Jayson R Jones on Cyrano’s Journal:
We have allowed nearly everything to be privatized: water, power, transportation, energy. There is very little of any value left in public hands, and what is left is already tied up in long term leases that are very beneficial to the private parties holding those leases. The power elite has stripped most industry and manufacturing from this country and out-sourced them overseas. They have sold off much of what remains to foreign investors. The sacking of America is nearly complete and all we common citizens get for it is the debts.
If there is any justice in this world, Freidman is writhing in torment in Dante’s 9th Circle right now….and I fervently hope he remains there for eternity. He is in good company.
So, we are left with the aftermath, and everyone seems to have an idea that will bring us out of the hole we are in. Many look back at the FDR solution, but fail to recognize that what FDR actually did was give Corporate America time to rebuild. His was the third administration to try controlling Capitalism in the short history of the United States, and ultimately he failed to permanently chain the dragon. Reagan turned it loose again and we are now being ravaged by it.
There is an alternative that few seem to want to contemplate. Let’s do away with the source of food for the dragon. Let’s eliminate our horrid system. I can visualize your expression right now, but before you become apoplectic, consider the following. We have everything we really need to do this right now. We US Americans are able provide for most of our current needs without relying upon capitalism. We have the technology and the resources necessary to accomplish this. All we lack is the vision.
That’s our vision. Dismantle it all, and use the parts to build something that is actually better for the planet, people, our lives, our communities (in reality, lots of little somethings, on local levels, designed locally, to support people locally, to protect our natural heritage locally).
I contend that we can eliminate the life force of Capitalism and finally put an end to the source of many of our woes. I maintain that we can be self sufficient and enjoy a high standard of living by allowing people to be what they want to be. Homo sapiens are not lazy by nature; they are both inquisitive and inventive. They are not greedy by nature; they are altruistic and community minded. Homo sapien would never have survived if they thought as we do today, and we will not survive unless we get back to the basics.
How many of us chose a job where we can make a living as opposed to one we would really enjoy? How many of us would have continued our education if we could have afforded it? How many more doctors, scientists, inventors, dreamers, writers, or actors would we have if making a living were not the Prime Directive? How many of us feel stuck in a job we hate, but feel trapped by the necessity of making money to survive? How many choose the military because it offers a way out of their present circumstances, and how many did not choose the military because they could make more in private industry?
And how many of us are forced to ignore our true skills – artists, musicians, communicators, philosophers, gardeners, to name a few – because this system forces us to use our time to make money to pay governments and big business ?
Why are our children graduating from college with burdensome debt that often precludes them from continuing their education? Why do we place financial roadblocks in front of those who could excel but can not afford to be educated? We have been better than this and we can, once again, be better than this. Instead of half measures, and temporary fixes, let’s step outside the box and look at our options. We have the knowledge and technology to take the giant step forward, so why don’t we? The answer is that we have been programmed to blindly accept the status quo. We have been ‘programmed’ to be the servants of Capitalism and a Calvinistic, money-worshipping perversion of Christianity. We have essentially limited ourselves to the use of those tools in the kit that are acceptable to the Capitalist system.
I agree that little will be done to make any substantive changes unless and until we have another revolution. Let us consider making a real change with this revolution. We don’t need another bourgeois revolution like that of the Founders. We need to annihilate Capitalism once and for all.
Climate change and peak oil could be the motivating force behind this ‘revolution’. Although we can make changes in our own lives, these are dwarfed in relation to the damage that our civilisation’s organisational structures are doing to the planet.
ps. There is a comment on the original article about Venzuela. In comparison to most countries, the government of Venezuela has enacted some inspiring policies in recent years, refusing to be allow US corporate domination of the country. Like Cuba, Venezuela seems to have better policies regarding the poor, the environment, and generally sounds like a decent place to live (contrary to the impression given by ‘our’ mainstream, corporate-controlled media). http://www.venezuelanalysis.com
