Capitalism economically is simply the free market. Capitalism politically is much more. Free market economics are simple and benign. However a sort of Shyster Economics has been born on top of the free market, built on the politicalization of capitalism with the cooperation and facilitation of government. It is highly complicated and ever shifting with rule and ethos change as the norm. The purpose behind the constant change is to satiate the populous while generating the greatest possible increase for the Investor class. The role of government in the system has evolved to grooming the populous as the best possible workforce and product market, maintaining the peace, and creating a business atmosphere to sustain the utmost corporate profitability.
It is the world reality today, and like the caste system of British India, or apartheid in colonial Africa, it is simply a progressive modern evolution of the populous as worker bees to enrich the Investor class. Its current form is the playing out of the early atheistic social philosophies of the late 1800’s. The same philosophies gave rise to communist experiments in the early part of the next century, and Nazism closer to mid century among others. In the current millennium, with the world’s power structures, courts, and governments in the fold, “progress” has been very rapid. The use of the word progress is not a coincidence, as the semi-egalitarian goal of progressive-conservativism is that the non-privileged 99% of all populations would enjoy equality and the benefits of the system. Noble slogans like: “Poverty is a crime”, “We must feed an ever increasing global population,” Washer machines for all.” “Computer access for all.” and the aim to “normalize” living conditions worldwide are obvious reflections of the world as a well cared for work force—progress. Progress; maybe, but for minority thinkers and those esoteric oddballs (the educated either by travel, study or open minded interaction) a world of “production” balanced with the outside provision of comfort and sustenance is not appealing. Never mind; Friedrich Nietzsche espoused that it was right for the greater class to rule over, use, and subjugate the populous. The modern thinking seems to be that ‘they don’t know what is good for them, but will see it when they experience it.’ The world population dynamic that is being set in place is beginning to dawn on the populous; yet veiled; it is only there in obscurity. Most underlings are unsure whether to fear, fight, or trust. With wide open eyes and minds then, let our aim be to understand our situation as fully as possible.
Economics: The following is an oversimplification of something so complex that it otherwise could not be explained accurately:
In the US, the populous are running short on the funds to sustain their ‘lifestyle’. Money is being printed—apparently trillions per month—and given at times to large Corporations, but mostly to banks to put on loan. The banks are owned by investors. The recipients of loans are the populous, corporations, and investors. Currently, as of August 4, 2013, there is no significant US dollar inflation—dollars are not significantly losing value for the purchase of non-durable goods.
Who are the investors that own banks and corporations? The Investor class—those with a lot of discretionary income. Who is is that work for and receive wages from banks and corporations? The populous — the 99%.
What causes inflation?
- Rising wages: If people are paid more to work, things will cost more on the market. (Average wages have been decreasing in the US.)
- Scarcity: If things are harder to get, people will begin paying more to be the one that gets them. (Not currently a problem and in many cases prices are overseen and managed—if deemed appropriate—by government to avoid spikes and lulls.)
- Market Control: If a group of interests control a good or service with a perceived need, they can raise the price up to level with the perceived need. (Certain sectors are subject to this where a couple of large companies dominate such as cellular, and insurance.)
- Does over printing of money cause inflation? Not necessarily…
Following on #4: If the currency printed gets into the hands of people it can cause inflation. If it is given directly to people, in the amounts currently entering the market it can cause rapid inflation and currency devaluation. If it instead is loaned, it can still cause slow to moderate inflation or more inflation of higher value items representing traceable collateral. If loaned it does not tend to cause inflation across the board or general currency devaluation, and it is not at this time. It will increase the cost and value of cars, machinery, and homes as well as land and other investment items. So it depends upon the distribution policy.
Other things that prevent inflation across the board and therefore currency devaluation are increasing of perceived need for ‘luxury’ items (hobbies, sports, entertainment, electronics, cars, insurance, investment, home remodels, tools used for hobbies, etc.)
So in the economic stimulus in the US currently called quantitative easing what is going on. Money given to banks is loaned to support purchases of “collateral”—at least in the post bubble world. Private sector loans generally support the purchase of homes, land, living necessities. The repayment of the loan is made with interest generating real income for Investors but not for the borrower. The money lent gives the populous the money to purchase the goods supplied by corporations and thus gives the investor class indirect profit from the purchase along with profit from the interest paid from the currency printed for quantitative easing. The populous conversely pays out everything borrowed plus interest. The populous get temporary comfort and provision along with a bill for the total amount plus interest. The Investor class get the interest, and the sale and come out with profits free and clear to use to purchase more of the world’s value. The wages paid on average have retracted and the amount of required output per person has increased under the same and other influences. So, quantitative easing is earning investors money across the board from banks to industry. It is maintaining an increasingly unsustainable lifestyle for the populous. And it is not causing any degree of significant inflation on the general basics while still keeping people buying the goods produced by corporations; by Friedrich Nietzsche’s ethos it is brilliant!
What is happening across the larger spectrum? The Investor Class are generating more wealth than ever and rapidly purchasing everything worth purchasing in the world. Americans in particular, are still content living as they have, but are not increasing in net worth, unless they are either working exceptionally harder, smarter, or shrewder than the norm. At the same time, their average burden of debt is increasing. Items of investment value to purchase in the world are increasingly valuable or unavailable. Investors having already purchased the world’s available forest-land have started buying up local farm land and lobbying governments the world over to make more land and resources available for purchase. Whether it is local farmland in Oregon or Africa, or former public nature preserves in Indonesia, the purchases continue. Small businesses of any potential are almost sure to be purchased by larger corporate interests. Lands with prime soils, priority water rights, or established mining/mineral rights and anything else of tangible value is now becoming more expensive and further out of reach of the populous. Home ownership, though still viable, is on the decrease while renting is becoming the new normal.
The Investor class is buying it all up, helping the populous pay for their loans and their lives. Items purchased with consumer loans are often obsolete when fully paid for, and need to be repurchased to maintain ‘lifestyle’. It means the workforce is becoming unwittingly more dependant on the Investor class while the Investor class is taking ownership of more of what the public and the populous used to own. In Ireland, the people left in mass when they ceased to own the tangibles of their existence. They went because there was someplace to go. They went because they had no place to stay. What is happening in the world now is progress. It won’t be like Ireland the next time. With progress, when the populous, over time, ceases to own the tangibles of their existence they will be given breathing room and the ‘lifestyle’ to which they were accustomed in exchange for their willingness to produce and earn the income to stay afloat. If they are not ready to choose to be “employed,” will there be an alternative? If they don’t find one and they sink, will there be a place to go as there was for the Irish? Progress is bright for the average folk, and the brilliant, but not so for those with differing opinions.
What then is happening with government? Clearly, in the US, they are solidifying the long slow separation from control by the populous to corporate finance control with laws, surveillance, and crowd control technology. Deployment of the armed forces domestically now has the “legal,” congressionally approval, and mercenary private security firms and armies are on the table as a contingency plan. They are tightening control of the populous and demanding an undisclosed transparent view into the individual’s personal life while refusing the populous anything but an obscure glimpse into government. People don’t know what people are doing or thinking except as they hear in the media, but government and large corporations know and monitor what every individual in the populous is doing and thinking. What is happening around us? Should we fear, fight, or trust?
We should not fear, fight, nor trust. We should lift our heads high and decide what kind of world we want to leave as the legacy for our generation to all life on this earth.
We should live in health at all costs, of mind, of soul, and of body. We should become great livers with our greatest mind and heart. We should learn to truly know our existence, our planet, other creatures and our brothers and sisters of humankind. Take on mindfulness and learn to do all things well and everything that is “good”. We should build our conscience again, based on a renewed connection to the primordial world that existed before all this and will exist after, using conscience, knowledge, and reason to navigate our way out of a true mess. No worries… unless we don’t now rise to our humanity and live!
occupyconscience 