with them extreme consequences in the real world
TRANSCRIPT
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THERE ARENO RICH PEOPLEIN THE WORLD
“There are no rich people in the world, and there are no poor people. There are just people. The rich may
have lots of pieces of green paper that many pretend are worth something—or their presumed riches may
be even more abstract: numbers on hard drives at banks—and the poor may not. These “rich” claim they own land, and the “poor” are often denied the right to make that same claim. A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of pieces
of green paper. Those without the green paper generally buy into these delusions almost as quickly and completely as those with. These delusions carry with them extreme consequences in the real world.”
--Derrick Jensen, Endgame, p. 196
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The Economyas Social Institution LET’S GO!
Defining Economy
• The social institution that governs the management, production, and distribution of human material resources (goods, services, raw materials, and the things we need for survival).
– What for?
– What should an economy do?
Ideal Types of Economic Systems:
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Capitalism
• A way of organizing economic life based on:
– Private ownership of productive property
– Profit as incentive
– Competition between actors in “free markets”
– Prices are driven by supply and demand
– Relationship between employer and employee is based on surplus value
Socialism
• An economic system in which the raw materials and the means of producing and distributing goods and services are collectively owned
• Based on the belief that everyone should share equally in the goods and services produced by society
Mixed Economies
• Economies that combine features of capitalist and socialist systems, including both the public and private ownership of property and limits on “free-market” competition
Keep in Mind:
• Homo sapiens have been around for an estimated 200,000 – 300,000 years
– (maybe longer?)
• Agriculture has only been around for about 10,000 – 12,000 years
• The current dominant economic practices and property relations—i.e. predominantly capitalist mixed economies, as we know them today—have only been around for a few hundred years or so
“We live in capitalism.Its power seems inescapable.
So did the divine right of kings.”
--Ursula K. Le Guin
"To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you aren't allowed to criticize"
-- Voltaire (1694-1778)
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In a relatively free society, in which control is based on ideological
hegemony, we might say,
"To learn what rules over you, simply find out what you are
highly discouraged (threatened with severe social ostracism)
from criticizing."
We’re going to deconstruct and criticize capitalism
just a little bit
We all already know many of the benefits of capitalism, right?
Capitalism as a Constructed Reality:
Ideology and the Culture of Capitalism
• “Naturalizes” a social construct– Economic rules are understood as “the way it is”
– Would be the same under any other economic model
– Myths are reinforced as “reality”• “Free Markets” (there’s no such thing)
• Equal opportunity (uhhhh…)
– Facilitates social control (through consent)– Again, same for other economic models
– Wealth is evidence of success, poverty is a sign of failure to achieve
Implications of “Naturalized” Capitalism:
• Market values supersede human values– E.g. Tobacco companies, vacant houses, etc.
• Produces quiescent workers– Quiescent = “at rest,” someone who is docile, not agitated
• Public goods become private property– E.g. Enclosure movement, privatization of water, healthcare, etc.
• Structural problems treated as personal issues– E.g. Poverty, unemployment, etc.
• Alternative economic arrangements are rarely even considered– E.g. Obama’s healthcare reform debate
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Some Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
Kyoto Protocol
Some Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
Some Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
• Needs of market vs. needs of people
Nike factory in Vietnam
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Some Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
• Needs of market vs. needs of people
• Public health vs. private profit
“The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other country — but not with
better health outcomes”
Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
• Needs of market vs. needs of people
• Public health vs. private profit
• Intellectual property vs. art and science
Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
• Needs of market vs. needs of people
• Public health vs. private profit
• Intellectual property vs. art and science
• Trees vs. jobs
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Dilemmas of Capitalism
• Clean air vs. national sovereignty
• Property rights vs. human rights
• Needs of market vs. needs of people
• Public health vs. private profit
• Intellectual property vs. art and science
• Trees vs. jobs
• Climate change vs. economic “growth”
“Predicted impacts have materialized”
Inequality is an inevitable consequence of capitalism.
But the level of inequality we are willing to tolerate is up to us.
We are currently experiencing nearly the highest rates of
inequality since 1929.
Inequality and Life Chances
• Working class and poor people are:
– Less likely to go to college
– More likely to get arrested, convicted, go to prison, and receive the death penalty than upper class people
– More likely to die prematurely
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Our economy was worth, roughly,$124 trillion
(assets minus debts)in the first quarter of 2014
Which was split between, roughly,319 million people
(again, in 2014)
Our country’s wealth split evenly would’ve given everyone, roughly,
$388,715.
In 2017 there were roughly 39.7 million Americans living in poverty.
(Poverty line for a family of 3 is about $19,500)
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2018/demo/p60-263.html
Yet if you add families who are “near poverty” the number is
around 100 million Americans.
(“Near poverty” is defined by the Census Bureau as income "between 100 percent and 125 percent of the poverty line.“)
Haymes, Stephen N.; et al., eds. (2015). Routledge Handbook of Poverty in the United States
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But the economy is doing great!
The question, though, is,
great for whom?
From economist Robert Reich:
• Official unemployment rate is currently 3.8%
• But about 80% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck
• Typical American worker earns about $44,500/year, not much more than 40 years ago (adjusted for inflation)
• “Although the US economy continues to grow, most of the gains have been going to a relatively few top executives of large companies, financiers, and inventors and owners of digital devices.”
From economist Robert Reich:
• “America doesn’t have a jobs crisis. It has a good jobs crisis.”
• When Republicans delivered their $1.5 trillion tax cut last December they predicted a big wage boost for American workers.
• Wages actually dropped in the second quarter of this year.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/us-economy-workers-paycheck-robert-reich
from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
“[An] OECD report finds that the richest 10 percent of American households earns about 28 percent of the overall income pie. This is a lot, but it's roughly consistent with what you see in the world's other rich countries.
By contrast, the wealthiest 10 percent of U.S. households have captured a whopping 76 percent of all the wealth in America. And that number is considerably higher than in other rich nations, as the chart below shows.”
--Washington Post, May, 2015
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From 2009-2012, 91% of all new income
went to the top 1%
Data from Emmanuel Saezhttp://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2013.pdf
Brookings Institute Reporthttps://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2015/01/30/wealth-inheritance-and-social-mobility/
About 325,000 peopleown nearly 25% of all wealth
in the United States
Forbes 400 Richest Americans
• Have a combined net worth of over $2.7 tril.
• Bill Gates = $97 billion
• Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO) = $160 billion
• All 400 are billionaires ($2—$160 bil.)– (as of 2018, https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#742adeca7e2f)
• About 38 % inherited their wealth– (as of 2016, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/269593)
An estimated 35 to 45 percent of wealth is inherited
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2015/01/30/wealth-inheritance-and-social-mobility/
Brookings Institute Report
Should inheriting
wealthbe allowed?
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If you think domestic inequality is shocking, how
about global inequality?
The richest 1% of people around the world own more wealth than the rest of the world combined.
And…
6 menown as much wealth as the poorer half of the world’s population—
3.6 billion people.--Oxfam, (June?), 2017
The world’s 6 richest people are,in order of net worth (2018):
1. Jeff Bezos: American founder, chairman and chief executive of Amazon (net worth: $160 billion)
2. Bill Gates: America founder of Microsoft (net worth $97 billion)
3. Warren Buffett: American CEO and largest shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway (net worth $88.3 billion)
4. Bernard Arnault: French owner of Louis Vuitton and 70 other brands (net worth 72 billion)
5. Mark Zuckerberg: American chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook (net worth $71 billion)
6. Amancio Ortega: Spanish founder of Inditex which owns the Zara fashion chain (net worth $70 billion)
https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/#26f450217e2fhttps://www.forbes.com/billionaires/#2804e438251c
Questions for us to consider:
Is a capitalist economy compatible with a democratic society?
andHow should we structure our
economy if we wish to truly achieve democracy, freedom, and equality?