Are you inside or outside the fence?
Capitalism is a social system in which the things that are needed to make and distribute the things we all need in order to live (food, clothing, shelter etc) are owned and controlled by a small minority of the world’s population. They are on the inside.
The richest 1% of adults in the world own 40% of the planet's wealth, according to the largest study yet of wealth distribution according to The Guardian [6th December].
The vast majority of us own very littlle—half the world's adult population own barely 1% of global wealth according to this report—and as a consequence we have to seek out an employer and work for the wage or salary they pay us.
Apart from charity, begging and theft this is our only means of access to the wealth that is produced socially. We are on the outside.
This is our situation whether our wages or salaries are high or low. We all have to sell our ability to work for the best price we can get. And we cannot do this without selling our body of course and we are therefore in the same situation as the street prostitute.
We do not make moralistic appeals that the system that robs us be run a little less brutally. The motive behind most such reforms is to make the system of exploitation a little more effective in its robbery.
Running it for our own benefit and not for the benefit of a privileged minority is long overdue.
5 comments:
eh... not nessecarily... because it treats wealth as assets less liabilities - which actually meant a lot of people in developed countries with bank accounts ended up with negative wealth - although obviously what that means is different to being poor in a country with crappy infrastructure and banking institutions
eh, and further reading suggests one needs assets of $61,000 to be in the top 10%
LOL I actually really reccomend reading the study, its fascinating!
http://www.wider.unu.edu/research/2006-2007/2006-2007-1/wider-wdhw-launch-5-12-2006/wider-wdhw-report-5-12-2006.pdf
Never mind about the bakery. Let's up the ante. See http://www.autonome.org/en/prop/an_11x17_wheatfield_b&w_en.gif
Hat tip to Arminus
Basically its very simple; production for profit; with people dying of starvation in a world of plenty, or from lack of available(if you have the money) medical help.
Or production for use; when we have a proper democracy and make what is in the best interests of the world community.
I think it was Alexander Berkman who said that campaigning for reforms is like coming home to find a thief making off with all your belongings; only to ask him if you might just have your coat back.
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