Slavery and the Making of Capitalism. Naked and unrestrained Capitalism is rapacious and cannibalistic, consuming and discarding the environment and humanity. It is civilized by just laws and prudent regulation. Such are required to maximize economic output, secure opportunities for most, and protect and strengthen both the environment and democracy. We have to remember that there is not one capitalism or that it is a static thing, nor, as some oligarchic libertarians like to mislead with hundreds of millions of dollars of spending per year on their think tanks, have we arrived at some formula sort of unfettered perfect market utopia. Capitalism is constantly evolving and adapting, and over time, it has become more responsive to human rights and democracy, and over time, it will become more sustainable, and largely it will be due to good laws and prudent regulation. Market forces alone are not anywhere close as legislation is in blunting the excesses of capitalism. Only democratic pro-market legislation (and just laws) can do it and also extend the vitality of markets. Rather, one could argue that its market forces, which is generally fertile grounds for moral hazards, conflict of interest violations, loss of trust, wanton destruction of the environment, and forced or low-wage enslavement of people. Of course, you cant also deny the benefits of market forces such as productivity, innovation, competition, efficiency, etc., which are essential to modern living. But we need to emphasize that modern markets and monetary economics (e.g., capitalism) have historically been harnessed, first by the state, then by the emergent bourgeoisie class, and now the rest of us, so it must be responsive to democracy. Too it must be noted that while the tendency to truck and barter and evolutionary dynamics of economics and markets is natural, to which extent it can be a scientific pursuit, there is nothing natural or spontaneous about its organization, which are the result of history and bargaining between peoples, where one time one group enslaved another... nytimes/2014/10/04/books/the-half-has-never-been-told-follows-the-money-of-slavery.html
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:43:20 +0000
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