Objective journalism on the struggles of democracy in a socially stratified society. Is it a paradox to want social equality in a society that values individual achievement and class stratification?
Religion, as the yoke of the masses, became a threat to the ‘basic rules of the game,’ for the elite. Advocacy for the separation of Church and state was for the modern-elite, and not the masses. This knowledge lends itself to another avenue of potential change, akin to the bloody Papal Revolution in which the Christian Church set out to rid the governing state of it’s corruption, and to end mass suffering. No doubt inspired by the new testament. (By the way I am not religious) The church started by making it so the priests could not marry. This was so the wealth would not leave the church and was, in my opinion, the first model of perpetual corporate personhood. It took a while but it succeeded. This brings me to my point, which is that during the centuries long Papal Revolution, the church went through many stages of its own corruption and shame.
So what do we have to replace the modern elite model? More irony!
Many self-actualized, secularized people (pluralists like Bill Maher) voice their ridicule toward religion and may not realize the ramifications. I’m sure this would spark vigorous debate, or more irony.
Berkeley Prof. George Lakoff writes that “Values, principles and policy direction are the exact things that can unite progressives. The frames he uses are “Effective Government, Better Future, Broad Prosperity” Again, Dr. Lakoff is a very credible source. Interested people may want to read some of his books. http://bit.ly/awZbQE
Quotes from The Irony of Democracy, Thomas R. Dye et al
“Even if the masses were to shed their ignorance and apathy and turn to political action we believe the result would be intolerance rather than compassion, racism rather than brotherhood, authoritarianism rather than democracy.”
“Elections are designed primarily to convince the masses that the government is legitimate.”
“Elites not masses govern all societies. All societies are governed by elites.” -social-stratification
“All societies require leaders and leaders acquire a stake in preserving the organization and their position in it, this motive gives leaders a perspective different from that of the organization’s members.” -rationalizing their views/actions
“Elites control resources, power, wealth, education. Elites in the United States are drawn disproportionately from wealthy, educated, prestigiously employed, socially prominent, white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant elements of society.”
“Only those non elites who have demonstrated their commitment to the elite system itself and to the systems political and economic values can be admitted to the ruling class.”
“Elites share a general consensus and agree on the basic rules of the game and on the importance of preserving the social system. They like to agree on more matters then they disagree on.”
“Public policies are often modified but seldom replaced.”
“Elitism implies that public policy does not reflect demands of the people so much as it reflect the interests and values of Elites.”
“Changes and innovation in public policy come about when elites redefine their own values.”
“Elite values in the United States, the bases of the elite consensus are the sanctity of private property, limited government, and individual liberty.”
As a paradigm shift I look at policy debates through 'the lens of elitism,' as I call it. How could the outcomes affect (or be exploited by) the vested elite? This view can reveal the motivation and potential outcomes of such debate.
Globalization and Comparative Advantage: If innovation and creativity don't develop new industries in which the U.S has a comparative advantage to warrant the relative wage differentials that exist today, globalization will, in effect lower U.S wages through a decline is U.S. currency value to meet equilibrium. -Excerpted from Macroeconomics, by Economist David C. Colander
This “report” is like opening my daily RSS reader. DeGraw aggregates recent news and op-eds to weave together an “epiphany of the obvious” coming up with a naively impotent, call-to-action solution, for the masses.
Though I sincerely sympathize with his passionate plea, I can’t help but say, “what have you been thinking over the past decades?” The indentured servitude of the U.S. citizen for the globalization of elitist power has been foretold and taught in schools for decades.
By design, our democracy has not been an illusion as stated, but rather a system of requests from the represented upon the elitist republic. Obama is no less a figure-head than Bush, Reagan or Geitner for that matter. Short of becoming an elite, options are limited to joining them as henchman among upper social stratification, or living in relative squalor and indignation.
The relevant battles are waged among the elite, and if you want to make a difference for the masses, you need to make great sacrifices by moving your life in that direction, if you hope to influence policy. Though I am not a betting man I would wager that you would have a change of heart, for the direction of policy, once you clawed your way into the ranks of the elite battlefield.
The ruling class have always ruled like this, and your well meaning, impassioned plea will never effect meaningful change even if it was followed through. There is little possibility of consensus or rabble uproar given that the ruling class have structured a perfect 50% political division among the masses, (through misdirection) as evidenced by close margins of recent federal elections –obfuscated by a partisan illusion of choice. The ignorance as to the workings of a democratic republic are a disorganizing problem for the masses, while at the same time being the social Darwinist strength for the upper level meritocracy.
"In my view, the notion of globalization as it is commonly used to describe some natural and inexorable force, the telos of capitalism as it were, is misleading and ideologically loaded. A superior term would be neoliberalism; this refers to the set of national and international policies that call for business domination of all social affairs with minimal countervailing force. In my view, the notion of globalization as it is commonly used to describe some natural and inexorable force, the telos of capitalism as it were, is misleading and ideologically loaded. A superior term would be neoliberalism; this refers to the set of national and international policies that call for business domination of all social affairs with minimal countervailing force." Robert W. McChesney http://www.monthlyreview.org/301rwm.htm
Many people seem to [mistakingly] believe that college education irrespective of the actual college places them on a par with Ivy League graduates...
...economic development will not swell the ranks of the upper classes, but just create richer proles and lower-middle class people. While some people may think that because they are rich they are upper class, virtually no one else is fooled... If we look at the people who benefitted the most from the bubble economy of the 90s (such as software experts, web designers, internet enterpreneurs, telemarketers, singers and dancers and sport idols), we will see that most of them don't even try to appear upper class by wearing Armani or Ralph Lauren clothes, driving Bentleys, taking up polo or hunting or buying a yacht. They are just happy to live it up, and don't much care to be seen as upwardly mobile...
...In the US many people seem to think that money grants class. That is largely self-deception. As Fussell says, it takes at least three generations to produce a middle class person, and many more to produce an upper class one. Readers, do not berate the messenger for the message. To paraphrase Goldwater, "in your hearts you know he's right".
Neo-Elitism: A meritocratic class that monopolizes access to merit and the symbols and markers of merit, thereby perpetuating its own power, social status, and privilege.
At 2:46pm on November 11, 2009, someone gave Cromag a gift…
Luigi (the father) says to his son: "I want you to marry a girl of my choice."
Son says: "I will choose my own bride!!!"
Luigi says: "But the girl is Bill Gates' daughter..."
Son answers: "Well, in that case...ok."
Next Luigi approaches Bill Gates and says: "I have a husband for your daughter..."
Bill Gates answers: "But my daughter is too young to marry!!"
Luigi says: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank..."
Bill Gates answers: "Ah, in that case, ok."
Finally Luigi goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Luigi says: 'I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President answers: "But I already have more vice-presidents than I need!"
Luigi says: "But this young man is Bill Gates' son-in-law..."
President answers: "Ah, in that case, ok.'’
Why, in our political system, which so vastly favors capital over labor, do things seemingly always get worse and seldom better I believe it is because Plutocrats take. They do not give. The Plutocrats must fail before we can win.
The good news is that their supreme confidence is approaching that of "over confidence" which, indeed, inevitably leads to failure
All duopoly political candidates, well before primary elections are held, are vetted by the Plutocrats and both sides are financially supported by them. Obama is no more his own man than have been his predecessors, including Bush 43, Clinton, Bush 41, Carter, or Reagan, et al, just puppets dancing to the tune of their Plutocrat puppeteers.
To my knowledge, only Clinton was honest enough to admit it when he said, “By the time you become the leader of a country, someone else makes all the decisions. You may find you can get away with Virtual Presidents, Virtual Prime Ministers, and Virtual Everything.
And to understand the Plutocrat puppeteers do not play the game on our behalf, he also stated, "We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans".
We will all suffer through the pain of failure. Hopefully there will be a Phoenix.
Hope you are right. But as Naomi Klein might say in private, it's gonna take one hell of a big shock for the American citizenry to back such a leader. I hope we can survive it.
When Ralph Nader says, "Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us", we're in deep deep
dooie. It just won't happen. Yeah, I know it's a piece of fiction. Yeah,
I know he seeks to motivate Warren Buffett and/or others of his ilk but, at
least in my view, sadly, Ralph's effort to motivate these people will be as
successful as has been his bids for the Presidency.
From a new blog:
".. with China cutting back on the purchase of Treasury Securities,
.. with the prospects for the newly elected opposition party in Japan to do
the same,
.. with oil producing-exporting nations beginning to sell in currencies
other than the dollar,
the FED will need to do more to finance U.S. budget deficits and growth in
national debt.
That will further stress the dollar to the point of financial meltdown. The
future date of hyperinflation and collapse of the dollar as the world's
reserve currency is unclear, but certain."
I'm quite certain that it will take such a catastrophic event to move "we
the people" to some form of collective action: With the loss of our
manufacturing base, little oil, limited transportation, lack of fertilizer,
et al, we will be looking at an implosion that may give rise to new
leadership and a movement towards a more egalitarian society and a new
constitution protecting us from the excesses that our current constitution
permit. In the interim following a complete societal collapse, however,
there will be enormous chaos including most probably a military takeover of
Government.
So, at the moment, I await such a new movement lead by new leadership.
The long and short of my current thinking is to join the ranks of the
apathetic passive dissenters. That will put me with the majority of
Americans I guess. The "active concern" amongst Americans just has to be
the lowest by far of any industrialized nation.
I lack Nader's stamina. Maybe I will try and start a movement to replace
the American Eagle with an Ostrich with Its Head in the Sand
“If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” ~ Aboriginal activists group, Queensland
Every few hundred years in history there occurs a sharp transformation. A transformation changes the political, economic, social, and moral landscape of the world. Transformations are not understood by society until fifty years later.
Thirteenth century transformation; two hundred years later - the Renaissance; two hundred years later - the political transformation that started in 1776 (birth of the modern "ism's": capitalism, communism; emergence of the industrial revolution); today we are in the middle of a transformation.
The (Re)regulation of Financial Derivatives
by Lynn A. Stout, UCLA School of Law, on Friday June 5, 2009 at 9:45 am
The US Congress is currently grappling with the issue of whether and how to regulate the market for financial derivatives. In my testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture yesterday (for historical reasons, the Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over derivatives trading), I explored the theory and history of derivatives and derivatives trading. The full text of my testimony is available here.
My analysis leads to four conclusions. First, despite industry claims, derivatives contracts are not new and are not particularly “innovative.” Derivatives trading in the US dates back at least to the 1800s, and in other countries goes back much further. Second, healthy economies regulate derivatives trading. The only time a significant US derivatives market has been “deregulated” was during the eight years following passage of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which deregulated over-the-counter financial derivatives. Third, although the derivatives industry routinely claims that derivatives trading provides social benefits, virtually no empirical evidence supports this claim. At the same time, history and recent experience both confirm that unregulated derivatives trading is associated with pricing bubbles, added market risk, reduced investor returns, and increased fraud and manipulation.
Fourth and finally, as a historical matter derivatives regulation generally has not taken the form of either a heavy-handed ban on trading, or oversight by an omniscient regulator tasked with intervening on an ad hoc basis. Rather, derivatives markets have been successfully regulated through a web of ex ante procedural rules that include reporting requirements, listing requirements, margin requirements, position limits, insurable interest exceptions, and limits on enforceability. This traditional approach has a long track record of success.
http://is.gd/POyE
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So what do we have to replace the modern elite model? More irony!
Many self-actualized, secularized people (pluralists like Bill Maher) voice their ridicule toward religion and may not realize the ramifications. I’m sure this would spark vigorous debate, or more irony.
“Even if the masses were to shed their ignorance and apathy and turn to political action we believe the result would be intolerance rather than compassion, racism rather than brotherhood, authoritarianism rather than democracy.”
“Elections are designed primarily to convince the masses that the government is legitimate.”
“Elites not masses govern all societies. All societies are governed by elites.” -social-stratification
“All societies require leaders and leaders acquire a stake in preserving the organization and their position in it, this motive gives leaders a perspective different from that of the organization’s members.” -rationalizing their views/actions
“Elites control resources, power, wealth, education. Elites in the United States are drawn disproportionately from wealthy, educated, prestigiously employed, socially prominent, white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant elements of society.”
“Only those non elites who have demonstrated their commitment to the elite system itself and to the systems political and economic values can be admitted to the ruling class.”
“Elites share a general consensus and agree on the basic rules of the game and on the importance of preserving the social system. They like to agree on more matters then they disagree on.”
“Public policies are often modified but seldom replaced.”
“Elitism implies that public policy does not reflect demands of the people so much as it reflect the interests and values of Elites.”
“Changes and innovation in public policy come about when elites redefine their own values.”
“Elite values in the United States, the bases of the elite consensus are the sanctity of private property, limited government, and individual liberty.”
Are you falling victim to using activism as a pacifying release or using your discontent to drive the solutions of change?
Though I sincerely sympathize with his passionate plea, I can’t help but say, “what have you been thinking over the past decades?” The indentured servitude of the U.S. citizen for the globalization of elitist power has been foretold and taught in schools for decades.
By design, our democracy has not been an illusion as stated, but rather a system of requests from the represented upon the elitist republic. Obama is no less a figure-head than Bush, Reagan or Geitner for that matter. Short of becoming an elite, options are limited to joining them as henchman among upper social stratification, or living in relative squalor and indignation.
The relevant battles are waged among the elite, and if you want to make a difference for the masses, you need to make great sacrifices by moving your life in that direction, if you hope to influence policy. Though I am not a betting man I would wager that you would have a change of heart, for the direction of policy, once you clawed your way into the ranks of the elite battlefield.
The ruling class have always ruled like this, and your well meaning, impassioned plea will never effect meaningful change even if it was followed through. There is little possibility of consensus or rabble uproar given that the ruling class have structured a perfect 50% political division among the masses, (through misdirection) as evidenced by close margins of recent federal elections –obfuscated by a partisan illusion of choice. The ignorance as to the workings of a democratic republic are a disorganizing problem for the masses, while at the same time being the social Darwinist strength for the upper level meritocracy.
Many people seem to [mistakingly] believe that college education irrespective of the actual college places them on a par with Ivy League graduates...
...economic development will not swell the ranks of the upper classes, but just create richer proles and lower-middle class people. While some people may think that because they are rich they are upper class, virtually no one else is fooled... If we look at the people who benefitted the most from the bubble economy of the 90s (such as software experts, web designers, internet enterpreneurs, telemarketers, singers and dancers and sport idols), we will see that most of them don't even try to appear upper class by wearing Armani or Ralph Lauren clothes, driving Bentleys, taking up polo or hunting or buying a yacht. They are just happy to live it up, and don't much care to be seen as upwardly mobile...
...In the US many people seem to think that money grants class. That is largely self-deception. As Fussell says, it takes at least three generations to produce a middle class person, and many more to produce an upper class one. Readers, do not berate the messenger for the message. To paraphrase Goldwater, "in your hearts you know he's right".
Luigi (the father) says to his son: "I want you to marry a girl of my choice."
Son says: "I will choose my own bride!!!"
Luigi says: "But the girl is Bill Gates' daughter..."
Son answers: "Well, in that case...ok."
Next Luigi approaches Bill Gates and says: "I have a husband for your daughter..."
Bill Gates answers: "But my daughter is too young to marry!!"
Luigi says: "But this young man is a vice-president of the World Bank..."
Bill Gates answers: "Ah, in that case, ok."
Finally Luigi goes to see the president of the World Bank.
Luigi says: 'I have a young man to be recommended as a vice-president."
President answers: "But I already have more vice-presidents than I need!"
Luigi says: "But this young man is Bill Gates' son-in-law..."
President answers: "Ah, in that case, ok.'’
And that is how Italians do business.
The good news is that their supreme confidence is approaching that of "over confidence" which, indeed, inevitably leads to failure
All duopoly political candidates, well before primary elections are held, are vetted by the Plutocrats and both sides are financially supported by them. Obama is no more his own man than have been his predecessors, including Bush 43, Clinton, Bush 41, Carter, or Reagan, et al, just puppets dancing to the tune of their Plutocrat puppeteers.
To my knowledge, only Clinton was honest enough to admit it when he said, “By the time you become the leader of a country, someone else makes all the decisions. You may find you can get away with Virtual Presidents, Virtual Prime Ministers, and Virtual Everything.
And to understand the Plutocrat puppeteers do not play the game on our behalf, he also stated, "We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans".
We will all suffer through the pain of failure. Hopefully there will be a Phoenix.
When Ralph Nader says, "Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us", we're in deep deep
dooie. It just won't happen. Yeah, I know it's a piece of fiction. Yeah,
I know he seeks to motivate Warren Buffett and/or others of his ilk but, at
least in my view, sadly, Ralph's effort to motivate these people will be as
successful as has been his bids for the Presidency.
From a new blog:
".. with China cutting back on the purchase of Treasury Securities,
.. with the prospects for the newly elected opposition party in Japan to do
the same,
.. with oil producing-exporting nations beginning to sell in currencies
other than the dollar,
the FED will need to do more to finance U.S. budget deficits and growth in
national debt.
That will further stress the dollar to the point of financial meltdown. The
future date of hyperinflation and collapse of the dollar as the world's
reserve currency is unclear, but certain."
I'm quite certain that it will take such a catastrophic event to move "we
the people" to some form of collective action: With the loss of our
manufacturing base, little oil, limited transportation, lack of fertilizer,
et al, we will be looking at an implosion that may give rise to new
leadership and a movement towards a more egalitarian society and a new
constitution protecting us from the excesses that our current constitution
permit. In the interim following a complete societal collapse, however,
there will be enormous chaos including most probably a military takeover of
Government.
So, at the moment, I await such a new movement lead by new leadership.
The long and short of my current thinking is to join the ranks of the
apathetic passive dissenters. That will put me with the majority of
Americans I guess. The "active concern" amongst Americans just has to be
the lowest by far of any industrialized nation.
I lack Nader's stamina. Maybe I will try and start a movement to replace
the American Eagle with an Ostrich with Its Head in the Sand
Harold
Thirteenth century transformation; two hundred years later - the Renaissance; two hundred years later - the political transformation that started in 1776 (birth of the modern "ism's": capitalism, communism; emergence of the industrial revolution); today we are in the middle of a transformation.
by Lynn A. Stout, UCLA School of Law, on Friday June 5, 2009 at 9:45 am
The US Congress is currently grappling with the issue of whether and how to regulate the market for financial derivatives. In my testimony before the Senate Committee on Agriculture yesterday (for historical reasons, the Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over derivatives trading), I explored the theory and history of derivatives and derivatives trading. The full text of my testimony is available here.
My analysis leads to four conclusions. First, despite industry claims, derivatives contracts are not new and are not particularly “innovative.” Derivatives trading in the US dates back at least to the 1800s, and in other countries goes back much further. Second, healthy economies regulate derivatives trading. The only time a significant US derivatives market has been “deregulated” was during the eight years following passage of the Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000, which deregulated over-the-counter financial derivatives. Third, although the derivatives industry routinely claims that derivatives trading provides social benefits, virtually no empirical evidence supports this claim. At the same time, history and recent experience both confirm that unregulated derivatives trading is associated with pricing bubbles, added market risk, reduced investor returns, and increased fraud and manipulation.
Fourth and finally, as a historical matter derivatives regulation generally has not taken the form of either a heavy-handed ban on trading, or oversight by an omniscient regulator tasked with intervening on an ad hoc basis. Rather, derivatives markets have been successfully regulated through a web of ex ante procedural rules that include reporting requirements, listing requirements, margin requirements, position limits, insurable interest exceptions, and limits on enforceability. This traditional approach has a long track record of success.
http://is.gd/POyE
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