My hand is starting to feel a little better… I totally want to take this splint off (it makes typing really hard because it keeps hitting the control keys — I usually rest my hand on the edge of the keyboard) but it's probably still a lot too soon.
Lew Rockwell, in A Capitalist War raises and interesting solution to the war on Iraq that I think might just work, at least in the short term… Although I'm more inclined to agree with the Leninist concepts he raises earlier.
The view that sustaining capitalism requires aggressive war is usually said to originate with V.I. Lenin as a way of rescuing Marxism from a serious problem. The problem was that capitalism was not collapsing in the 19th century. It was growing more robust and more productive, and the workers were getting richer, not poorer all facts that weighed heavily against the Marxist historical trajectory. The Leninist answer to the puzzle was that capitalism was surviving only thanks to its military aggression. The prosperity of the West originated in blood.
Anyway, his conclusion is interesting — I won't spoil it, but if you don't want to read the whole article, the solution is in the second-last paragraph, and does stand on its own.
As many of you probably know, the FCC is restructuring its rules in favor of megacorps. Under the new laws, a single corporation will be able to own both the majority of the media production groups, and also the Internet pipelines and broadcast mediums, thereby controlling not only the production of media, but also its distribution.
Some people think that by giving a corporation “human rights” we've made a fair playing field for capitalism. Wrong. What we've said is that single individuals are expected to compete with super human corporations — essentially “people” but with the brains and resources of thousands to millions of people, plus it never sleeps and never ages. It's like trying to fight god. Joe Human can't win.
Have we created an enemy more powerful than us?
My advice to capitalism: eliminate the corporation. Replace it with a “sole proprietorship” and encourage co-operative business ventures. A setup of that type would eliminate many of capitalism's fundamental injustices, plus it would make the economy absolutely vibrant.
Ouch, my wrist…
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