Professor Z, Mad in America: Capitalism--A Bad Idea, Badly Done
“Clearly even Capitalism and its profit motive exists to enslave the masses and enrich the few. Lenin would be so proud.”
Professor Judah
Zelig is a character in my forthcoming novel, The Once and Future Wizard: The Awakening. Coming this summer from
All Things That Matter Press. Read more about it on my website, http://www.joyfulltimes.com Professor Z is a
college professor who discovers that he is the reincarnation of Merlanu and he
has a special destiny to awaken his fellow god-humans, but first he must awaken
and remember himself. Even before that awakening, he had a desire to see a
world that was far different from the one he lived in; and he taught and spoke
about this world. These blogs were taken from a series of mini-lectures to
promote his proposed class “The New American Kibbutz: It Takes A Village To
Save America” by the Professor’ In them you will hear the voice of the
Professor “crying in the wilderness” to prepare for what is to come. Last time we learned that there is an example in the
world of a network of communities that has not only survived and thrived but in
the process managed to affect an entire nation in spite of incredible
challenges and hardships. We learned that some of these communities bring in
millions and billions of dollars using a system of Socialism that most people
believe was a total failure. Apparently we were mistaken. The Kibbutz in Israel
is our example. And just as they are changing and adapting, I think you will
see that with just a few more changes, we can make this a powerful instrument
of social change here in America. But I want to first look at some “isms,” and try to
show you that words like Socialism are not to be feared. Just as there are various
forms of Democracy, with some more successful than others, there are various
forms of Socialism. And I propose to show that the ideal form has only been
hinted at in the Israeli Kibbutz and still has great power and promise for a
future Earth that not only cares about people, but also about our planet and
environment. If you can find fault with this goal, then I challenge you to
present another goal that doesn’t have an ultimate outcome of raping both the
people and the planet. If you find fault with the system I propose, then I
challenge you to present another one that doesn’t end up raping our people and
our planet. You may be able to, and if so, kudos, I will jump gladly on your
bandwagon. My only requirement is that it is a system that allows the
individual to have the full rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness without taking that right from others.
Let’s
first establish some terms. This intention here is to provide a very basic view
of these very complex terms. For that matter this entire discussion of the
concept of Spiritual Socialism is also only an introductory look at what I hope
will be an ongoing discussion to create this new socio-political-economic
philosophy. So let’s compare terms based on definitions found in Wikipedia.
There are really only two systems in prominent use in our world today,
Capitalism and Socialism. Communism like Democracy is more a political system
that primarily uses one or the other as its economic system. Capitalism places
control of the “market” in the hands of private individuals operated for
private profit. The primary if not only motivation is profit. The manipulation
of goods and commodities is solely to achieve that end. Socialism places
control of the “market” in the hands of the public and common ownership by all.
Motivation in this system is not for profit but for the public good. If
we look at the definitions and accept that both will operate exactly as stated,
I doubt there would be much argument by the vast majority of people in the
world today that Socialism is the fairer and most human system. Here’s the rub.
The “market” is the use of resources, production and labor to create and
deliver material goods. In Socialism, all laborers are awarded equally those
goods produced. But in a typical society there are those who for physical or
emotional reasons just don’t work as hard as others. So should they be given an
equal share in the products that others have worked so hard to create? Hold that thought. Capitalism
claims to provide the solution by awarding those who work the hardest with
greater profits, but is that really the case or the goal? In a recent study by
Timothy Noah published at Slate.com based on a work by Princeton’s Paul Krugman
income distribution in the United States is moving with alarming speed into the
hands of a few of the very wealthy
elite. In 1915 the “richest 1 percent accounted for about 18 percent of the nation's income…. Today, the richest 1 percent account for 24 percent of the nation's income.” This trend does not seem to be
changing. So clearly, the truth is that no matter how hard you work chances are
99% of us don’t stand a chance to achieve wealth and success, but rather to be
born, live, and die in the same or worse economic place. Capitalism in America began with
great promise creating a new class of Americans, the Middle Class. It appeared
that Capitalism in this form allowed so many to achieve the American Dream of
hard work providing great reward. However, history shown that the upper one
percent had no intention of letting this continue. Ironically one such
institution that was created from the American Dream, Wal Mart is directly
responsible for eliminating many middle class businesses in its drive to storm
the hallowed halls of the upper one percent. They were successful but at the
cost of many financial lives. This, I believe, demonstrates very clearly the
goal of Capitalism. It is not to enrich all hard working people, but the few
that are willing to pay any price to achieve the top and those other few who
have been at the top for a very long time. In
the United States, we are taught that Capitalism is good and Socialism is not,
but is there really much of a difference between them? Moreover, of course both
groups consider Communism evil. Again, let’s look at the difference. Communism
claimed it was a revolution of the people to overthrow the elite oppressing the
poor. It never quite worked out that way as those in power only paid lip
service to this ideal to force the majority into the working class enriching
those in the ruling class. It traded one aristocracy for another. It used fear
and terror to keep the masses from questioning or demonstrating for change.
Capitalism on the other hand clothed in the respectability of Democracy claims
it is creating a better world where everyone has an equal chance to be
successful. It is based on a profit motivation and by its very nature presents
a goal that does not favor the majority. For those who prosper the most
naturally begin to make certain that they can retain and control the profits.
We see the natural result of Capitalism in effect in America today. Capitalism,
instead of using terror and violence to cover its real nature, used propaganda
and the media to dull our senses and keep the working class mesmerized into
believing that wealth is possible while not seeming to care that we can’t
achieve it. Propoganda tells us that we must work hard to make a profit and
that only if we make a profit can we buy those things that the propaganda has
convinced us that we can’t live without. For awhile they even allowed the
wealth to flow to the people creating a Middle Class. These became small
business owners, but the upper class made certain that very few moved beyond
this point. When the middle class began to proliferate controls like taxes and
inflation and credit were introduced to lure these to spend beyond their means
and eventually to lose what they had gained. Small businesses had to rely on
getting their goods from those with the true wealth and were always controlled
by the system. Again as in Communism, the goal is to create a working class
willing to work for less and less in order to increase the profits of the very
rich. The end result of Capitalism and Communism in that sense is exactly the
same. The basic meaning of Capitalism is a system allowing private ownership and
control of products, goods and services and the motivation is always that
person’s profit. In and of itself, this may seem like a good thing and so many
would still argue that it is. The problem is that for Capitalism to work not
everyone can profit. And as Capitalism evolves the natural evolution is to
fewer people who own and far more who are owned. One of the commodities in
Capitalism is always the laborer. The less this laborer is valued the more
profit that can be made until eventually Capitalism degenerates into a
Plutocracy where there are the rich who rule and the poor who work. The middle
class gets squeezed out. This is a simplistic explanation, I know, but the
evidence of its truth surrounds us. Wal Mart’s goal in coming into a community
is to eliminate its competition. This competition is the Middle Class operated
businesses. The irony is that this elimination of the Middle Class creates a
greater market for Wal Mart who primarily sells to those with less income. Pure
genius since the most often heard defense of Wal Mart is that it provides goods
for the less well-off and jobs for the unemployed. Yes, that’s because Wal Mart
has created this situation. You can see this to varying degrees in all
corporations. We can also see this in our political system. It is virtually and
maybe completely impossible for someone without wealth or access to wealth to
run for a political office. As these increasingly fewer numbers of wealthy owners of Capital grow in power,
they must also be able to control the production and distribution of money. If
you study the history of the banking industry in England and Europe and their
securing power in the newly formed American Colonies and what is happening
today, you get a pretty clear picture of how important and powerful these banks
have become. They have literally created situations that produce recessions and
depressions in order to secure a labor force for business that is willing to
work for less and thereby creating more profit for these wealthy corporations.
Do you doubt this? Watch the video, “The Secret of Oz” and check the facts. Since politicians exist on the kindness of the wealthy, there is little hope
for help from them. We must turn within to see that hope. This is the power of
communities. They enable individuals to come together to create a place that
restores the dignity, self confidence and self love that we have lost along the
way. It begins with a few people who pull themselves out of this vicious cycle
and join together for the common good of all. Here is a place that allows
individuals to once again know their worth and their power. Here is a place
that can truly say: “….We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure
these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers
from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to
abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such
principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most
likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate
that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient
causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more
disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to
reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to
throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security.” Community becomes that new Guard for the future. It is a peaceful revolution,
but a revolution just the same and the end result is to restore the greatness
and truth that our nation was founded on. All
of these ‘isms have at their source a desire to accumulate material goods as a
means to happiness. If it worked, we should see America as the happiest place
on Earth. I think we can all agree that is just not the case. Crime, suicide, ill
health, depression, and mistrust of one another is as high or higher here than
most anywhere else. Clearly
even Capitalism and its profit motive exists to enslave the masses and enrich
the few. Lenin would be so proud. If
the acquisition of material goods has not proven itself to bring happiness what
will? I believe if we are to
ever achieve a world that isn't based on greed and acquisition and crushing our
neighbors, it will be through the effort of small communities leading the way.
It is the village not the city that will hold our future. Cities are a
reflection of a world in need. The Industrial Revolution created the need and
greed perpetuated it. It is time for another revolution. This will be a
Spiritual Revolution to deliver us from the bondage of this needy world. This
world that teaches we need to possess. We need to own. We need to control. We
need to consume. And we need to look out for number one. This is the legacy of
Capitalism. Next time we will look at
Socialism past and present with the help of one of the greatest philosopher and
prophet of all time, Martin Buber. I am providing
transcripts of these lectures. Feel free to distribute them and remember there
is no power on earth greater than the love within each one of you.
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