A New, New Deal...

The Heart of the Matter...

Malignant Capitalism: "Capitalist democracy inevitably leads to a dictatorship of capital."

This seems so true, and of the moment, although, I think it has been obvious for much of my life. I think it's hard to pinpoint exactly when the malignancy started, but I'd guess in the late 1960's or early 1970's.

We thought Capitalism & Democracy went hand in hand, but we were wrong! NY Mag: "America's Version of Capitalism is Incompatible with Democracy."

"In these grisly conditions, social democrats see a textbook case of malignant capitalism. Democracies cannot survive on norms alone. When markets are left under-regulated — and workers, unorganized — the corporate sector becomes a cancerous growth, expanding until it dominates politics and civil society. An ever-greater share of economic gains concentrates in ever-fewer hands, while the barriers to converting private wealth into public power grow fewer and farther between. Politicians become unresponsive to popular preferences and needs. Voters lose faith in elections — and then, a strongman steps forward to say that he, alone, can fix it."

Should "Liberal Democrats" be fighting against the erosion of "norms," or should "Radical Democrats" be fighting for a more radical solution? An economic system of equality? A New, New Deal? The article argues we must choose one or the other. Somehow I'd like to see us thread the needle, to straddle the contradiction.

Of course, the Hippies were right. We need more Peace, Love and Understanding. Plus:  "What’s needed is a movement that mobilizes working people in numbers large enough to demand a new deal from capital. Thus, if the liberal intelligentsia wishes to save American democracy, it should devote the lion’s share of its energies to brainstorming how such a movement can be brought into being — and what changes that movement should make to our nation’s political economy, once it takes power."