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Shuts and Failures

by Michael Maiello

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Strangling the Republic

by stillidealistic 7/15/2012 - 3:37 pm

I'm tempted to write a post on this subject, but due to time constraints, I'm hoping y'all will be willing to read the article that prompted my concern and discuss the work of others, rather than my own views on this alarming subject.

I posted it under the "In The News Section" but I'm not sure how much attention those articles get.

http://consortiumnews.com/2012/06/20/strangling-the-republic/

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

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Depressing article stilli.  And accurate I think.

This is why I have so little patience for calls to focus on just moving the ball forward a tiny bit. While we're busy advancing the ball one yard, the entire football stadium is being devoured by the Global Corporate Monster from Outer Space.

The problem we are facing is profound, frightening and deeply challenging.   It is epochal in its historical significance.  I wish I could tell you I knew where to find the people with the best strategy for change.  I wish I were smarter.  I don't want to just be mad all of the time.  But what else is there?

by Dan Kervick 7/15/2012 - 4:30 pm

The problem we are facing is profound, frightening and deeply challenging. It is epochal in its historical significance. I wish I could tell you I knew where to find the people with the best strategy for change. I wish I were smarter. I don't want to just be mad all of the time.

Agree and share your angst. 

But what else is there?

Therein lies the real conundrum.  Now, a thoughtful, realistic post putting forth some viable responses would indeed be welcome and needed.  No blame game about the past/current sins and demons, only about how we can work towards a better future.  Any ideas on who best to do this? Or resource?

Thanks.

by Aunt Sam 7/15/2012 - 5:15 pm (re: Dan Kervick)

I'll be seriously interested to see if anyone has any ideas. I have NO clue where to even begin (outside of trying to get as many people as I can to read and think about this as I can.)

A solution is going to take a ground swell of support, but the uber wealthy have done such a fabulous job of convincing SOOO many middle class people that they are the only thing keeping them from being amongst the poor (despite all evidence to the contrary) I'm not sure there are enough people to make it happen.

If the stories lately about the wealthy giving up their citizenship to avoid paying taxes isn't enough to persuade people that they have no respect for our country, I don't know what would.

by stillidealistic 7/15/2012 - 6:45 pm (re: Aunt Sam)

I have to agree I am tired of being mad all the time. I'm afraid the Dems are too far gone, which puts me back into the whole lesser of two evils thing.

But to add parties is problematic, as well. You'd have a party more conservative than the existing repub party, and who knows how many parties to cover all the middle ground, and then a few more on the left. As polarized as we are now, it seems like it would be even worse.

Like you, I wish I was smarter. I would love to believe that the dems will reverse themselves, but I'm certainly not holding my breath!

by stillidealistic 7/15/2012 - 6:22 pm (re: Dan Kervick)

I'm no historian, but it seems to me that there has always been an elite in any sufficiently advanced society, and that they are either the warriors or the wealthy, often both. I think America's large middle class has often masked that reality. I think the wealth extracted from other nations has often masked that reality. I think the easy wealth from fossil fuels has often masked that reality. But all three of those are in decline.

by Donal 7/15/2012 - 6:48 pm

It is not just a problem of politics becoming absorbed by commercial interests. [Not to suggest that changes in election financing is not as important as the article suggests];

The problem is also the consumer. The consumer has this incredible power that could shut down this or that enterprise overnight. But the power of boycott could be even stronger if more people understood how they collectively create the conditions they live in.

In some ways, it comes down to the fetishism of commodities that Marx talked about. If the dynamic of that exchange is not  completely controlled by the market, the market no longer completely controls the demand. Marx thought people were helpless in the face of that machinery. Maybe they are not helpless.

by moat 7/15/2012 - 7:20 pm

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/Modern-Parenthood/2012/0713/Culture-of-clutter-taking-over-American-families-says-new-book

by Donal 7/15/2012 - 7:48 pm (re: moat)

It seems to me that somehow the wealthy have been able to shape things in a way I don't completely understand. They have cut benefits and busted unions in the private sector, then used those people who got their benefits/wages slashed to undermine the unions in the public sector. Rather than people standing up saying why don't I have benefits like the public sector has anymore, the wealthy have them wanting the public sector to give up theirs as well.

It defies logic, and the only thing that makes any sense to me is that there are a lot of people out there who just don't know how to think, are incapable of thinking or are stupid. Is there another category?

 

by stillidealistic 7/15/2012 - 8:09 pm (re: moat)

There are certainly a large number of people who choose to support things that are not in their interest.  It is easy to identify those who choose to support policies that actively work against their interest in an immediate way.

There are also a lot of people who understand that they support what they don't like but don't see an alternative that wouldn't put themselves or their families into peril. The latter group are often lumped together with the former. This sort of lumping together of people is a mistake.

I am not saying you are making this mistake but I know I have made this mistake.

Wealthy people defending their wealth is not a mysterious activity. Poor people defending their poverty is food for thought.

by moat 7/15/2012 - 9:31 pm (re: stillidealistic)

Too Late !! This was started in WWII and continued on and expanded and improved upon through the "Cold War", Korea, Vietnam...........

The transition is now complete. Welcome to USA Inc. ™

by cmaukonen 7/15/2012 - 11:49 pm

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