Why is capitalism so popular?
Many have said that capitalism aligns with humankinds natural greed and desire for power. In its simplest sense capitalism is supposed to financially reward the creative and entrepreneurial among us. It may have actually worked that way eons ago! However, the US economic system bears little relation to the capitalist philosophy.
As Adam Smith and other notable philosophers have written, capitalism without a backbone of "what's good of the community" (or a least a "goodness" imposed by government regulation) is doomed to degenerate into an oligarchy where very few have the wealth and the rest do what they're told. Welcome to the 21st century America!
The US financial services industry accounts for 7.4% of total GDP. This is the industry that charges exorbitant interest on credit cards and mortgages, bankrupts good companies through shorting and market manipulation, collects insurance premiums and finds excuses to not pay out, and performs other "services" that add nothing to the general welfare. The industry simply exists to legally steal your money and give it to those few that already have more than they could ever spend.
Why hasn't anyone fixed it?
How many of our elected representatives have NOT gotten wealthier through their "government service"? From rich donors through corporate sponsors, most of our politicians and many of our judges are bought and paid for. Lucrative jobs are waiting for them in the private sector when they're tired of hiding bribes. Laws are actually written by lobbyists to further corporate interests. The Federal Reserve system is a bunch of private banks that have been allowed to "self-regulate" (meaning that they don't enforce the few rules that are in place). It's a big club, and you ain't in it!
Is there anything we can do?
Probably not. The vast majority have taken the blue pill and remain in a coma. The better question is "how bad do our lives have to get before we wake up?" And if we wake up will we have the will and the strength to take back our economic freedom?
Let's start at the beginning
Perhaps if we create a new Constitution that actually "promotes the general welfare" rather than promoting the welfare of the vultures and money-changers, we would have a document that we can take to our politicians and dare them to take issue with. At the very least it would expose them as corporate puppets. With enough support, it might even drive some change for the better.
