Michael Parenti’s recent article on the self-destructive nature of capitalism focuses on the economic meltdown in America but it is relevant to all Industrial countries faced with the same crisis. It’s ironic to hear the self-righteous voices of parliamentarians complaining about rogue elements within the financial system as if they are the exceptions rather than the rule;
“Capitalism breeds the venal perpetrators, and rewards the most unscrupulous among them. The crimes and crises are not irrational departures from a rational system, but the converse: they are the rational outcomes of a basically irrational and amoral system.”
Parenti goes on to highlight the corrupt nature of ‘bailouts’;
“Worse still, the ensuing multi-billion dollar government bailouts are themselves being turned into an opportunity for pillage. Not only does the state fail to regulate, it becomes itself a source of plunder, pulling vast sums from the federal money machine, leaving the taxpayers to bleed...Those who scold us for “running to the government for a handout” are themselves running to the government for a handout.”
The very people who cause the crisis and whose mantra is “Greed is good” are being rewarded for their capitalist astuteness at a cost to other capitalists and non-capitalists alike. Democracy continues to be subverted throughout the world for these means and as wealth accumulates, poverty spreads.
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