Economic Update

If you're a regular reader, you already know how capitalism, by its very nature, invites corruption. It is in fact laughable to hear so much criticisms aimed at governments for being corrupt when in fact this corruption also stems from the capitalistic institutions that have purchased those governments, much like you and I purchase peanut butter at the grocery store.

I am an Anti-Capitalist which makes me a Marxist; many people think that Karl Marx devised a specific ideology, when in fact all he did was make a historical and material analysis of that system, a critique of capitalism. Sure, he also tried to look into the future and expected the people to eventually rise up against the capitalists, and he thought that there would be need for an intermediary period in which the government takes possession of the means of productions, before in the end the workers themselves could take over; that's where the many forms of socialism come from, among which the state-socialism we all dislike. And in the far future Marx foresaw the ideal, which is communism, a stateless, money-less and classless society. But the brunt of his work was simply a critique of capitalism, and from that critique many people and governments around the world adapted socialist principles like the social safety net and medicare for all we now have in most western countries. I say that anti-capitalism is exactly what we need right now, because capitalism in in the past decades has gone haywire under the neoliberal ideology introduced in the 1980s under Reagan and Thatcher.

To gain a good understanding about capitalism's built-in flaws and its fundamental intrinsic contradictions, there's no better source than Marx's Das Kapital of course, but that's a whole lot of reading and not very pleasant. There's an easier method however and it's called YouTube. And on YouTube there's one channel that I'd like you, dear reader, to get to know: Democracy At Work. This is a channel by Marxist professor Richard D. Wolff; you know of him already if you've read my posts. Below this post I link the latest edition of his weekly newscast called "Economic Update", and I advise all of you who would like to get a better understanding of why capitalism is failing so hard, why our governments and corporations have made a pact to screw over the people they're supposed to serve and why it's vital to look for another kind of economy, to watch this weekly news, especially if you live in America.

This weeks edition is particularly interesting, as it pertains to the world's richest individual, Jeff Bezos, and how his wealth as well as that of his fellow billionaires, prevents the rest of the American people (and much of the rest of the world) to ever have "nice things" like an affordable home, food or health care. He also talks about how government workers in America have been systematically screwed over by the financial management funds hired by local and state governments to manage their pensions. Capitalism has always been a game of finding out how much one can screw over others before getting caught, how much screwing over one can get away with; this pension-fund scheme is a classic example. The entire second half of this weeks program is about "Pandemic Capitalism"; that headline alone should be enough to peak your interest. I really hope you find it interesting and informative, and that it's enough to convince you to watch this show every week; it is how I stay informed, it's an excellent alternative to reading Das Kapital if you're only interested in how Marx's ideas can improve the lives of 90% of the people, and it serves as a reminder of why capitalism is no longer the best way forward.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, keep safe, keep healthy!