Can you read this with an open mind?

Question

Someone emailed me this article, I thought I'd share. Please, no bloody noses from the kneejerking.
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How Will Humanity Survive
The Capitalist Threat?
By Jason Miller
7-26-7

A few days ago, one of my closest friends hit me with a heavily loaded question.

"Are you a Communist?" she queried.

To which I replied:

I do not belong nor militate in any formal communist party in the U.S. Nor do I belong to any other political entity or party. Furthermore, I do not subscribe to a specific doctrine, ideology, or dogma. My allegiance is to my core principles and values, which are premised on honesty, justice, humanity, responsibility, critical thinking, open-mindedness, egalitarianism, compassion, a belief in a Higher Power of my understanding, and many of the teachings of Christ.

A few days ago, one of my closest friends hit me with a heavily loaded question.

"Are you a Communist?" she queried.

To which I replied:

I do not belong nor militate in any formal communist party in the U.S. Nor do I belong to any other political entity or party. Furthermore, I do not subscribe to a specific doctrine, ideology, or dogma. My allegiance is to my core principles and values, which are premised on honesty, justice, humanity, responsibility, critical thinking, open-mindedness, egalitarianism, compassion, a belief in a Higher Power of my understanding, and many of the teachings of Christ.

My personal beliefs aside, communism is an incredibly loaded word. Our infinitely mendacious educational, social, and media infrastructures begin inculcating reflexive rejection of "all things communist or socialist" into US Americans from the moment they draw their initial breath.

Why is the establishment so desperate to vaccinate us against the "disease" of communism?

Because at its hopelessly rotten core, capitalism, which is manifested most strongly in the United States, is about exploitation, hyper-competitiveness, "rugged individualism", survival of the fittest, concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, profits above all, property over people, greed, and selfishness. Perhaps worst of all, this pyramid scheme masquerading as a "moral" economic system inevitably leads to wars fueled by its insatiable demands for new markets, more resources, and cheaper labor. Why else would 350 million out of 6.5 billion people spend a trillion dollars a year on a military that has the capacity to destroy our planet thousands of times over, dwarfs the combined firepower of the rest of the world, and plagues over 130 countries with its "benign" occupations?

We in the United States maintain a carefully crafted façade as the "benevolent champions of democracy", but will quickly install ruthless tyrants and commit mass murder (euphemistically labeling our victims as "collateral damage") if sovereign nations dare to resist our economic rape and plunder.

And for those who have swallowed the specious argument that "true capitalism" doesn't exist, you're dreaming. Pinch yourself hard enough and you may awaken before it is too late. Capitalism is a cancer upon the sentient beings of the Earth and we are suffering through its advanced stages. Finance capital reigns supreme, massive oligopolies abound, wealth is increasingly accumulating in the hands of the few, imperial wars to expand markets and attain resources are increasing in frequency, and the insatiable greed driving this appalling perversion is raping and destroying the Earth.

Some opine that if we could just dismantle the "socialist" aspects of our socioeconomic system in the United States, restoring an unbridled free market, the world would be a much better place. Certainly our cynical plutocracy would welcome such a transition. However, it is hard to envision too many working people truly welcoming a return to ten year olds working twelve hour days, company towns, death and dismemberment on the job with no recourse against employers maintaining perilous work environments, miserly wages that would make today's working poor look relatively affluent, blatantly monopolistic business practices, and wanton disregard for the environment.

History has clearly demonstrated that "free markets" are "free passes" for acquisitive sociopaths who thrive on bullying and exploiting a large percentage of the Earth's sentient beings.

And despite the ridiculously few and relatively minor restraints that social unrest has forced the opulent class to implement in the US, adept players in the deadly game of capitalism have refused to surrender their "inalienable right" to **** the rest of the human race in their relentless charge to attain the power and wealth they so desperately crave to distract them from the existential agony of their spiritual emptiness.

http://www.rense.com/general77/howill.htm

To Kavorkian: Just to clarify, I WAS POSTING AN ARTICLE SOMEONE EMAILED ME.

These aren't my words.

TO SPLEENWATER: You are 1000 percent INCORRECT about your statement "The US has proven to be an exceptionally good capitalist society; mainly because we have government interference to minimize "predatory" capitalists and to prevent monopolies and to protect the democratic rights of the individual."

This has NEVER been the case.

America nurtures "predatory capitalism" like newborn babies.

Are you familiar with just HOW the railroads were able to be built in this country? I suggest you research it.

That little capitalistic venture occurred ONLY because the railroad barons took out a contract on an entire species - the buffalo. They said that if they could wipe out the buffalo, they would wipe out the Indian. THEN they could build the railroad in peace.

And do you even want to get STARTED talking about Big Oil?

I'm SICK to DEATH of "labels."

Personally, I don't CARE what who calls what.

I just know that what we HAVE is not working for MILLIONS of Americans.

To Joe S: I am not pushing any specific philosophy. I merely would like for people to question a system which breeds poverty and misery like mosquitoes.


WE CAN DO BETTER.

TO JENNIFER: Of course it's a question, sweetie. Now run along - no one is forcing you to play.

Why do some people insist on inflicting their will on others?

TO "EVIL VIDEO STORE CLERK" - I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I agree completely. Hope to see more of your stuff on the boards!

Isn't it sad that ideas and thought are "boring" to some?

Incomprehensible to me.

Answer 1

One need only look at the root of the word "communism" to see that it's intentions really are more pure than capitalists would have us believe. "Communism" as in "community," and "communism" as in "commune," is how Communism was meant to be interpreted. But the meaning was perverted by those who feared it, as we so often fear that which we can not or do not understand and it's peaceful nature robbed from it by those who only sought power for themselves. As a country, we should be judged by how we treat our less fortunate, and right now, we're not doing too well. If you could go to sleep at night knowing that everyone in you country had a job, and a home and that no one would go hungry, why wouldn't you want that?
We are treating our fortunate very well, though. What with the Bush tax cuts that went disproportionately to the richest 1% of the country, the tax loop holes that enable tax cheats and the turning of a blind eye by our government towards those very cheaters. Not to mention the Corporate Welfare that in 2006 alone cost the US taxpayers $92 Billion dollars.
For all of the fear that Communism invokes, as a capitalist society, we still seem to be moving in a somewhat communistic direction. How, you might ask, when our government doesn't and won't take control of the various industries within the US? Simple, they are allowing Corporations to take control of EVERYTHING within our country and the US government is doing nothing to stop it. The US Postal Service moves closer every year to becoming privatized and eventually dissolved by the emergence of FedEx and UPS.
Republicans also tout plans to privatize our schools through voucher programs and through legislation like No Child Left Behind. No Child Left Behind forces teachers to focus only on cirriculum within those standardized tests and if a school performs poorly on those tests, their funding is decreased. Schools that perform poorly need more funding, not less. When parents are then offered vouchers to send their children to a private school, the vouchers don't cover the entire cost. The wealthy can afford to send their children to private schools, the poor and middle class cannot. The wealthy have to pay taxes that pay for your children to go to school, while still paying for their own children to go to a private school. So their ideal situation would be to pay no taxes to fund your childrens educations, while writing off their own childrens educations as an expense when they file their taxes. How do you accomplish that? With legislation like No Child Left Behind that almost ensures the failure of our public schools. When those schools fail, funding is removed, vouchers are handed out, schools close and taxes are lowered. No public schools, no taxes to pay on public schools.
There are only a few examples of companies from every major industry within the US. Automobile manufacturers? Well, there are thirty-two types of cars, but many are conglomerates which whittles the number down to about fifteen or so. Cell phone service providers? Six or seven. Oil companies? Probably a dozen or so, but you'd be hard pressed to find an oil company that hasn't merged with another such as Exxon-Mobil. When you have corporations moving closer and closer towards monopolization can a new hybrid capitalistic communism be far behind?
No one corporation defines this more than WalMart. I was informed by a former Walmart manager, that Walmart instructs their managers to go to local competitors and record their prices. Upon return to their store, they slash Walmarts prices lower than the competition until the competition goes out of business. Then WalMart simply raises their prices back to what they used to be. If this practice continues to go unchecked, Walmart will eventually drive all of it's competition out of business and will become the only retailer.
This trend will continue on and on in every industry, and in the end, there will be only one. One giant Corporation controlling everything, controlling the rates they charge for goods and services, violating workers rights, setting wages, keeping all the wealth for themselves, and oppressing all resistance to their despotic regime.

Answer 2

yes I can read it with an open mind...although I am not sure why the author is writing this piece in this manner

Obviously the author has something against capitalism in favor of communism - but apparently fails to relalize that th eonly difference between the two (as far as money goes) is the fact of who is in control

In a capitalistic society industry is controlled by corpration and private individuals and in a communistic society its controlled by government

The author wants you to believe that the US is a capitalistic society and that its wrong to be that way - in actualality the US is a socialistic society with all the virtues expelled by the author - so I dont see why the author wrote the piece or what the complaint is about

Unlesss of course - he is just bitching because he doesnt get what he thinks his fair share of the take is.

If the author was telling the truth when he said "I do not subscribe to a specific doctrine, ideology, or dogma. My allegiance is to my core principles and values, which are premised on honesty, justice, humanity, responsibility, critical thinking, open-mindedness, egalitarianism, compassion, a belief in a Higher Power of my understanding, and many of the teachings of Christ." Then he would by default need to be in a capitalistic society where private ownership encourages such traits - any other society would, by design, discourage these things.

Such contradictions make for a useless piece of writing because the reader has no foundation in which to subscribe to the writers point of view. The use of the big words just adds to the confusion for the average reader and tends to distort the presentation.

Answer 3

Your friend pointed out many of the failings of our system and did so in expressive, well spoken English.

Pure communism would probably be a good and workable system, save for the major failing of requiring humans to run it. When humans get involved all the foibles and shortcomings arise and are acted upon.

We claim to admire character and honesty yet when a candidate appears to have these characteristics he/she is immediately trashed by the opposition. The implication that a candidate might be honest must drive the average politician right through the roof with fear and loathing.

Someone in here suggested that we wire all future national politicians. I say this is a good idea but I shudder to think of the anarchy that would surely result when the average person discovers the depth of degradation to which our system and the pathetic individuals who thrive in, have plundered.

Maybe it is better to press on with our current delusion that thangs ain't all that bad;
at least, we have no current anarchy.

I believe it was Sinclair Lewis that wrote:

“When anarchy arrives in America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross”.

That about sums it up; it is, sadly, easy to understand, not agree with but understand, why elitists have such dripping contempt for the many. It appears that mediocrity is constantly forced to the top by the efforts of the very individuals who are so discounted by the mediocre.

Jim D

Answer 4

I read it and find it an interesting essay on what the U. S. has become. I'm not implying communism is better, but capitolism is the "New World Order" and it will be shoved down the throats of many countries not even born yet! Remember G.W. Bush's answer to the attacks on 911 was for the nation to continue being a nation of consumers, "go shopping". The LDS Church is a very capitolistic entity yet teaches one day there will be a pure form of communism brought to the world by Jesus Christ. The ten percent tithe is just the beginning. I'll bet, it's true and it would work, if people followed the 10 basic commandments.

Answer 5

Well, you're not a communist - you don't seem to be committed to violent revolution, for instance, so you're off that hook. Your aparent deism also gets you off the hook for being any sort of Stalinist. So, congratulations, you are free of the stigma of that failed implementation of communism, as well.

As you say, though, you do believe in egalitarianism - also a core belief of communism and socialism, so you do have something in common with those philosophies.


As to your point about capitalism, yes, it is an inherently flawed system that can bring about and perpetuate myriad forms of inequality. Capitalism, however, is functional, in large part because it does not depend upon demonstrably false assumptions about human nature - unlike, for instance, egalitarian philosophies. Mind you, some economic theories about capitalism do make assumptions about human behavior - RATIONAL expectations? yeah, right - but capitalism is not a constructed utopian ideaology built upon such theories, it simply 'evolved' alongside the rest of human society.

My own views are much more pessimistic. I do not believe it is possible for human beings - whether through reasoned design or continued trial and error - to create a utopian system in which values like honesty, compassion, humanity, open-mindedness and (most of all) egalitarianism are universeally adhered to by all. Belief in a Higher Power and/or the teachings of Christ, though, has been pretty effective in many past and current societies - and we all know what those societies were like.

Answer 6

Amazing..keep it up...I only skimmed but from what I got you are spot on...but, I do believe, while not a communist, that it is the absolute perfect form of government so far known to man accept..and a major exception, like capitalism, it is so totally open to corruption...so, in essence we are damed with either one and maybe it is time someone dreamed up something better....then anarchy and rebuilding...here is an idea, the minute someone steps into the ring of public office he must consent to being wired..all conversation will be filed and kept and if he is seen as lying, the files will be opened and all will be on record...this so far is the only way I can see to keep them honest under this system...and think of the performance we would have had from Bill and Monika...

Answer 7

Yes, I can (and did) read your article with an open mind. Can you read my response with an open mind?

The wrongs that you justly deplore are not corrected by considering Capitalism versus Communism. They are each addressed by consistently rejecting aggressive violence (contrast to violence used in defense) and fraud from every person -- whether a business person, government agent or whoever.

Remember, making money is not necessarily capitalistic. Capitalism simply means that individuals own property rather than government or some collective. If you wish to bequeath all of your property to a collective entity and share its control with others, that is your business. What's more, it is not contrary to Capitalism. Under Capitalism, you may dispense of your property as you wish -- even if you dispense it to a group.

If you try to force others to adopt your utopia or if you allow government to do it with your sanction, you should take a hard look in the mirror and question what the violence that you unleashed could do.

Anyone wishing to learn about myths surrounding Capitalism should check out the book to which I linked in the sources.

Answer 8

Yes, I can read this with an open mind, but I'm a cynical Marxist bastard. I read this article a couple of days ago at 'the Daily Scare.' Nice piece. What a concept to introduce here though...the 'grand' failures of socialism may have had more to do with an external threats and hyperbole..? I don't think they're ready Blueridge. Bloody noses? I think you cracked some skulls for sure(for those who didn't 'get bored' after the 3rd sentence).

Answer 9

I must be extremely naive, because I do not see how our government has kept the 'capitalistic predators' at a minimum! It seems to me that these capitalistic giants,( who equate with terrorists, because they keep us hostage, to our need of them)take advantage of us every day!
Oil companies steal from us at every turn,by high prices at the gas pump!
Insurance companies charge high premiums, and then deliver very little to make up for it!
Big corporations get huge tax breaks, and then downsize, and send and set up companies overseas!
So just how does this make us a good example of a Capitalistic society that works?
It works for the wealthy! and that's fine if you are wealthy!
But if you are trying to live on Social Security? Ha Ha Ha!
Communism, socialism ,whateverism, we need to find something that works better than what we have!
You self-satisfied ,brain dead, neocons, can sit back on your laurels, and reap the benefits, on the backs of the working poor? Please, by all means, enjoy yourselves!YOUR downfall is coming, and it will be a doosy!

Answer 10

Communism and Capitalism is like the yin and yang, two primal opposing but complementary principles or cosmic forces. Ironically China understand better the concept than the US, they invented the philosophy.