on less than $0.50 a day.Some persons might have made their fortune while struggling with extreme poverty,but that doesn't mean system is good,let alone perfect and needs drastic overhauling,rather complete change.
A system which provides healthcare,homes and education to entire population.Russian system was much better,of couse not perfect,before it graduated to market economy.As Joseph Stiglitz,ex-Sr.,V.P. and Cheif Economist with World Bank writes in his'Globalization and its discontent':"In 1989,only 2 percent of those living in Russia were poor.By late 1998,that number had soared to 23.8 percent..."
at 10:29 on September 6th, 2010
"Success story of an individual or handful of individuals can never be a yardstick to judge the success of a system, political or economic." TKK
Anecdotal evidence may be helpful when taken as part of a comprehensive analysis and aggregated to a level of significance.
"A system where two to three percent of the population is filthy rich, and majority has to work much beyond normal duty hours to make both the ends meet is not a good system." TKK
As in the case of the USA, wealth skewed into the hands of 1 or 2% of the population at the expense of everyone else. The middle class disappeared, and it was not on the merit of upper class brilliance, just gaming the system and not contributing to the Gross Domestic Product. Smart people can game a system without any social responsibility. That is one beef that I have with capitalism, as it is.
at 11:17 on September 6th, 2010
thinking hard is measured how? by who agrees with you that there is a better system, or people like tk kidwai who advocate communism was a better system. if wealth is your measure of success i feel greatly for you and understand your discontent with capitalism. i agree with 30:06, to that give the individual the tools and let him or her accomplish what they can. there are a lot of different jobs to be done and not all pay the same. and for good reason. unless you want your doctor to hold a high school diploma so he can earn the same as the shoe salesman. or you want to pay $100.00 for a burger and fries as mickey d's got to pay the counter staff $20 and hour. a little common sense should go with thinking hard.
at 15:06 on September 6th, 2010
I am not endorsing any existing economic model. I am thinking outside the box. I don't know if there is anything better than capitalism, though I think it is worth investigating. That is the premise of continuous process improvement that is fundamentally sound management. Read my book, Smart Data, Enterprise Performance Optimization Strategy and you will see what I mean.
Burgers are not as good (healthy and plant friendly) as veggie burgers and potatoes aren't good unless baked or roasted.
Glad to provide you with an electronic copy. Send your email address and I will send a pdf of my book. Promise that you will read it and comment if you like.
at 15:34 on September 6th, 2010
I said nothing about people being paid the same. The more credentials and skill sets you have, the higher your value to society.
I am an advocate of Henry George who declared that all natural resources including land belong to everyone.
at 18:30 on September 6th, 2010
ahhh, so classism is o.k. and deserving of wages higher than the laborer but those who have working capital, "wealth", are bad and the system is 'skewed' in their favor. [???]
at 04:54 on September 7th, 2010
Depends on how they earned working capital.