Free Enterprise vs. Capitalism
I hear people talk about free enterprise and capitalism as if they were interchangeable terms. Just as hot and cold are the extremes of temperature, free enterprise and capitalism are far apart on the continuum of economic systems. In fact they are in opposition to each other, since they compete for investment.
At this point in history, I would say that capitalism is in the lead, with the U.S. firmly in its grasp.
The difference is where power and control reside. A free enterprise system has power and control dispersed throughout the society. Each person has the opportunity to invest in himself or herself –produce, invent, take risks, run his or her own business, run his or her own life. The prosperity that has accumulated in the community is available to the residents of the community as someone who has managed to sell a product to a buyer outside the community then gets a local haircut or pays someone to fix his roof.
In our system of dominant capitalism, all prosperity gravitates to the magnetic center of wealth. The only option for making a living is to work for big capital. The return for one’s work is just enough to sustain life. If there is profit to be made from one’s contribution, it goes to the corporation. Residents of the community pay for the roads which enable corporate food and other products to be delivered to retail outlets, and enable residents to go there for all the necessities of life. People have been reduced to giving their all in exchange for just getting by, living at the end of a corporate umbilical cord.
Hi Susie,
ReplyDeleteVery good post. Actually, though, the partnership between corporations, banks, and the government is nothing new. It has a name and that name is fascism. While the word "fascism" is overused, it still exists to be used as it's true definition. We're seeing that now. Our government serves the banks and corporations and, what's more, our government is now showing very police state and militaristic tendencies. If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. So, we should call our system what it truly is and that is fascism. Of course, in America, we can call it "Fascism Lite"; that is, all of the wars, rigged elections, and police power with just half the "trains running on time" features of classic fascism. In short, America is a police state that thinks of itself as a Marshall Dillon but is really Barney Fife in many respects. That's because in previous fascist nations, their corporations were tied to the government, but it was the guy in the jackboots and uniform that called the shots. In our version, the corporations call the shots and the government is the puppet. In other words, it's like The Wizard of Oz. We are presented this fearsome image of the government, but it's actually the corporations who are the "man behind the curtain". To be sure, this might be even more dangerous. Time will tell.
We've also seen the rise of mercenary armies which were once forbidden by American law. But these are paramilitary forces that can be called upon who, as the Iraqi government discovered to their dismay, cannot be held liable or prosecuted if their contract says they cannot. To be sure, these are nothing new and nothing more than modern Condottieri---but with a twist. These forces can be called upon to defend corporate interests. What's more, most have been highly trained by the military of the United States. What this means is these are a private military force who have no oaths of enlistment to govern their behavior. Only their contracts stipulate where the line they may not cross is----or if such a line exists. I bring this up to show just how far corporations have gone now as well as how far they will be willing to go if challenged.
The tyrants of the 18th century wore crowns. The tyrants of the 19th and 20th century wore uniforms. The tyrants of the 21st century wear business suits. They've been able to keep the masses fairly well pacified through the winning but unsustainable combination of easy credit, flimsy houses bought through subprime mortgages, cheap beer, mindless television, and easy-to-acquire prescriptions for synthetic opiates. But this house of cards is falling apart and the Occupy movement is the handwriting on the wall for a future of bread riots. Every government confronted with a popular peoples' movement (something Occupy is not, but could easily become)thought they would win. The Czar thought he was going to win. So did Batista, so did the varius U.S.-installed puppets of South Vietnam. So did the Shah, another U.S. puppet, for that matter. The U.S. is not there yet, but let something happen that causes a cascade reaction in the economy and it could happen here. Say, a war with Iran and Iran closes the Straits of Hormuz and gasoline hits $8.00 to $10.00 a gallon. Or if China or Russia or both decide to intervene and the U.S. loses that war (as it certainly would.) Our government is too overconfident in its ability to remain in power despite a failing economy that swells the ranks of the poor daily.
I also think we've seen this before. This looks a lot like the late 1980s when the Soviet Union was teetering on collapse. Time will tell.
But what people should do is go around the government and do as much as possible locally to provide for their needs. The less interaction with the government and major corporations, the better.
Dear Guerilla Chef (do you also cook?),
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comment. I will need to mull it all over for a full day. Right off the top of my head, though, I see and agree with your assessment of how our machine works. My interest is: how do we unravel what we've got here and simultaneously build what we want? So I find myself speaking with people a lot (I work weekends as a local cashier) and finding a common language and sharing a vision of what the good life is (and it's not good unless it's good for everyone). There are some simple things we can do as the powerless poor that we can succeed at and that will start to turn the tide. One of the hardest parts is to decide where to invest our time and energy that will be the most effective. On Tuesdays I go door-to-door in the small city where I cashier with three petitions. This gives me a chance to talk with people I already have a rapport with through five years packing their groceries with great care.
It just occurred to me as I typed the word "care" that it's all about care.
Anyway, the three petitions are: one enables residents to get a referendum on the ballot, which up until now has not been possible (unless you "knew" somebody); one puts a referendum on the ballot enabling taxpayers to designate where they want 30% of their local property taxes to go (stating that renters who pay high property taxes through rental payments will also enjoy this right); the third requests local representatives to ban natural gas hydrofracking within city limits.
For years and for the rest of my life, I'm sure, I will work to replace property tax with a version of income tax. The mechanism of taxing based on tangible property takes wealth and investment from local free enterprise and hands it over to big capital. This moves us every year a little farther from the good life.
Susie,
ReplyDeleteYes, I do cook actually. Check out my blog of the same name.
I agree with your statement about property tax. You know, in the Southwest, property taxes were developed to come up with shortfalls in lost tax revenue when the self-appointed morality police passed laws banning gambling and what-not. A lot of property tax goes to fund the futile "War on Drugs" and the furthering of police power. You are also correct that homeowners get to make up the difference in lost taxes when local government hands fat tax breaks to lure in corporations to "create jobs".
I heard this show on NPR where they were talking about the loss of public transportation in the cities. Well, no one wants to hear the real reason---or the real solution. The real reason is the outsourcing of jobs----the "race to the bottom". Outsourcing drained jobs from major cities. This, in turn, caused a loss of tax revenue from those corporations and also the loss of taxable wages and collected sales taxes. Add into this the fact that desperate cities then give major incentives like huge tax breaks to lure in businesses to create jobs. The loss of more tax revenue. The jobs they lure in are usually low-wage, so the difference is not made up in taxable wages and/or sales tax revenue. This is the problem. Outsourcing.
The solution? Business needs to be taxed more for laying people off. Giving them tax breaks for laying people off is rewarding greed. We must start using more stick, and less carrot. They'll retaliate by moving their entire businesses offshore, but then embargo all their goods. They'll come to see reason. But that won't happen because we're ruled by a corporatocracy.
Personally, I don't own property for the reason that the government technically owns it via property tax. I'm an "opt out". I have as little to do with the State as possible. I think we need to see the State for what it is and admit this to ourselves. We're not the "greatest nation on Earth". This is pabulum fed to us by the State and their media lapdogs.
I don't have any solutions I see happening any time soon. The government is too powerful and the people too deluded and complacent. I say this as a formerly politically active leftie.
Hi Guerilla Chef,
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking a lot about your mention of fascism. I generally avoid the f-word because it scares people, but of course, government by capital is the textbook definition of fascism. I say "capital" specifically because it is the concentration of wealth that is calling the shots. Not the people who think they are in power nor the corporations are directing the show. All the players, from the poor to the ridiculously rich are just playing their parts, according to the dictates of what is expected from them by capital. I picture a funnel cloud like a tornado, skimming over the landscape, sucking all the wealth up and leaving an economic desert--this is the essence of capitalism. No where is it written that this must be the economic system in our country. Today's predicament is so extreme (and we know this because no one I know feels they can better their lives) that this is an excellent time of opportunity. Any move we make is a move in the right direction. Politically, economically, socially--they're all tied together. In the same way you avoid government, I avoid looking to capital for relief. Some company moving in (at our expense!) and providing jobs does not make me feel hopeful. I think you covered that pretty well. Whenever I hear the word "job" I substitute "opportunity for servitude".
By the way, I clicked on your name and magically your blog appeared. Have you ever heard Alison Krause sing "Bird on a Wire"?
I have seen what comfort and convenience have done to people. It creates a paralysis beyond what would be there from real lack of resources. I don't know about deluded. I see people hundreds at the time at work, and find so many to be aware and ready to discuss important issues without much urging from me. As I go out petitioning, I run into people who are more than willing to back up their views. One thing I don't find too much of is "undecided". Makes me wonder about those pollsters.
Another thing that really doesn't smell right is the inflation rate. Somebody on the radio or TV news today said it was 2%. What fictional world are they talking about?
Sorry to ramble, I'm all over the place today, but one reason the property tax issue is so important to me is that after all the talk about federal income tax, the greatest tax burden we bear is local taxes. And when property tax evolves into a tax on homes, (rented as well as owned), it becomes as regressive a tax as can be conceived, not a flat income tax, but a flat per capita tax.
As a family farmer, I am a property tax slave. We are taxed for more than we have, more than we make, more than many times what we have left to live on. This informs me and makes me a force to worry about.
Hi Susie,
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right. What I find disturbing is the fact that AG Eric Holder just got on the tube and assured the American people that it was okey-dokey for Obama to assassinate an American citizen and his 16 year old son. He claims that "due process of law does not mean judical process". Eric is lying and, what's more, he knows he is lying. He's a lawyer. He studied law. He's just betting that most Americans won't know he's lying. Of course due process of law means a judical process. That s why it goes into great detail about it in the Bill of Rights.
Make no mistake. The President of the United States (and quite possibly the Pentagon and CIA) have the authority to order the killing of an American citizen (or anyone else) without a trial. Without the presentation of evidence. Without charges other than the guy is "suspected of" doing something (i.e. not proven to have done it) or "might" do something. Therefore, we are rapidly descending into the next phase of fascism which is the absolute power of the State. People think because we have 50 states that the feds don't have autonomy over them. But the former Soviet Union was composed of several allegedly autonomous states and/or republics, yet all answered to Moscow. The feds allow states to do things that don't challenge federal power, but let a state do something to challenge federal power and the feds move in quickly and shut it down.
I believe we are seeing the beginning of a very terrible era in America. We are in a war that has no defineable end. Thus, the government's unlimited power is permanent. What we think is "capitalism" is just another facet of that power. They have done something revolutionary. Rather than put all their eggs in one basket like other fascist regimes (usually military power), they have invested power in three places: The corporate and thus economic sector, the military sector, and the government sector. All facets are covered. If one leg of this triangle fails, the other two will prop it up. For all of the "low taxes" nonsense of the Republican Party, they as well as anyone else realize it takes a lot of tax revenue to support a huge military and a bloated, byzantine structure of police and secret police forces. The Republicans just want the working man to pay the taxes but remain too ignorant to realize he is doing so while the rich do not. The Democrats want to mumble poppycock about being "liberal" but, at the end of the day, they're launching drone attacks and killing people all over the planet as much as Bush did. They also support higher taxes but readily admit it.
People don't know how deep the rabbit hole goes. But if they read history, they will. And it will frighten them.