“The essence of capitalism is to turn nature into commodities and commodities into capital.” (Michael Parenti) For as long as I’ve been writing, giving public talks, and all that, I have offered informed critiques of capitalism. For as long as I’ve been offering informed critiques of capitalism, I get replies like this: “I suppose you think socialism is the answer.”
"To question capitalism is to recognize that we can have prosperity and abundance without surrendering compassion and cooperation." I'm with you. And the false choice usually offered (same as what we receive when you question Biden - "Oh you love Trump?") is something we need quickly to get past.
This is good sense. There's much more to political economy than is covered in the prevailing discourse. How many people have ever heard of, e.g., mutualism? Is there an argument for hybrids that try to take the best from existing systems, and maybe add something entirely new and experimental? Life in intellectual strait jackets serves no one.
Thank you, James, and thanks for mentioning something like mutualism.
And yes, intellectual strait jackets are tools of authoritarians - not just those in corporate headquarters and statehouses but also on social media, Substack, etc.
If we truly wish to find out what lies beyond capitalism, the current system of things needs to expire. Perhaps then will arise a generation of people who discern the difference between the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues.
Free market systems also require shame. In low trust systems there no shame because consumers are disconnected from producers and from each other. That is by design. Rather than looking at economic systems we might want to look at social systems.
and for so long, people have tried to cut out the middle person. The one making money of other people's work doing nothing. ( I remember the middle woman with lace makers, giving them a few cents and new material as payment, and the merchants buying wool from Nepalese shepherds, same) Same goes for political systems. Cut out all these super rich lice in the govt doing nothing but talk.
Agree to disagree. Monopolization of the system has led to every single atrocity mentioned.
You can blame the capitalism or truly understand how the system has been subverted by a very few elite that run the entire system.
Capitalism is NOT where we are. We have kings and queens that pretend it is free market, while they wage wars, tank entire countries and murder for profits.
1% rule the world and whatever system you believe you are part of, you're not.
capitalism is only good for the capitalists, the wealthy, the mighty (because of their wealth). Not one system will ever work, because we are all different. Just like meds don't work for everyone. The uppeties try to put everyone in a system, a statistic. But you and I are not a statistic, we are not a number, our numbers can differ from everyone else's. To say that everyone should have a blood pressure of so-and-so is to say that you are the same as 'the average'. and no one is average! We are all unique! If you feel good with a blood pressure or a heart beat a bit over or under the average, and have no problems with it, what is that doctor to say it is off? What do they know? How long have they known you? (in my case, 2 minutes LOL)
Absolutely, Ingrid!! Doctors do not know their patients or what is truly best for them. Nor do doctors have the power to "cure" anything. The medical industry comes up with these literally ARBITRARY health "goals" to turn people into perpetual patients to feed the capitalist medical system. If healthcare truly cared about health, they would teach about safe, free, non-pharmaceutical methods of staying healthy. But there is no profit in a healthy person. They've cleverly turned every natural process (menopause, childbirth, childhood, sadness, aging, ect) into a disease that needs to be "treated" with a medication or vaccine. The medical system does not allow the body to naturally heal itself - they scare people into having horrendous medical tests and procedures.
Mickey, I coudn't agree more. And couldn't even begin to express the many ways in which I agree; one thing I will say, however, is that questioning differs from setting up binaries that may fulfil some need of logic... whilst avoiding what the late author V.S. Naupail once called 'a more elemantary complexity.'
Gee, and I thought "communist" Joe Biden and the "CCP" (in quotes like I put "covid" in quotes) are THE root causes of everything that's ever gone wrong in the world.
I'll try to keep my rant short. I completely agree with you!! I think we have been cleverly tricked to accept "capitalism" and "democracy" as the best ways of life. Through questioning new ideas would emerge that would topple this God-awful system we currently have. We can't have that, now, can we?? :-) I've always thought our monetary system was idiotic. I mean, "THEY" can simply elevate or crash the stock market at a whim. The stock market is fickle and stupid, and the value of money is imaginary. Cheap, crappy products built with slave labor are rewarded in the capitalist system. One example I recently encountered - water heaters. I've only been in my home for even 17 years, and I've already had 3 water heaters. The plumber openly admitted that the industry DELIBERATELY makes modern water heaters crappy so they only last just past the warranty. That's capitalism for you!!
Yeah, why can't we question everything?? I know people are going to think I'm crazy, but no one can tell me what is really wrong with "15 minutes cities" if they were beautifully designed by benevolent people. I'm not talking barricading roads or pack 'em and stack 'em apartments. What's wrong with having all the amenities within a short distance from locally owned businesses instead of wasting your day driving for essentials at huge warehouse monstrosities? IMO urban sprawl is part of capitalism. "Developers" take all that is inherently beautiful and pave over it in order to create another damn strip mall so people can open businesses that no one will go to so then in 5 years there will be ANOTHER abandoned strip mall. We have so many unoccupied strip malls in my city because of property tax laws. So then that leads to why can't we question our damn tax system??? Our tax system is obviously unconstitutional and the money the govt is stealing from us is being used to fund war and other nefarious programs, yet we've willingly put up with it for generations. Why??? That leads me to question what's really wrong with the concept of communism?? I'm not talking about the warped version of communism with gulags and where the government controls everything. I'm talking about the pure form of working as a COMMUNITY to get things done. Sadly, pure communism would only flourish if people would be willing to get off their butts and bring their best effort to the table instead of living off the teat of government. There are so many questions that we're not allowed to pose...is our health system really the best?? Is our school system really the best?? Is the "history" we've been force fed in school accurate?? Is "green energy" really green?? Why do we not value extended family in the US and throw our vulnerable elderly into nursing homes?? Was aggressive "feminism" really beneficial to women?? Why do parents have children if all they are going to do is have them raised by daycare and the school system?? Is our military really the best?? Is our government really the best?? Aren't all 401Ks simply pyramid schemes?? Why is our financial system so complicated that we need to pay people to "manage" our money for us?? Why is our tax system so complicated that we need to pay people to do our taxes for us?? (Even my husband's accountant is overwhelmed by the new tax laws so he's ready to quit). IMO this complicated crap is ALL by design to keep us in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety and DEPENTANT on the government to perpetuate capitalism.
Ugh, that rant was all over the place!! I don't have the answers, but I'm just so tired of people not questioning why we do what we do! We need to imagine a better way of living and questioning is the first step. Thanks, Mickey!
Once upon a time, even now sprawling mid west cities had 15 minute neighborhoods. Small commercial centers occurred every 1-2 miles, often at trolley stops. There would be a grocer and a few other shops/services. Barber shop/hair salon, drug store, neighborhood diner/coffee shop (old school variety not modern latte kind) and a watering hole. Many people still did not own cars, and those who did only one. Necessities within walking distance were needed and patronized.
We began the move away from these arrangements after WWII; by the late seventies/eighties the small commercial corners had empty buildings, as people steadily moved to the ever expanding suburbs.
The reactions to 15 minute cities puzzled me; how could anyone think they were some weird plot to deprive them of.....well, not quite sure what. They were how people in cities and large towns lived, not that long ago. But I am old enough to remember the old neighborhoods even though the street car systems had been dismantled for years. Maybe the 40 and under crowd, raised in suburbia has no memories of these places and can’t imagine how they would work? I don’t know.
However the current efforts to create these neighborhoods all too often destroy working class housing via high end remodels and rebuilds affordable only to higher income people. The commercial offerings are coffee houses, breweries, expensive cafes/restaurants, and bars with carefully curated liquor offerings. If there is a grocery store, it will probably be Whole Paycheck, not Aldi’s, and the curated bar won’t have be the place people go to have a couple beers with friends. For all the talk of maintains diverse neighborhoods, these new developments tend to fall short, at least in my area.
Yes! Whenever someone from the post-WWII era tells me about how safe their urban neighborhood was, I ask: So, why did you leave? Why did you let them convince you that being isolated in suburbs is better? Why did you choose cars and interstate highways over walking amongst friends?
I'm not saying it's this simple but wow...so few folks ever ask these questions.
Propaganda is a powerful thing. The messages in advertising and entertainment were suburbia was the modern way to live. Trade those creaky old wood floors in your 1920s built house for wall to wall carpet; climbing stairs for a single story ranch; the neighborly front porch with a back yard patio with a big grill and lounge chairs. The first wave of suburbanites was the GI generation who had lived through the depression wanted their kids to have it better. They believed the suburban life would provide that.
That’s one theory. But I think they all come down to “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Thank you for your reply. I'm only 51 and I remember my friends and I enjoyed going to the mom-and-pop shops in my neighborhood for candy. I still can't fathom how anybody thought urban sprawl was a brilliant idea. Most suburbs are hideous. Not sure how to fix this mess, now. Maybe that's part of the "great reset". I'm going to imagine there will be a miraculous healing of the Earth.
Excellent column, Mickey. I'm currently reading a book titled "SuperClass" by David Rothkopf, which, in part, is about the differences between Main Street capitalism and crony, aka monopoly, capitalism, the latter of which usually seeks to crush competition (so much for a 'free market'). Rothkopf explains how monopoly capitalism is able to crush smaller businesses (or buy them out). He also discusses how crony capitalism has now gone global and operates outside of any national gov't. He talks a lot about how the WEF facilitates the merging of gov't leaders and CEOs--what Mussolini called fascism.
May 12, 2023·edited May 12, 2023Liked by Mickey Z.
Excellent column, Mickey. I'm currently reading a book titled "SuperClass" by David Rothkopf, in which he details the differences between Main Street capitalism and crony, aka monopoly capitalism, the latter of which usually seeks to crush competition (so much for a 'free market'). Rothkopf explains how monopoly capitalism is able to crush smaller businesses (or buy them out). He also discusses how crony capitalism has now gone global and operates outside of any national gov't. He talks a lot about how the WEF and other unelected, powerful groups facilitate the capture of gov't leaders by big global corporations--what Mussolini called fascism.
Thank you, Alice! The word "unelected" is so crucial, right? From CEOs to technocrats like Fauci and beyond, unelected people are making decisions that directly impact our lives.
And I hear you on monopoly capitalism. But Main Street capitalism would also be rapacious by nature. I'm just happy to open up a discussion which is often silenced by the allegedly anti-censorship crowd.
P.S. I have not forgotten about the questions/suggestions you recently shared in a comment. I'll introduce one of them here very soon for starters!
"Side note to those in the “medical freedom movement”: Your frequent misuse of the words “communism” and “Marxism” does not serve you well." Amen, Mickey! Boy am I tired of that.
And anyway, if someone calls you a socialist, you're in good company-- Eugene Debs, Big Bill Haywood, the Wobblies... Oh and anarchist? Emma Goldman, Peter Kropotkin (who wrote _Mutual Aid_)...Leo Tolstoy...
I have no problem being aligned with Eugene Debs, who said: "Years ago, I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
Thank you, as always, my friend! Here's to cooperation, stewardship, and adaptability! ❤
Any system of government, no matter capitalism, socialism etc..., can become corrupt if we don't constantly weed out the bad.
Indeed! And that goes double for when "leaders" use words like capitalism or socialism to disguise their nefarious goals.
"To question capitalism is to recognize that we can have prosperity and abundance without surrendering compassion and cooperation." I'm with you. And the false choice usually offered (same as what we receive when you question Biden - "Oh you love Trump?") is something we need quickly to get past.
Amen!
Let's challenge black-and-white thinking wherever it rears its ugly head.
👍
This is good sense. There's much more to political economy than is covered in the prevailing discourse. How many people have ever heard of, e.g., mutualism? Is there an argument for hybrids that try to take the best from existing systems, and maybe add something entirely new and experimental? Life in intellectual strait jackets serves no one.
Thank you, James, and thanks for mentioning something like mutualism.
And yes, intellectual strait jackets are tools of authoritarians - not just those in corporate headquarters and statehouses but also on social media, Substack, etc.
Please don't ask me for the definition of a utopian paradise. The world's billionaires are already living IT.
They think they are for sure!
If we truly wish to find out what lies beyond capitalism, the current system of things needs to expire. Perhaps then will arise a generation of people who discern the difference between the seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues.
Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth.
Free market systems also require shame. In low trust systems there no shame because consumers are disconnected from producers and from each other. That is by design. Rather than looking at economic systems we might want to look at social systems.
Absolutely! You highlight a crucial reason why parasites can get away with such evil.
and for so long, people have tried to cut out the middle person. The one making money of other people's work doing nothing. ( I remember the middle woman with lace makers, giving them a few cents and new material as payment, and the merchants buying wool from Nepalese shepherds, same) Same goes for political systems. Cut out all these super rich lice in the govt doing nothing but talk.
Agree to disagree. Monopolization of the system has led to every single atrocity mentioned.
You can blame the capitalism or truly understand how the system has been subverted by a very few elite that run the entire system.
Capitalism is NOT where we are. We have kings and queens that pretend it is free market, while they wage wars, tank entire countries and murder for profits.
1% rule the world and whatever system you believe you are part of, you're not.
I clearly wrote: One can challenge capitalism — both its theoretical and practical versions — without being a fan of Castro or Lenin.
Thus, I didn't need any of that explained to me.
Agree to disagree. Good for you.
You say I a lot. Good for you.
capitalism is only good for the capitalists, the wealthy, the mighty (because of their wealth). Not one system will ever work, because we are all different. Just like meds don't work for everyone. The uppeties try to put everyone in a system, a statistic. But you and I are not a statistic, we are not a number, our numbers can differ from everyone else's. To say that everyone should have a blood pressure of so-and-so is to say that you are the same as 'the average'. and no one is average! We are all unique! If you feel good with a blood pressure or a heart beat a bit over or under the average, and have no problems with it, what is that doctor to say it is off? What do they know? How long have they known you? (in my case, 2 minutes LOL)
I truly appreciate this analogy!
Absolutely, Ingrid!! Doctors do not know their patients or what is truly best for them. Nor do doctors have the power to "cure" anything. The medical industry comes up with these literally ARBITRARY health "goals" to turn people into perpetual patients to feed the capitalist medical system. If healthcare truly cared about health, they would teach about safe, free, non-pharmaceutical methods of staying healthy. But there is no profit in a healthy person. They've cleverly turned every natural process (menopause, childbirth, childhood, sadness, aging, ect) into a disease that needs to be "treated" with a medication or vaccine. The medical system does not allow the body to naturally heal itself - they scare people into having horrendous medical tests and procedures.
Mickey, I coudn't agree more. And couldn't even begin to express the many ways in which I agree; one thing I will say, however, is that questioning differs from setting up binaries that may fulfil some need of logic... whilst avoiding what the late author V.S. Naupail once called 'a more elemantary complexity.'
(In his novel 'The Mimic Men')
Thanks, Pim...and I trust it was clear in my post that I'm not supporting the type of binaries you mention.
Yes Mickey, very much so!
💕
Gee, and I thought "communist" Joe Biden and the "CCP" (in quotes like I put "covid" in quotes) are THE root causes of everything that's ever gone wrong in the world.
🙃
I'll try to keep my rant short. I completely agree with you!! I think we have been cleverly tricked to accept "capitalism" and "democracy" as the best ways of life. Through questioning new ideas would emerge that would topple this God-awful system we currently have. We can't have that, now, can we?? :-) I've always thought our monetary system was idiotic. I mean, "THEY" can simply elevate or crash the stock market at a whim. The stock market is fickle and stupid, and the value of money is imaginary. Cheap, crappy products built with slave labor are rewarded in the capitalist system. One example I recently encountered - water heaters. I've only been in my home for even 17 years, and I've already had 3 water heaters. The plumber openly admitted that the industry DELIBERATELY makes modern water heaters crappy so they only last just past the warranty. That's capitalism for you!!
Yeah, why can't we question everything?? I know people are going to think I'm crazy, but no one can tell me what is really wrong with "15 minutes cities" if they were beautifully designed by benevolent people. I'm not talking barricading roads or pack 'em and stack 'em apartments. What's wrong with having all the amenities within a short distance from locally owned businesses instead of wasting your day driving for essentials at huge warehouse monstrosities? IMO urban sprawl is part of capitalism. "Developers" take all that is inherently beautiful and pave over it in order to create another damn strip mall so people can open businesses that no one will go to so then in 5 years there will be ANOTHER abandoned strip mall. We have so many unoccupied strip malls in my city because of property tax laws. So then that leads to why can't we question our damn tax system??? Our tax system is obviously unconstitutional and the money the govt is stealing from us is being used to fund war and other nefarious programs, yet we've willingly put up with it for generations. Why??? That leads me to question what's really wrong with the concept of communism?? I'm not talking about the warped version of communism with gulags and where the government controls everything. I'm talking about the pure form of working as a COMMUNITY to get things done. Sadly, pure communism would only flourish if people would be willing to get off their butts and bring their best effort to the table instead of living off the teat of government. There are so many questions that we're not allowed to pose...is our health system really the best?? Is our school system really the best?? Is the "history" we've been force fed in school accurate?? Is "green energy" really green?? Why do we not value extended family in the US and throw our vulnerable elderly into nursing homes?? Was aggressive "feminism" really beneficial to women?? Why do parents have children if all they are going to do is have them raised by daycare and the school system?? Is our military really the best?? Is our government really the best?? Aren't all 401Ks simply pyramid schemes?? Why is our financial system so complicated that we need to pay people to "manage" our money for us?? Why is our tax system so complicated that we need to pay people to do our taxes for us?? (Even my husband's accountant is overwhelmed by the new tax laws so he's ready to quit). IMO this complicated crap is ALL by design to keep us in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety and DEPENTANT on the government to perpetuate capitalism.
Ugh, that rant was all over the place!! I don't have the answers, but I'm just so tired of people not questioning why we do what we do! We need to imagine a better way of living and questioning is the first step. Thanks, Mickey!
Amen, Laura! 🙏 Your comment touched on so many of the thoughts that fueled this post. Thank you!
Once upon a time, even now sprawling mid west cities had 15 minute neighborhoods. Small commercial centers occurred every 1-2 miles, often at trolley stops. There would be a grocer and a few other shops/services. Barber shop/hair salon, drug store, neighborhood diner/coffee shop (old school variety not modern latte kind) and a watering hole. Many people still did not own cars, and those who did only one. Necessities within walking distance were needed and patronized.
We began the move away from these arrangements after WWII; by the late seventies/eighties the small commercial corners had empty buildings, as people steadily moved to the ever expanding suburbs.
The reactions to 15 minute cities puzzled me; how could anyone think they were some weird plot to deprive them of.....well, not quite sure what. They were how people in cities and large towns lived, not that long ago. But I am old enough to remember the old neighborhoods even though the street car systems had been dismantled for years. Maybe the 40 and under crowd, raised in suburbia has no memories of these places and can’t imagine how they would work? I don’t know.
However the current efforts to create these neighborhoods all too often destroy working class housing via high end remodels and rebuilds affordable only to higher income people. The commercial offerings are coffee houses, breweries, expensive cafes/restaurants, and bars with carefully curated liquor offerings. If there is a grocery store, it will probably be Whole Paycheck, not Aldi’s, and the curated bar won’t have be the place people go to have a couple beers with friends. For all the talk of maintains diverse neighborhoods, these new developments tend to fall short, at least in my area.
Yes! Whenever someone from the post-WWII era tells me about how safe their urban neighborhood was, I ask: So, why did you leave? Why did you let them convince you that being isolated in suburbs is better? Why did you choose cars and interstate highways over walking amongst friends?
I'm not saying it's this simple but wow...so few folks ever ask these questions.
Propaganda is a powerful thing. The messages in advertising and entertainment were suburbia was the modern way to live. Trade those creaky old wood floors in your 1920s built house for wall to wall carpet; climbing stairs for a single story ranch; the neighborly front porch with a back yard patio with a big grill and lounge chairs. The first wave of suburbanites was the GI generation who had lived through the depression wanted their kids to have it better. They believed the suburban life would provide that.
That’s one theory. But I think they all come down to “it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Thank you for your reply. I'm only 51 and I remember my friends and I enjoyed going to the mom-and-pop shops in my neighborhood for candy. I still can't fathom how anybody thought urban sprawl was a brilliant idea. Most suburbs are hideous. Not sure how to fix this mess, now. Maybe that's part of the "great reset". I'm going to imagine there will be a miraculous healing of the Earth.
I liked how you structured this post with the couplets of "question" vs. "blindly accept." Thank you for illuminating these points!
My pleasure. And thank you for noticing and appreciating that structure! 💕
Excellent column, Mickey. I'm currently reading a book titled "SuperClass" by David Rothkopf, which, in part, is about the differences between Main Street capitalism and crony, aka monopoly, capitalism, the latter of which usually seeks to crush competition (so much for a 'free market'). Rothkopf explains how monopoly capitalism is able to crush smaller businesses (or buy them out). He also discusses how crony capitalism has now gone global and operates outside of any national gov't. He talks a lot about how the WEF facilitates the merging of gov't leaders and CEOs--what Mussolini called fascism.
Excellent column, Mickey. I'm currently reading a book titled "SuperClass" by David Rothkopf, in which he details the differences between Main Street capitalism and crony, aka monopoly capitalism, the latter of which usually seeks to crush competition (so much for a 'free market'). Rothkopf explains how monopoly capitalism is able to crush smaller businesses (or buy them out). He also discusses how crony capitalism has now gone global and operates outside of any national gov't. He talks a lot about how the WEF and other unelected, powerful groups facilitate the capture of gov't leaders by big global corporations--what Mussolini called fascism.
Thank you, Alice! The word "unelected" is so crucial, right? From CEOs to technocrats like Fauci and beyond, unelected people are making decisions that directly impact our lives.
And I hear you on monopoly capitalism. But Main Street capitalism would also be rapacious by nature. I'm just happy to open up a discussion which is often silenced by the allegedly anti-censorship crowd.
P.S. I have not forgotten about the questions/suggestions you recently shared in a comment. I'll introduce one of them here very soon for starters!
"Side note to those in the “medical freedom movement”: Your frequent misuse of the words “communism” and “Marxism” does not serve you well." Amen, Mickey! Boy am I tired of that.
And anyway, if someone calls you a socialist, you're in good company-- Eugene Debs, Big Bill Haywood, the Wobblies... Oh and anarchist? Emma Goldman, Peter Kropotkin (who wrote _Mutual Aid_)...Leo Tolstoy...
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I have no problem being aligned with Eugene Debs, who said: "Years ago, I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
Yes!
And thanks for joining me in frustration about the use of the terms!