the machine appeared in the distance
singing to itself of money
the image above from Twitter links to the article covered with this tweeted text:
Descriptive terms like “Rust Belt,” “deindustrialization,” and “manufacturing desert” increasingly applied to ever more portions of U.S. capitalism.*
from the article by Richard Wolff:
Earlier income and wealth gaps in the U.S., worsened by the export and automation of high-paying jobs, undermined the economic basis of that “vast middle class” that so many employees believed themselves to be part of. Over recent decades, workers who expected to enjoy “the American dream” found that increased costs of goods and services led to the dream being beyond their reach. Their children, especially those forced to borrow for college, found themselves in a similar situation or in a worse one. Resistances of all sorts arose (unionization drives, strikes, left and right “populisms”) as working-class living conditions kept deteriorating. Making matters worse, mass media celebrated the stupefying wealth of those few who profited most from neoliberal globalization. In the U.S., phenomena like former President Donald Trump, Vermont’s independent Senator Bernie Sanders, white supremacy, unionization, strikes, explicit anti-capitalism, “culture” wars, and frequently bizarre political extremism reflect deepening social divisions. Many in the U.S. feel betrayed after being abandoned by capitalism. Their differing explanations for the betrayal exacerbate the widely held sense of crisis in the nation.*
In short, capitalism destroys society.
It destroys anything that gets in its way in the pursuit of profits. It destroys the environment. It destroys democracy. It discards human beings without a second thought. (!?) / Bernie Sanders
Two other pertinent quotes:
There is no such thing as society.
—Margaret Thatcher*
Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all.
—John Maynard Keynes (attributed – mistakenly – see Quote Investigator)*
Richard Wolff clearly believes that he can best help by promoting democracy at work.*
2023-07-30 / notes … see also notes on authors and their posts under this date
*a link; see the about page for how posts – and copies on fw – use links
“the machine appeared in the distance, singing to itself of money” (!?)
further notes are often appended to copies on fw