Think of this as Volume 15, Number 49 of A-Clue.com, the online newsletter I've written since 1997. Enjoy.
It's easy to see when poor people riot. Things get broken. People get killed.
It's not so obvious to see when rich people riot. We tend to think it never happens. Why should they riot – they're rich!
But rich people do riot. They only do it once in a while, when their positions are threatened by their own stupidity. We're in the middle of such a riot right now.
A revolt by the rich doesn't look like one by the poor, because they already have so much power. Especially economic power.
That's the first indication of a rich man's riot. Money goes on strike. Money has been on strike here for a few years, and that strike is now spreading over Europe. There are lots of excuses for money going on strike – debt owed to rich people by rich people is the proximate cause this time – but why else would so many wealthy people, banks and businesses be ignoring the huge opportunities before us, except through a conscious decision?
Another way money goes on strike is by intimating everything is about to get a lot worse. This usually happens after it's gotten a lot worse for the poor. Predictions of apocalypse are a rich man's way of, first, excusing the strike and, second, preparing for the ultimate expression of a rich man's riot.
That's the power grab. Forces representing the tiniest minority try to grab power in the interests of capital. The excuse is order. It's often done in conjunction with other powerful interests – the military, organized religion – who become convinced their interests are also threatened. In any case they say they're going to organize things, make the trains run on time.
We know, from history, what results. The dictatorship of the money-tariat.
We're blinded to all this because the only result of such a successful strike, in our complex global society, became such a byword for unspeakable horror that, while we may speak its name, we refuse to accept it for what it was.
Fascism.
Classical fascism was the combination of state power with financial power. It was the dictatorship of those accused of wealth and guilty of education, meant to forestall, prevent, and avoid a dictatorship of the proletariat, i.e. communism.
Classical fascism came to power by creating a false, either-or choice, between their dictatorship or that of the other. Democracy was not on the table. With both sides – the far left and the far right – busy undermining democratic processes, democratic structures and democratic leaders at every turn – it worked. Fascism came to power, first in Italy, then in Japan, and finally in Germany, where it was called National Socialism, Nazi-ism.
The chapter of our political history today's conservatives have spent a lifetime blotting out was their acceptance of all this, in fact the eager embrace of it by some. Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh, Joseph Kennedy and Tom Watson Sr. were just a few of the many rich and/or famous Americans who either ignored Hitler during his rise, enabled it, or sought to support it.
Why? To get the trains running. To get the economy moving. To prevent the commies from taking over.
The only way for conservatives to have a chance of power, after Pearl Harbor, was first, by joining the fight, and then by becoming its staunchest advocates, to the point where those in the Democratic Party who had warned against fascism became suspected of communism. McCarthyism emerged from the rubble of World War II, offering the same either-or choice between a dictatorship of the right and of the left. Its defeat was sadly temporary because the link between unspeakable evil and “extremism in the defense of liberty” was never made explicit by liberty's defenders, who had moved on to other things.
The end result of today's rich man's riot is an effort to install fascism in America. This is why Republican Presidential candidates sound so crazy. This is why commenters on financial sites of all kinds seem so apocalyptic. This is why those who cover money are ignoring the strike and sounding a little crazed themselves.
In the past I've called what is happening on the right in America McGovernism. You can argue that, by comparing today's conservatives to a failed revolt of the left 40 years ago, I'm minimizing it too.
Guilty as charged.
But the reason for that guilt is that, in common democratic terms, it's very obvious that the views of the rich are a minority view, a minority no bigger than the electoral coalition George McGovern was able to gather against Nixon. If Americans are given a chance at a free and fair election next year, I have no doubt of the outcome.
My only caveat is that “if.” The successful efforts to restrict voting rights, going on not only in the south but all across the country, concern me. The money being unleashed on our politics by the Citizens United decision, money that never has to be accounted for, and can be used to flood our media with lies from now until November of 2012, concerns me. The impact of the money strike, the possibility that the Euro might fall and the whole world plunge into recession (despite the opportunities before it) concerns me.
Those concerns are, for now, outweighed by my faith in American history and the American people. We live in a sophisticated society, with people who, even if they lack wealth, do have some education. Far more than our grandfathers and great-grandfathers did. Our instincts are right. We are far more likely, on average, to support the goals of the “Occupy” movement than the people they march against.
But the effort will be made. The effort to overthrow democracy on behalf of capital is being made. The first step in beating that effort back is to name the threat.
The second is up to you.
we should strip fat people of their right to over eat. They place the burden of increased health care on the rest of america. It is not fair that I have to pay higher premiums because of fat asses with no self discipline. Obese people make me want to puke.
we should strip fat people of their right to over eat. They place the burden of increased health care on the rest of america. It is not fair that I have to pay higher premiums because of fat asses with no self discipline. Obese people make me want to puke.
If you want to know what truly happens when the rich “riot”, I would suggest you either buy a copy or borrow a copy from the local library, read Ayn Rand’s literary masterpiece: “Atlas Shrugged”.
What the blogger is talking about is the parasite conspiracy. “Parasites” includes those who use their inherited wealth to maintain and improve their positions in society by force.
Much legislation is passed to defraud the ambitious poor and middle classes of opportunities to enhance their lives.
Fascism is the name applied when parasites that hold corporate offices use “the government” as a weapon to suppress others.
If you want to know what truly happens when the rich “riot”, I would suggest you either buy a copy or borrow a copy from the local library, read Ayn Rand’s literary masterpiece: “Atlas Shrugged”.
What the blogger is talking about is the parasite conspiracy. “Parasites” includes those who use their inherited wealth to maintain and improve their positions in society by force.
Much legislation is passed to defraud the ambitious poor and middle classes of opportunities to enhance their lives.
Fascism is the name applied when parasites that hold corporate offices use “the government” as a weapon to suppress others.
Ayn Rand was the Karl Marx of the 20th century. And her followers are the real parasites of our time.
I hope I have made my position clear.
Ayn Rand was the Karl Marx of the 20th century. And her followers are the real parasites of our time.
I hope I have made my position clear.
First, it was an excellent article. Second, I respectfully disagree with your opinion of Ayn Rand. I see Rand as a rather sophomoric reactive response to the governmental implementation of Marx, whose philosophy, if my memory serves, dominated Rand’s early existence. I agree that those who parrot Randian philosophy are parasites. Perhaps we are looking at the thesis and antithesis and the synthesis is yet to come.
First, it was an excellent article. Second, I respectfully disagree with your opinion of Ayn Rand. I see Rand as a rather sophomoric reactive response to the governmental implementation of Marx, whose philosophy, if my memory serves, dominated Rand’s early existence. I agree that those who parrot Randian philosophy are parasites. Perhaps we are looking at the thesis and antithesis and the synthesis is yet to come.
Corporate greed and government intervention have deprived your post of meaning. Food additives have damaged my metabolism to the point that I am maintaining gross obesity on barely enough food value to maintain life. Meanwhile the FDA is outlawing whole milk marketed without xenoestrogen (which makes the cows gain weight more rapidly) You are lucky you can get insurance.
Corporate greed and government intervention have deprived your post of meaning. Food additives have damaged my metabolism to the point that I am maintaining gross obesity on barely enough food value to maintain life. Meanwhile the FDA is outlawing whole milk marketed without xenoestrogen (which makes the cows gain weight more rapidly) You are lucky you can get insurance.
very clear to me, Dana.Thank you for your perspective on this, which I find refreshing and enlightening. I ends up at the same conclusion I have come to without thinking of it in your way. What does all this obesity talk have to do with anything anyway?
very clear to me, Dana.Thank you for your perspective on this, which I find refreshing and enlightening. I ends up at the same conclusion I have come to without thinking of it in your way. What does all this obesity talk have to do with anything anyway?
@Douglas Johnson
I think you are a worthwhile ‘opponent’ along the lines of your “Perhaps we are looking at the thesis and antithesis and the synthesis is yet to come.”
I enjoy discussions with those that encourage me to review and revise(if necessary) my current position.
I agree that Ayn Rand would have a scathing viewpoint of the Soviet implementation of Marx’s theory. Especially upon arriving in America, where freedom was much more widely taken for granted.
My limited current comprehension of Rand is primarily through her works: “Atlas Shrugged”, “We the Living”, “The Fountainhead”, “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”, and “The Virtue of Selfishness”.
She was interested in the philosophy of Capitalism and how it is the only moral political system for the enjoyment of Freedom.
Expanding upon the Rights listed in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with the right to property inserted between liberty and pursuit of happiness. Property being at its simplest – enjoying the rewards of your previous efforts.
Recognising that Government is a legal monopoly of force, for a given defined territory, that needs to be limited to eliminating use of force between individuals and retaliating against the initiation of force. In this capacity, Government is limited to express this legal monopoly in three arenas: police – peaceful relations within the defined territory, army(a shorthand for the defense force) – protection against force initiated by those outside the regulated territory, and the courts – resolving contractual disputes.
Maybe both the author of this blog, Dana Blankenhorn, and yourself did not clearly comprehend how I use the term “Parasites”, so I will rephrase my definition.
I will start with “Production versus Plunder”, which also happens to be the title of another book(authored by Paul Rosenberg). ‘Production’ is the creation of something of value to others, an example would be the blog software that allows Dana to express his views for our edification.
‘Plunder’ is the activity engaged by “PARASITES” – destruction of resources. This occurs when your wages are stolen(taxed) to provide for those who are encouraged to maintain their helplessness. Bribes to accelerate approvals. Politicians when they use an electorate’s money to fund ‘special’ projects (pork barreling).
I hope that you and Dana decide to read some of Ayn Rand’s work, if only to be able to refute any flawed ideas with greater skill.
@Douglas Johnson
I think you are a worthwhile ‘opponent’ along the lines of your “Perhaps we are looking at the thesis and antithesis and the synthesis is yet to come.”
I enjoy discussions with those that encourage me to review and revise(if necessary) my current position.
I agree that Ayn Rand would have a scathing viewpoint of the Soviet implementation of Marx’s theory. Especially upon arriving in America, where freedom was much more widely taken for granted.
My limited current comprehension of Rand is primarily through her works: “Atlas Shrugged”, “We the Living”, “The Fountainhead”, “Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”, and “The Virtue of Selfishness”.
She was interested in the philosophy of Capitalism and how it is the only moral political system for the enjoyment of Freedom.
Expanding upon the Rights listed in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, with the right to property inserted between liberty and pursuit of happiness. Property being at its simplest – enjoying the rewards of your previous efforts.
Recognising that Government is a legal monopoly of force, for a given defined territory, that needs to be limited to eliminating use of force between individuals and retaliating against the initiation of force. In this capacity, Government is limited to express this legal monopoly in three arenas: police – peaceful relations within the defined territory, army(a shorthand for the defense force) – protection against force initiated by those outside the regulated territory, and the courts – resolving contractual disputes.
Maybe both the author of this blog, Dana Blankenhorn, and yourself did not clearly comprehend how I use the term “Parasites”, so I will rephrase my definition.
I will start with “Production versus Plunder”, which also happens to be the title of another book(authored by Paul Rosenberg). ‘Production’ is the creation of something of value to others, an example would be the blog software that allows Dana to express his views for our edification.
‘Plunder’ is the activity engaged by “PARASITES” – destruction of resources. This occurs when your wages are stolen(taxed) to provide for those who are encouraged to maintain their helplessness. Bribes to accelerate approvals. Politicians when they use an electorate’s money to fund ‘special’ projects (pork barreling).
I hope that you and Dana decide to read some of Ayn Rand’s work, if only to be able to refute any flawed ideas with greater skill.
@Dana Blakenhorn
Ayn Rand was a Philosopher that worked to create a theory that was superior at relating ‘real life’ conditions to those that previously existed.
Karl Marx was an ‘altruist’ concerned with describing the events he was witnessing, in the pursuit of ‘social justice’.
People that appreciate Ayn Rand’s improved description are ‘activists’ in the sense that we wish to communicate to a wider audience the values and morality of Capitalism.
I would respectfully suggest you learn to distinguish between apples and oranges better than your current effort in this post.
Discriminate between Capitalism and the current mixed economy, primarily socialist and statist in nature. An analogy is that of a Volkswagen with a supercharger bolted on the front along with a new paint job in ‘Capitalist Gold'(the mixed economy pretending to be a Ferrari).
Have you watched the youtube video posted by THEORTUBE, “Obama shifts blame for subprime mortgage disaster and economic downturn.” ???
You will find that Obama and fellow democrat Andrew Cuomo (secretary of housing and urban development during the Clinton administration), now the current Governor of New York, have much to answer for in forcing the Bankers to lower their lending standards against their better judgement.
The Bankers of Wall Street were made into scapegoats for Democrat Party altruist sentiment that they now use as an excuse to nationalise failing motor companies like GM and Chrysler.
The REAL function of the “bailouts” was publicly repaying the Bankers for assuming responsibility for the recent recession, again another chance to stir up hatred against the Bankers in public opinion.
Any thoughtful refutation of points made in this post are welcome.
@Dana Blakenhorn
Ayn Rand was a Philosopher that worked to create a theory that was superior at relating ‘real life’ conditions to those that previously existed.
Karl Marx was an ‘altruist’ concerned with describing the events he was witnessing, in the pursuit of ‘social justice’.
People that appreciate Ayn Rand’s improved description are ‘activists’ in the sense that we wish to communicate to a wider audience the values and morality of Capitalism.
I would respectfully suggest you learn to distinguish between apples and oranges better than your current effort in this post.
Discriminate between Capitalism and the current mixed economy, primarily socialist and statist in nature. An analogy is that of a Volkswagen with a supercharger bolted on the front along with a new paint job in ‘Capitalist Gold'(the mixed economy pretending to be a Ferrari).
Have you watched the youtube video posted by THEORTUBE, “Obama shifts blame for subprime mortgage disaster and economic downturn.” ???
You will find that Obama and fellow democrat Andrew Cuomo (secretary of housing and urban development during the Clinton administration), now the current Governor of New York, have much to answer for in forcing the Bankers to lower their lending standards against their better judgement.
The Bankers of Wall Street were made into scapegoats for Democrat Party altruist sentiment that they now use as an excuse to nationalise failing motor companies like GM and Chrysler.
The REAL function of the “bailouts” was publicly repaying the Bankers for assuming responsibility for the recent recession, again another chance to stir up hatred against the Bankers in public opinion.
Any thoughtful refutation of points made in this post are welcome.
Ayn Rand was the Karl Marx of the Last 100 years. And her supporters are the actual parasitic organisms of our time
Ayn Rand was the Karl Marx of the Last 100 years. And her supporters are the actual parasitic organisms of our time
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Dana Blankenhorn: When the Rich Riot