Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Swaps and Robbers

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Swaps and Robbers

from The Automatic Earth. Ignore the old photo which this group of bloggers like to post on their site. The author, and linked authors, like to point to credit default swaps, as THE problem. Well, they did play a major part in bringing down the economies of the world. But the point I'd like to make is that the players in this system of capitalism will always come up with new "financial instruments" to prey on unsuspecting victims. The system rewards such creativity. So abolishing one instrument doesn't prevent others from being created. Also, setting up all kinds of regulatory systems under the control of capitalists is like having a fox guarding the hen house. To paraphrase that great US globalization President (Clinton), "it's the economic system, stupid!"