| The Terrorism of Capitalism
Before we start a prolonged discussion about capitalism we should know enough to be very careful when we use words like “globalization” or “capitalism. They both have become popular propaganda terms with little meaning because so many different meanings are projected onto them. For instance critics of markets complain about “capitalism” instead of private enterprise or markets because they can exploit the meaninglessness of the word. Words like God and love offer similar problems; they can be used and manipulated to justify war, terrorism and torture. Globalization has basically two broad meanings. It can mean more interconnectedness, as with the Internet, or it can mean the rule of international governments such as the World Trade Organization, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, as well as the United Nations. It could mean the literal enslavement of whole populations or a future benevolent world government that is purely altruistic serving the true needs of humanity. Capitalism is a slippery word and process like Christianity; it can bring a person and civilization to the heights of insanity and cruelty or to the fields of benevolent human service. Capitalism itself is multifaceted with vastly positive and negative attributes working for and against the best interests of humanity and it is with this in mind that we investigate its place in civilization. Next to dealing with the fundamentalism of religion, there is nothing more difficult than dealing with the fundamentalism of capitalism. Confronting directly the forces of capitalism, which now carries an absolute conviction of religious right, was the job of the communists and socialists. They failed miserably and their failure just bolstered the foundations of a world system that continues a long history of human injustice and cruelty mostly because it has made a God out of money. Humanity is not and cannot be served, it can not evolve, and what is right, correct and just cannot be actualized as long as the money profit motive remains in first place. The best and most pure aspects of capitalism do not demand pure selfishness but it has facilitated and maximized it more than any single idea since the birth of the modern era. Today the majority of people cannot even imagine anything else but the capitalist corporate way. Even to modify it seems unimaginable and thus the difficulty bringing reform to large corporations and corporate officers who now, in growing numbers, take it as their natural right to do almost exactly as their please without much liability or fear of punishment; it is capitalism after all where the rule today in far too many places is to just not get caught. The temptation, when it now comes into the tens of millions or even billions of dollars is proving too great for the average human being, which is what most people in authority actually are. Capitalism is all
for competition as long as there It would be easier to argue with the Pope that the Virgin Mary was not really a virgin and that Jesus was married to Magdalene and enjoyed making love to her as often as possible than to argue for any kind of change in the present form of capitalism. Capitalism is the most universal religion, the most universal way of thinking on planet earth today. And like the bible, there are many good points to it no matter how much suffering comes from it. In many ways it is the most successful culture and society the world has ever seen, its technology, wealth, and power monuments to its success. Arguing with that success is truly a daunting challenge but is being made easier by current and near future world events. Capitalistic
greed is causing environmental problems During these last few centuries it has become evident that a list of problems, growing social and economic inequality, environmental destruction, mass starvation, and social unrest have accompanied the steady march of capitalism, problems that have been managed by successful members of capitalist society by perceiving them as distant/separate from themselves. However, there is the possibility, which is looming larger every year, that these problems will negate everything this culture has accomplished. Much of this book is about this reversal, about the end of a long process of violence and death, torture and abuse of the human soul. When John Lukas the historian indicated that the modern age was ending and that our way of organizing society was now in irremediable decline he was talking mostly about market capitalism and its consequence on democracy and civilization as a whole. Almost without exception, the structures of most large corporations today act along similar lines as governments, in fact they have effectively taken over the international agenda especially as it radiates out from the United States government and other principle institutions of international power. Everywhere we see business and government concentrating more and more power in the hands of small elites, which do not have the best interest of humanity at heart. They are too selfish for that, hardly a saint among them. Government and corporate capitalism as we know it, even democratic governments, are actually undemocratic in practice and in fact and thus they fall stall humanities real needs. True democracy serves the real needs of its people not corporate interests. Massive corporate financing of elections has transformed US democracy into a plutocracy, which among other things creates the need of top governmental officials to constantly deceive the public. This ruins their integrity before they even take their oaths of office and breaks the trust that should not be put in them in the first place. Corporations do bribe governments into giving them privileges but the chiefs of government are really to blame for accepting the bribes in the first place. It is their corruption that is ruining both economies and environments. In a democracy, the people are to blame for electing these corrupt chiefs. The structure of government facilitates this, and the people are too busy to act to change that structure. The whole mess is then blamed on “trade” or “capitalism.” The terror of capitalism is not necessarily in the heart or essence of capitalism it is in how it is and has been applied in extremely selfish anti-social and destructive ways and how it is used to tempt and corrupt human consciousness in vastly more serious and complicated ways than simple lust of the flesh. Things like greed and lust, human attributes that religions deal with spiritually combine in capitalism into a lust greed for power and money that is worshiped and put high above all things. The
present practice of corporate capitalism
One of the deepest problems with capitalism is that it lies. It lies and deceives “us,” the public, and it lies to itself as well. Its built into the system. For instance in the February 25, 1972 issue of Hoard's Dairyman magazine, the National Dairy Farm Magazine contained an article extolling the virtues of DDT and similar chemicals, attacking the true enemy of the dairy industry," environmentalists." Hoards wrote: "The current vicious, hysterical propaganda campaign against the use of agricultural chemicals, being promoted today by fear-provoking, irresponsible environmentalists." Thirty-one years ago Hoard's claimed, "No chemical has done as much as DDT to improve the health, economic, and social benefits of the people of developing nations." The profit motive compels people to lie and distort the truth until it breaks. This most dark side of capitalism has nothing to do with the spirit of individual freedom.
Yet there is presently no comprehensive new system in the wings waiting to take its place. We need an alternative to “capitalism” now more than ever for corporate corruption has become central to the US political system, which influences the entire world system. “Enron forcefully reminds us that free market rhetoric is a corporate con game,” writes Walden Bello, who added, “To make sure government would look the other way and allow the ''market'' to have its way, Enron was generous with those willing to serve it, and few earned more Enron dollars than George W. Bush, who received some 623 thousand dollars for his political campaigns in both Texas and nationally from his friend Kenneth Lay, Enron CEO.” Corporate corruption is central to the US political system, and the fact that it is legal and assumes the form of ''campaign finance'' funnelled to political people by ''political action committees'' does not somehow make it less immoral. Large corporations commonly purchase momentous decisions with massive cash outlays and these have national and global consequences that do not benefit humanity. Such benefits and services do not need to be secured by bribe and manipulation for good ideas and products that play positive constructive roles have their own natural appeal. The present offerings from the political and economic left today are hollow, badly fragmented, and psychologically and spiritually inept. This is mirrored in the major crisis we find today in the broad socialist movement. As a result of the twin collapse of social-democracy and Communism, the left is in a crisis. Many organisations have collapsed and those who survive hold no clear vision of a future non-capitalist society. For the broad left blind strategy is no strategy at all. But there are alternatives to corporate capitalism, certainly its form can and has been modified by law. The laws governing monopolies are a good example but their whole intent and purpose has been frustrated and we have seen the steady rise of the power of multinational corporations. Capitalism
in its present form has failed
Some people think simply that capitalism must go, so too must the State. Some are still looking for some kind of final victory for the mass of the people over the bosses and rulers. Others see terrorism and religious jihad with Islam conquering the world the final answer to everything. Many others are still hoping that if only everyone on earth would take Christ into their heart then we would all be saved. True anarchists have a vision of a future society without bosses and rulers of any kind. The failure of the Communist parties was that they thought socialism must come from above through a powerful State dominated by one party. They thought the State must run the economy from above. These anarchists believe in the exact opposite. Sophisticated Green thinkers advocate a steady-state market economy whose principle idea would be that surpluses would be used not to reinvest in expanding production, nor in maintaining a privileged class in luxury but in improving public services while maintaining a sustainable balance with the natural environment. But this assumes that a profit-motivated market economy can be tamed, and made to serve human and/or environmental needs. History has proved that it can't be; capitalism has shown itself to be an uncontrollable economic mechanism, which operates to force economic actors to make profits and accumulate them as more and more capital irrespective of the consequences.
Capitalism as a world religion or way of organizing human activity, just like feudalism was, will not fall in a day, a month, or even a year. Like the birth of capitalism itself, the next step in the social/economic evolution of humankind should ideally be incremental. The reason is simple. Though the vast majority of the world's people are being exploited by capitalism, they are at the same time dependent upon it. The masses could strike out at the capitalist economy (big corporations and government) and bring it down rather swiftly, but the ensuing economic chaos would injure them in far greater numbers than many would be willing to sacrifice. Yet the choice will probably not be ours in the end for the threatening world deflation, massive debt and depression could bring this injury down like an avalanche anyway. The forces that are rebounding and boomeranging around the world today are stupendous and it is only the fools that dream they can control it all. The United States government and its major institutions are among the major players that live with such foolishness.
One of the conclusions we will reach for is that there eventually needs to be a complete separation between government and corporations just as there is a need to separate state from religion. This requires an entirely new vision for what government will need to be and the kinds of people that need to be invited into working inside such important institutions.
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