hmmm ....
Sounds like you have the same concerns as the communists - ie: some having wealth is wrong. However, you solution is - well,.....................unusual to say the least.
One of the American fights the economy has spurred, and one which stays low-key, because it is a telling figure throughout all of history, not just in American history, is the notion of created wealth. Whereas economic conservatives hail the "Reagan Economy" for creating X number of new jobs and introducing Y amount of wealth, economic liberals generally charge that Reaganomics created mostly low-paying jobs (whereby the social conservative value of "family", including the idea that one or the other parent should stick to parenting while the other wins bread, begins to fall to dust), and that the wealth created did not "trickle down" as advertised.
A criticism of Communism which I recognize on two levels is important here: Some (my father included) assert that Communism "trusts" human nature too much; from each according to their ability, to each according to their need. My father's brand of conservatism criticized the difference between ability and will; that is, if the next guy on the line is getting paid the same as you and sits around being lazy, why should you work hard? The result, of course, being poor product quality and economic decline. I accept this; it is a valid and telling point. Yet the same economic conservatism has traditionally denied the same fault of Americanized capitalism; specifically, we see this in Reaganomic trickle-down. The idea of course being that if you coddle the wealthy, that benefit will pay off down the pyramid. It has not. A classic example is Reebok shoes; management lays off a third of its manufacturing force for "financial" reasons, and on the same day approves bonuses, raises, and gifts to its own management and executive staff which would have spoken for most, if not all, of the jobs. Perhaps the sportswear manufacturer could have, by its
ability retained those employees. By the company's
will, however, it did not. This is essentially the same device.
The benefit of Communism as a philosophy is that it recognizes the social unit on the grounds that, if the individual is all that is important, why, then, come together in society in the first place? It seems rather stupid if society is something we only tolerate so that we can screw the next guy. In that sense, the Capitalist individualism only considers the larger community in terms of market-share, growth, and economic potential. The detriment of Communism as a political practice is evident in history: a massive conglomeration of human psyche until individual identity is a mere shadow of a farce.
To turn that same mirror onto Capitalism, I find its greatest benefit to be that it allows satisfaction of my most extraneous greeds. So long as I am willing to compete tooth-and-nail with my neighbors, I can live in relative luxury and ignore the problems of other human beings; perhaps this seems an embittered sympathy, but I keep coming back to individual empowerment within society. It would seem that there must exist somewhere a degree of balance 'twixt the individual and the society that fosters individuals that actually benefits most, if not all, people. I think the primary detriment of Capitalism is seen in its running effect: people are so damned concerned about money.
People having wealth is not wrong. What is wrong in Capitalism is that people
exploit wealth, accumulate it extraneously, and complain that someone else's
need to eat interfere's with the rich person's
right to free enterprise.
As we write and consider, the City of Seattle is at an odd quandary: It has just stomped on a local church that was housing the homeless in a tent city, levying fines,
ad nauseam. For those of compassion, sorry, the city had both the right and the duty. Such laws as the city enforced (zoning laws, sanitary laws, &c.) make the issue interesting: Is it better to house the homeless temporarily in unsafe conditions, or not at all? This, of course, caused a storm of protest, despite the fact that the city, by law, had no choice in what action to take. (Do not envision me shedding tears at the city's tight spot.)
Considering this, and the SPD's response to things like traffic interruptions by large numbers of people (usually a small fracas at least), I'm wondering why nobody's tear-gassing the sports enthusiasts camping on the sidewalk outside REI, awaiting the yearly sale, blocking public thoroughfares, littering, and causing some distraction at least. Oh, of course ... REI's going to make some money, which can be taxed by public agencies, so we, the city, will even provide safety barricades to protect these shoppers.
But in this town, a parking lot is more important than a homeless shelter: so much so that the city will take money earmarked for homeless issues and spend it to build Nordstrom's a parking lot. The police have chased panhandlers out of various commercial sectors, claiming that they were a nuisance to shoppers. What, then, of the host of cheerleader squads, youth groups, and other associations receiving money from marketing firms to stand out on these very same sidewalks and accost people with flyers, plastic whistles, or single-serving cereal boxes. I would much rather devote my attention or money to helping someone get a meal, as compared to helping li'l Mary and her friends earn those really neat drill-team uniforms. I would rather give a cigarette to a homeless man than contribute to an upper-middle class student's class-trip to Philadelphia. I would rather hear, "Hey, you got a quarter so I can get a sandwich," than, "Free delivery with your first online purchase!"
Okay ... I'm off my soapbox for now. I know it's been a bit of a digression, but that senitment that Communism thinks wealth is wrong flat-out bugs me. It's one of many American xenophobias that keep us from getting along with the rest of the world.
On the other hand, I could care less about the jet. Between that and the reporting on the Peruvian drug-war shooting, I can't stand American news services right now. I would like to remind the world that Americans are told by their news outlets that the CIA
begged the Peruvians not to shoot down those missionaries, and that the notion that the American spy plane was in Chinese waters would find great opposition among the voting, taxpaying masses. As far as the newswires around here are concerned, it might as well have been an evil Chinese cowboy-pilot harassing missionaries over Peru. It's all the same lie, here, but only because in our American-Capitalist something that we call society, it's more important to win than to be right, fair, or even awake.
thanx,
Tiassa
