this is a description of fascism and it is not something I would want for it means total control of the social, cultural and political spheres - what we need in the present moment of transition given the decline of capital, is state regulation of capital in which it protects the populace from its worst flaws and abuses. The intergration of the creation of the corporate state means the end of our freedoms -
On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 7:06 PM, joseph berg <[email protected]> wrote: > On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 12:37 PM, joseph berg <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 10:01 PM, joseph berg <[email protected]> wrote: > > > >> > >> > >> On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 9:04 AM, William Conger < > [email protected]>wrote: > >> > >>> America has come to despise the old fashioned sense of morality and > >>> ethics, the > >>> real and visible hand, when it comes to the implementation of > capitalist > >>> economics. Now it's proper to only follow the money, care about the > >>> money, > >>> ignore values that any society needs, and claim that unfettered > >>> self-interest is > >>> the only true and impartial way to manage wealth. The Founding Fathers > >>> valued > >>> Virtue as the highest good. For them it meant self-deprecation and > >>> service for > >>> the greater good: putting the other fellow's need above self-interest. > >>> Some > >>> actually tried to follow that principle and they certainly framed a > >>> Constitution > >>> that aimed at embodying it. > >>> > >>> What people need to do in my opinion is to recognize that their > >>> positions in > >>> life are not only due to their own diligence but also the structures > the > >>> society > >>> has in place. Those structures favor inequality in both opportunity > and > >>> condition. > >>> > >>> I'll venture that all the people on this list have enjoyed a much > greater > >>> proportion of inequality of condition and opportunity than most > >>> Americans. Our > >>> duty is to help create greater equality of opportunity for those who > >>> don't yet > >>> have their proper share and then assure them more and more improvement > >>> in their > >>> conditions. > >> > >> > >> > >> But what about those who the better they are treated (the more > >> opportunities they are given), the worse they become (e.g., the more > >> problems they create for not only others but also for themselves, the > worse > >> they become)? > >> > >> I've certainly met a lot of people like that. > >> > >> Something tells me that the truly elite can be performance-oriented, > >> but everyone else should be trained to be more compliance-oriented if > only > >> to keep themselves out of trouble. > >> > > > > The ruling political elite should create a compliance-oriented system > that > > has something to do with this: > > > > - The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public > > debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered > and > > controlled and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest > > [the country] become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead > of > > living on public assistance. > > > > Cicero > > > > Lately, have you been feeling ground down by the system? > > The ruling political elite should also suppress any formation of an > economic elite: > > - The state should take the entire management of commerce, industry and > agriculture into its own hands, with a view to succoring the working > classes and preventing them from being ground into the dust by the rich. > > Wang An-Shih (1021-1086) > > -- S a u l O s t r o w *Critical Voices* 21STREETPROJECTS 162 West 21 St NYC, NY 10011 [email protected]
