randomjerinamo - Tumblr blog

randomjerinamo · 6 years ago

Text

Setting the Cat Among the Pigeons

Article in full- 'Setting the Cat Among the Pigeons'

Frank Zappa was quoted as saying ‘jazz isn’t dead; jazz just smells funny.’ The same can now be said of capitalism, as the free market becomes a stagnant monopoly of corporate giants feeding a host of leech-like shareholders and impotent bureaucrats. Capitalism has been working well for the past century of economic and technological growth; so why is it not working now? Why is an entire generation looking down the barrel of a future completely lacking in the opportunities that previous generations enjoyed? The answer may be found in the lack of a truly liberal approach to business; as our enlightened society clings to antiquated forms of aristocratic privilege alongside the radical ideologies of freedom that came to light during the French Revolution.

Many alternatives to Capitalism have been floated, outvoted and sunk in the past hundred and fifty years, but we all know that the Marxist cure for Capitalism is worse than the disease... don’t we? Why are we even talking about a system of totalitarian programming where every facet of society is controlled by a ‘democratic leader’ who can have you and your family shot by the secret police for writing anti-government poetry on a wall that nobody owns? The fact that people are talking about it is an indication of how badly our capitalist system is failing to provide the average person with an equal opportunity to share in the rewards of our exceedingly rich society.

One of the leading proponents for democratic change in Australia is Helen Razer, who makes a very good argument against Capitalism in her book ‘Total Propaganda’ (2017); only once making the mistake of implying that a fictional ‘state’ can be trusted with the administration of law, health, equity and education- without being corrupted by the human vices of greed, apathy, lust, fear or spite. Historically speaking, socialists have proven themselves to be just as prone to corruption as the capitalist next door; from trade union leaders to church raffle-ticket sellers, but so long as the capitalist door keeps falling off its hinges, the ugly head of Marxist class-warfare will continue to raise itself above the level of healthy debate. And while the likelihood of Marxist revolution is slim, a situation such as this allows the dominant ideology of conservative wealth accumulation to continue unabated, while the divide between rich and poor is filled by sectarian politics and would-be authoritarians.

The real test of left wing liberalism versus right wing authoritarianism occurred almost a hundred years ago in Spain, when King Alfonso XIII gave up his right of absolute power and allowed a moderate government to be formed in place of his bumbling efforts to modernise the Spanish nation in the early 20th century (Beevor, 2006). This experiment in democracy was torn apart by the democratic process which saw Communist, Socialist and Anarcho-Syndicalist factions pool their resources to beat the Monarchists (who wanted King Alfonso back on the throne) and also the moderate government that represented the rest of Spain (who just wanted a fair share of what could be produced by Spanish industry and agriculture).

What followed was a war of Nazi-supported fascists and Kremlin-supported communists. The fascists eventually won but not before the communists had annihilated most of their comrades who helped them to win the last free election to be held in Spain for half a century (when General Franco, the winner of the civil war, died in 1975). The Wikipedia entry for General Franco actually differentiates between ‘fascist’ and ‘conservative authoritarian’ governments which adds another twist to the political wrangle that resulted in the second World War between France and Germany (and their respective allies) only a year after the war in Spain ended.

George Orwell wrote a first-hand account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War (1938), having arrived to fight with the international volunteers who supported the Marxist battle against fascism; fleeing for his life when the Spanish communists began purging their own army for suspected traitors. He also wrote ‘Animal Farm’ (1945) and we seem to be in the same predicament now as Orwell’s cows, horses and sheep were when the pigs moved into the big house and let everyone else do all the work.

Would it even be possible that capitalism could lead to the same situation as Orwell depicted for the inhabitants of Stalin’s Soviet Socialist Republic? Is there any similarity between Russia in the 1940’s and America in the 2010's? The Communists didn’t need to own land to control the lives of the Russian people; they had a political mandate that gave them absolute power over the land, resources and industry. So too did the kings and queens of Europe; before the signing of the Magna Carta which was the first legally binding document that gave some guarantee that those in a position of power would be accountable for their actions.

So what guarantee do we have today that the people in power will use it responsibly? Is your boss going to pay your super? Is your landlord going to fix that leaking tap? Is there a modern-day William Randolph Hearst (aka Citizen Kane) who makes casual phone calls to the U.S. President to suggest changes to American foreign policy? Maybe all bets are off now that China and Russia have successfully converted to capitalist economies run by totalitarian dictators/conservative authoritarians?

Capitalism actually worked pretty well for Western nations during the 20th century, enabling the working classes to step up to a standard of living that almost equated to an egalitarian society- with middle class standards- during the 1950’s, 60’s & 70’s, but under closer inspection, it might have been the socialist demands of trade-unions that gave the average person enough money in their pocket to support the global economy; before the trade unions got so powerful that a state of emergency had to be called by the British Government to avoid a financial collapse.

So… can Capitalism and Socialism work together to avoid the situation of a stagnant market and shrinking economy wherein conservative factions consolidate their positions as shareholders, board members and real estate tycoons? Or do we need to remove the last vestiges of ‘noble birth’ as indicated by hereditary title for this to become a reality for the next generation of landless serfs/empowered consumers? Does anyone have the right to exact payment on land or property that they have ceased to occupy? And can the English Crown really be used today to enact the same injustices that occurred during the Enclosures of the English common lands (Fairlie, 2009) some five hundred years ago?

We all know how negative gearing works; you borrow money to buy a house and get the tenants to pay back the loan for you; alternatively, you can pay somebody else’s mortgage on the house you occupy while you try to save up for a deposit/equity-based bank loan on a home of your own. Whichever way you look at it, the banks are making a lucrative profit on the basic human requirement for shelter and security, which is fine if people are voluntarily partaking of the opportunity that banks provide, but when there is no other choice then it begins to look like a protection racket.

Protection rackets have worked very well in the past, with everyone from Pope Alexander XI to Al Capone making a tidy profit from being the baddest guy on the block, but do the ideals of a capitalist free-market allow for this kind of behaviour? Or do the democratic principles set out by the likes of Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Abraham Lincoln make this kind of graft and corruption unacceptable for a society that seeks to build a better future for their children?

Alas, this digression can only end in bitter and divisive arguments, so let us look for a solution that allows neo-liberalists and social democrats to profit equally as they work together to prevent Trump, Putin and Xi Jinping from creating a ‘panopticon’ that locks the world into a craggle-like state of Legomania. Needless to say, it would be unwise to nationalise the banks, media and mining companies at this stage of the game, but perhaps we could take one small step in the direction of economic prosperity for all Australians; and perhaps the rest of the world.

Public housing has long been seen as a saving grace for those who have failed to find gainful employment, but what if it was the first and foremost opportunity for first home-owners to purchase a modest dwelling for a minimal amount of interest? And what if these dwellings were designed, built and maintained by the next generation of young Australians who may have difficulty finding employment in other sectors? And what if these public housing projects not only incorporated green technology and urban-friendly recreational areas but also provided a sanctuary for the elderly, disabled and long-term unemployed?

This can only work if a mutual obligation agreement is, a) agreed to by tenants, and b) enacted by local authorities, thus ensuring that a harmonious environment is maintained wherein the values of peaceful coexistence and inter-generational prosperity can be cultivated. Which basically means that getting pissed and bashing your missus will get you, a) arrested by the police, and b) kicked the fuck out of the building. But just think of how much money people will have to spend if they don’t have to pay rent or an exorbitantly tailored mortgage!

Not only that, but the money saved on housing-crisis centres, emergency services and health/aged care will be phenomenal, and if people have a place to call their own then they will be that much happier spending their time redecorating the kitchen, rather than overdosing in the stairwell. We all just want a safe place to raise our kids. Let’s give our hardworking police, ambo’s and child welfare people a break from their routine of drugs, violence and verbal abuse; everyone knows the story about the unhappy rat and the cocaine-laced water bottle, let’s build a happy cage that people can move on from once they are ready to invest in the open real-estate market.

As the capitalist bubbles continue to burst, we just might need Milton Keynes to get us out of another Great Depression; the banks have made a very big profit over the past hundred years of continuous growth (they made enough out of the last housing boom to fund a national space program) and maybe it’s time for them to invest in the future of all Australians? And yes, there are terrible things happening all over the world but even if we can’t beat them all in one day, I still don’t think we need to join them.

References-

Razer, H 2017, Total Propaganda, Allen &Unwin, Sydney.

Beevor, A 2006, The Battle for Spain, Penguin, London.

Fairlie, S 2009, A Short History of Enclosure in Britain, in The Land Magazine, Retrieved 17/05/18 from http://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/articles/short-history-enclosure-britain

Govier, T 1992, The Right to Eat and the Duty to Work, Chap. 8: Economic Justice and Welfare In Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy, edited by Thomas A. Mappes and Jane S. Zembaty, 372-83. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Levitsky, S & Ziblatt, D 2018, How Democracies Die, Crown Press, New York, 2018.

Orwell, G 1938, Homage to Catalonia, Retrieved 27/06/18 from http://www.george-orwell.org/Homage_to_Catalonia/index.html

0 notes