dagblog - Comments for "The Divine Right of Capital - a small review."

I totally despise the idea of

cmaukonen — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:29:03 +0000

I totally despise the idea of privilege especially when based on wealth. It truly sickens me.

I did not say her

EmmaZahn — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:06:24 +0000

In reply to FWIW, I don't think Kelly's

I did not say her recommendations were tame. I simply noted that if they seemed tame, it was likely because they preceded the recent crisis. Not as much urgency to them as there might be now.

That said, I have become really radical and find most any recommendations nowadays fairly tame. Most are are just tweaks when what is needed is something really new, something beyond the old economic arguments between capital and labor; beyond the producer/consumer economic paradigm; and something more solid that a safety net society because safety nets are by definition full of holes.

Oh, and down with perpetuities! be they divine rights or incorporated persons or (gasp) money itself.

Here’s a thought. If a

cmaukonen — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:48:12 +0000

In reply to FWIW, I don't think Kelly's

Here’s a thought. If a corporation is a Person, as the court says, then if any product or action by this person should result in the death or injury of an individual - should not the corporation IE all of it's members be subject to prosecution for said crime ?

FWIW, I don't think Kelly's

AmericanDreamer — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:31:06 +0000

In reply to Just the title of the book

FWIW, I don't think Kelly's recommendations for change are at all tame. They are quite radical in the old sense of going to the root of a problem, in that they would alter the basic structure of legal obligation that dictates--and provides the excuse for--how corporations are operated under US law.

Meaning that, even though our courts have determined for the time being that corporations are to be considered "persons" for first amendment purposes, we don't consider them "persons" in the sense of having moral agency and responsibility for other purposes besides maximizing shareholder wealth.

Which seems to me to be a huge problem. But only if we want a society that could be at least somewhat humane and may be able more or less deliberately, consciously, to permit a future for itself beyond the next quarterly reports.

Glad you reviewed this,

AmericanDreamer — Mon, 02 May 2011 17:21:43 +0000

In reply to The Divine Right of Capital - a small review.

Glad you reviewed this, cmauk. I highly recommend this book--it was one of those I listed as among my favorites over at my cafe profile page. I think many here at dag would find it well worthwhile.

You are most welcome and

cmaukonen — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:11:46 +0000

In reply to Just the title of the book

You are most welcome and thanks for the thoughtful comment.

Just the title of the book

EmmaZahn — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:08:59 +0000

In reply to The Divine Right of Capital - a small review.

Just the title of the book alone says so much: The Divine Right of Capital. We as a society do idolize great accumulations of money as if there were something noble or divine about them. But money is funny. It has a magical quality about it that requires a willing suspension of disbelief. Break the spell and the magic disappears. Miss Kelly manages to do just that regarding money "invested" on Wall Street.

The Divine Right of Capital is well worth reading just to see behind the magic, If her recommendations for change seem tame, it is likely because the book was written well before the recent financial crisis.

Thanks for the reminder and the review.

The key purpose for every

Richard Day — Sun, 01 May 2011 03:49:38 +0000

In reply to The Divine Right of Capital - a small review.

The key purpose for every corporation of substance these days is to provide the management with billions of dollars in 'profits'. Of course management decides what profits are.

Then the shareholders get their bite.

The employees are just there to provide blood sweat and tears. They are peasants who need to be fed but not fattened.

THE PUBLIC BE DAMNED!

HAHAHAHAH

As an addition to this post,

cmaukonen — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:49:06 +0000

In reply to The Divine Right of Capital - a small review.

As an addition to this post, it is my opinion that most economic theory and there fore most economists are full of BS since it's based on this feudal capitalistic model, which we want to eliminate in the first place.