Capitalism is Dead!

Although somewhat dated, this is a very good video and good introduction to the text below. Notice that in this video that the commentator states that even the head of the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2012 stated that 'capitalism is dead.'

Yes, capitalism is gasping for breath. We have been experiencing the death of capitalism for at least thirty years. It has not been apparent because it was masked by many factors. The world has changed and many are holding on to a paradigm that emerged in 16^th Century and persisted till the late 20^th Century. The evidences of a dying system are: income inequality, environmental degradation (i.e, global warming, depletion of the Amazon rain forest, over-fishing, genetic engineering and decrease of agricultural species), a dependence on non-renewal resources for economic growth sustenance, uneven regional economic development, domination of multinational corporation over national interests, and faltering economic growth (slow/stagnant in developing countries, erratic in developing countries.) 

In the ashes of a dying capitalism, a phoenix is rising to take its place. It is now nebulous, but slowly coalescing and has been for decades.  With the economic crisis of 2008 and the continuing stagnation, it  is evident that this is ‘the end of the line’ for capitalism. (It is not the end of the free market for the exchange of goods, services, ideas, technology and now, software.  This is alive and well, but has been manipulated for the benefit of the One Percent under the guise of protecting capitalism.)The solutions that have been applied and are being proposed by nation-states, supranational organizations and think tanks are merely ‘band-aids’ to a system that needs not just overhaul, but creative destruction.  The present form of capitalism will not slip quietly away, as those who have a stake in its present form will use any means to keep it alive so that can ‘pick off the remnants of the corpse.’ 

The clues for the formation of this new paradigm are being found in emerging movements such as the Occupy Movement, Progressive Movement in the U.S., the international Pirate Party, the democracy movement in the Middle East, Africa and South America, global environmental movement, and the growing dissent in China.  These coalitions are presenting not just alternatives, but the building blocks for the next paradigm, replacing those of Modernism/Post-Modernism, Industrial/Post-Industrial, Fordism/Post-Ford- ism, and Realism/Noe-Conservatism/Liberalism. While many from the traditional Left and Right would like to tag these movements within the context of Marxism/Socialism/Anarchism, it is not following or adopting the overall premises of these philosophies, to the dislike of both political spectrums who would like to either bring them under their umbrella (the Left) or discredit them (the Right.) 

The emerging paradigm is a hybrid of past political and economic philosophies being energized and transformed by globalism and technology.

What do we call this new paradigm?  The best so far has been to term the next form of economics ‘natural capitalism’ as outlined by Paul Hawkins, Amory Lovings and Hunter Lovings in their book, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution.  (For further information, go to the books website at: http://www.natcap.org/ .)  However, this does not adequately encompass the developing paradigm.  There are hints of the formulation of this paradigm in works by Robert Reich (Beyond Outrage, After Shock, Supercapitalism—for more information go to : http://robertreich.org/), Richard Wolff (Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism, Occupying the Economy: Challenging  Capitalism, Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It and many others—for more information go to : http://rdwolff.com/ Paul Krugman (End this Depression Now!, The Conscience of a Liberal, and more—for more information go to: http://www.pkarchive.org/ .  Always controversial and interesting is Noam Chomsky, his new book, Occupy, concerns his views on the Movement and  can be order via the Zucottti Park Press at http://www.zuccottiparkpress.com/chomsky.html.  A new book, which I am just starting to read is a collection of articles concerning the Occupy Movement, The Occupy Handbook, offers diverse and interesting views from a wide variety of authors. It is available from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/The-Occupy-Handbook-Janet-Byrne/dp/0316220213 ) or Barnes and Nobles (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-occupy-handbook-janet-byrne/1107957786 .) 

The above authors are not political pundits, such as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and others speaking for the Tea Party and the new conservatives (notice the little ‘c’ as I don’t believe these guys are true Conservatives.) If you take a more than casual glace, among them are experienced energy experts, professors in Economics and Political Science, a renowned linguist  and social critic, and a Noble Peace prize winner.  These people are not flakes, wild-eyed kooks, but knowledgeable and sane individuals who have studied problems and present the framework for a new future.  

The Tea Party which is dominating the Republican Party are merely stooges for the One Percent. They betray the Conservatism that W.F. Buckley, Jr. single-handily created which was intellectual, fair, respectful of the opposition, and well-grounded in Conservative economic and political theory.  I think he would be appalled at the viciousness of the rhetoric of the Tea Party, the brazenness of the supporters of the Republican Party to pour money into campaigns to malign candidates, the uncompromising positions being held toward moral issues, their anti-intellectual nature and the overt and ‘not so’ covert adoption of the principles of Ayn Rand. In addition, the Tea Party has drawn to it those who believe in conspiracy theory, survivalists and perhaps Neo-Nazis. It is a motley bunch that true Conservatives are probably hesitant to be associated. 

The body of work that are being created by the aforementioned intellectuals are preparing the foundation of a new future. It is one of hope, prosperity, equality, justice, direct democracy, peace, protection of the environment, responsible energy use, and ultimately the creation of a sustainable world. The Republicans and their brand of conservatism represent a thinly veiled attempt to maintain the status quo mainly to keep the One Percent on top, controlling the world for their selfish ends and maintaining a capitalism that is corrupted and unsustainable.  This is a Hobbesian world through the philosophical eyes of Ayn Rand. Their agenda will surely fail because it translates into tyranny and many in the U.S. and the world now know exactly what is their aim.

Capitalism is dead and the future is here!