I said in my introduction that one of the best parts of going back to college is engaging in discussions with my young classmates. I was challenged by one young lady last semester on whether I, as a Boomer, learned anything from young people. (She introduced me to Lizzo.) Well, I do, and here is a case in point. Betty Mae has introduced me to the term (and movement) “late stage capitalism.” Now, I should know this. I have been a supporter of the Occupy Wall Street movement since 2011. I am disturbed by all of the excesses of our culture today, such as those given as examples of the absurdities of late stage capitalism. But I know more today as a result of a Google search of the term. And I have found a great source for memes on Reddit, r/LateStageCapitalism. So, thank you Betty Mae for this introduction, and for making a connection between late stage capitalism and environmental ethics, and thank you (and others) for your enthusiasm for a better world.
“Late capitalism” (or Spätkapitalismus for Carolin), in its
current usage, is a catchall phrase for the indignities and absurdities of our
contemporary economy, with its yawning inequality and super-powered corporations
and shrinking middle class. (From “Why the Phrase ‘Late Capitalism’ is Suddenly
Everywhere”, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/05/late-capitalism/524943/
). Capitalism, by its very nature, is exploitive. Nobody showed that better
than Karl Marx. Socialism was born in worker demands for a more fair
arrangement with capitalist industrialists. That battle continues. What is so
appalling is the vast disparity in income and wealth between the top 1% and the
remaining 99%, and the frivolous ways that wealth is used. Income inequality is
killing the American Dream. As of the end of June, since the start of the
pandemic, collective U.S. billionaire wealth surged by more than $584 billion,
while $6.5 trillion in household wealth disappeared. Jeff Bezos’s wealth went
from $113 billion to $157 billion, and Betty Mae and her friends are figuring out a way to get free food to people in need. The rich get richer, meanwhile some Walmart
workers's income is so low they get assistance from taxpayer funded programs.
Consider how this American capitalism works: The Walton family net worth is
around $196 billion. The lower the average wage for Walmart workers, the higher
the profits for Walmart, the higher the stock price goes, and the richer the
Waltons become. But we taxpayers have to subsidize the low wages. How is that
fair? I mean, after your first billion, do you really need more?
John Rawls held that while social and economic inequalities
can be just, they must be available to all and such inequalities must be to the
advantage of everyone. Economic inequalities are only justified with the least
advantaged member of society in nonetheless better off than he/she would be
under alternative arrangements. Only if a rising tide carries all boats upward
can economic inequalities be allowed for in a just society. That ain’t the case here today. Betty Mae is
right, things need to change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7zZPqar34w&feature=emb_logo
Ed, I agree: the passion for social and economic justice we've seen on display from so many representatives of the rising generation of high school and college students--and not just Greta and the other high-profile young activist celebs--is truly encouraging. I believe a change IS coming, I just hope it comes quickly enough for you and me to celebrate its arrival.
ReplyDeleteAnd also... the first time I taught this course we read a terrific book that connected the dots between social justice movements around the globe and the environment: "Blessed Unrest" by Paul Hawken--
Deletehttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Blessed_Unrest/S75R90V1IlUC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=blessed%20unrest&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover&bsq=blessed%20unrest
I don't have much to add here other than to shake my head (SMH in the young people slang) and agree with you. If you are interested in this area of philosophy, I took Dr. Principe's course on Marx & Co. last semester and I highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI always hear people complain about socialism and fear mongering so that the poor of our country never wise up to what our capitalist overlords are doing to the country. They claim socialism is so terrible and they tell their workers and their constituents that socialism will destroy the country all the while they are taking billions in tax cuts from the government and receiving billions in aid from COVID 19 relief (a form of socialism) and i'm pretty sure everyone was happy to receive the $1200 the government sent out as if that itself isn't socialism. Not that $1200 was anything near what we should be getting in terms of relief but my point is that we are surrounded by socialist practices and policies that make our government work for its people. And all of these people who wanna lick the boots of CEO's can't see how corporations are destroying what is supposed to make capitalism great. Small businesses are going extinct and the idea of competition in today's market is nonexistent, how can a small business compete with companies like amazon or wal mart. Our government is currently sanctioning the destruction of small businesses so that corporations can monopolize the market and everyone on capitol hill can relish in the success of their billionaire donors.
ReplyDeleteAnother strong book recommendation on this theme: Kurt Andersen's "Evil Geniuses"...
Delete"During the twentieth century, America managed to make its economic and social systems both more and more fair and more and more prosperous. A huge, secure, and contented middle class emerged. All boats rose together. But then the New Deal gave way to the Raw Deal. Beginning in the early 1970s, by means of a long war conceived of and executed by a confederacy of big business CEOs, the superrich, and right-wing zealots, the rules and norms that made the American middle class possible were undermined and dismantled. The clock was turned back on a century of economic progress, making greed good, workers powerless, and the market all-powerful while weaponizing nostalgia, lifting up an oligarchy that served only its own interests, and leaving the huge majority of Americans with dwindling economic prospects and hope.
Why and how did America take such a wrong turn? In this deeply researched and brilliantly woven cultural, economic, and political chronicle, Kurt offers a fresh, provocative, and eye-opening history of America’s undoing, naming names, showing receipts, and unsparingly assigning blame—to the radical right in economics and the law, the high priests of high finance, a complacent and complicit Establishment, and liberal “useful idiots,” among whom he includes himself."
https://www.kurtandersen.com/evil-geniuses
Again, I would like to say thank you for this. I understand I do a lot of ramblings in this class, and it really means a lot to know that some people are listening and potentially even benefiting from it! I have also noticed the growing participation and enthusiasm of my generation to make a change in this country. From my perspective, this is caused by late stage capitalism and the state of the US for the past 20 (ish) years. I am only 19, and throughout my life I have experienced 9/11 and the after affects, the school shooting epidemic that reached its peak a few years ago, the growing wealth imbalance, Trump's presidency, among countless other horrific events. When all we know is tragedy and fear, the trust that we as a generation have in the state has completely deteriorated. Even the past few months, there has been a collective shift in the general population's feelings towards police. We are all losing trust. We are all losing hope in our current structures. We want better, and now more than ever. That is, in my opinion, why there has been an influx of activists and general interest in our political world.
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