[Mild Rover]

Rigged capitalism : Sun Mar 15, 2020 8:00 am  

We have a capitalist economic system and that seems very unlikely to change in anything other than the very long-term. Even the Corbynite manifesto for the election did not offer anything fundamentally or structurally different. However, I came across this article from the Financial Times a little while ago and mentioned it on the Social Care thread yesterday. https://www.ft.com/content/5a8ab27e-d47 ... 7ebd53ab77 It is quite a long article, and it has some interesting links out too. In summary/conclusion it says: - Economies are not delivering for most citizens because of weak competition, feeble productivity growth and tax loopholes - We need a dynamic capitalist economy that gives everybody a justified belief that they can share in the benefits. What we increasingly seem to have instead is an unstable rentier capitalism... high inequality and, not coincidentally, an increasingly degraded democracy. - The way our economic and political systems work must change, or they will perish Again, this is the FT’s chief economics commentator. While some on the left might see current systems perishing as worth the pain, the rise of right wing conservative nationalist-populist leaders and movements as part of the death throes... it is kind of terrifying, and it is possible that they’re less unstable than they seem. Can anything be done, or is the ‘rigged’ system stronger than our governments and democracies? Is it just a force of economic nature, leaving societies to manage the consequences until it crashes or can it be reformed and saved?

We have a capitalist economic system and that seems very unlikely to change in anything other than the very long-term. Even the Corbynite manifesto for the election did not offer anything fundamentally or structurally different. However, I came across this article from the Financial Times a little while ago and mentioned it on the Social Care thread yesterday. https://www.ft.com/content/5a8ab27e-d47 ... 7ebd53ab77 It is quite a long article, and it has some interesting links out too. In summary/conclusion it says: - Economies are not delivering for most citizens because of weak competition, feeble productivity growth and tax loopholes - We need a dynamic capitalist economy that gives everybody a justified belief that they can share in the benefits. What we increasingly seem to have instead is an unstable rentier capitalism... high inequality and, not coincidentally, an increasingly degraded democracy. - The way our economic and political systems work must change, or they will perish Again, this is the FT’s chief economics commentator. While some on the left might see current systems perishing as worth the pain, the rise of right wing conservative nationalist-populist leaders and movements as part of the death throes... it is kind of terrifying, and it is possible that they’re less unstable than they seem. Can anything be done, or is the ‘rigged’ system stronger than our governments and democracies? Is it just a force of economic nature, leaving societies to manage the consequences until it crashes or can it be reformed and saved?

Re: Rigged capitalism : Sun Mar 15, 2020 1:54 pm  

This article is worth a read. Again, it's a long one. How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in eastern Europe - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ern-europe This particular paragraph chimes with 'rigged capitalism'. “People realised suddenly that in the coming years, it would be decided who would be rich and who would be poor; who would have power and who would not; who would be marginalised and who would be at the centre. And who would be able to found dynasties and whose children would suffer.”

This article is worth a read. Again, it's a long one. How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in eastern Europe - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ern-europe This particular paragraph chimes with 'rigged capitalism'. “People realised suddenly that in the coming years, it would be decided who would be rich and who would be poor; who would have power and who would not; who would be marginalised and who would be at the centre. And who would be able to found dynasties and whose children would suffer.”

Re: Rigged capitalism : Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:04 pm  

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... us-vaccine Trump is bidding now to try and lock down monopoly on the vaccine for the US only. Presumably then they can patent it to prevent anyone else from making it so they have exclusive rights of supply, in the knowledge that every other country will need it, and can then hold the rest of the world to ransom over the price.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... us-vaccine Trump is bidding now to try and lock down monopoly on the vaccine for the US only. Presumably then they can patent it to prevent anyone else from making it so they have exclusive rights of supply, in the knowledge that every other country will need it, and can then hold the rest of the world to ransom over the price.

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:31 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine

Trump is bidding now to try and lock down monopoly on the vaccine for the US only. Presumably then they can patent it to prevent anyone else from making it so they have exclusive rights of supply, in the knowledge that every other country will need it, and can then hold the rest of the world to ransom over the price.

It's a sign of the times we are in, that this has been reported over the weekend to barely a raised eyebrow - just business as usual in the new world order.

No doubt there will be a queue of apologists saying it's a perfectly normal response to a market condition, but it really is a despicable act by a man who is the very definition of a moral vacuum.

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:49 am  

sally cinnamon wrote:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine

Trump is bidding now to try and lock down monopoly on the vaccine for the US only. Presumably then they can patent it to prevent anyone else from making it so they have exclusive rights of supply, in the knowledge that every other country will need it, and can then hold the rest of the world to ransom over the price.

Perhaps Europe needs to beat him too it - and reverse the position on him?

Didn't a similar thing happen with the first Aids medication

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:53 am  

Sal Paradise wrote:

Perhaps Europe needs to beat him too it - and reverse the position on him?

Didn't a similar thing happen with the first Aids medication

Or maybe someone needs to be an actual thinking, feeling human being, and realise that cooperation, not competition, will save a lot of lives?

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:13 am  

bren2k wrote:

Or maybe someone needs to be an actual thinking, feeling human being, and realise that cooperation, not competition, will save a lot of lives?

Too many on the right are more concerned with saving money, not lives.

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:40 pm  

bren2k wrote:

Or maybe someone needs to be an actual thinking, feeling human being, and realise that cooperation, not competition, will save a lot of lives?

I agree but that is not how the world works - sadly

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 12:46 pm  

Sal Paradise wrote:

I agree but that is not how the world works - sadly

That might change the way things are going.

[Mild Rover]

Re: Rigged capitalism : Mon Mar 16, 2020 6:37 pm  

King Street Cat wrote: This article is worth a read. Again, it's a long one. How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in eastern Europe - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ern-europe This particular paragraph chimes with 'rigged capitalism'. “People realised suddenly that in the coming years, it would be decided who would be rich and who would be poor; who would have power and who would not; who would be marginalised and who would be at the centre. And who would be able to found dynasties and whose children would suffer.” It is an interesting piece, and demography and migration are big issues. It is an striking thought that Eastern European anti-immigration sentiment is to some degree a psychological response to emigration - as there is no available response to the problem they actually face.

King Street Cat wrote: This article is worth a read. Again, it's a long one. How liberalism became ‘the god that failed’ in eastern Europe - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/ ... ern-europe This particular paragraph chimes with 'rigged capitalism'. “People realised suddenly that in the coming years, it would be decided who would be rich and who would be poor; who would have power and who would not; who would be marginalised and who would be at the centre. And who would be able to found dynasties and whose children would suffer.” It is an interesting piece, and demography and migration are big issues. It is an striking thought that Eastern European anti-immigration sentiment is to some degree a psychological response to emigration - as there is no available response to the problem they actually face.