Thursday, February 02, 2012
The New GOP Mantra: Criticizing Capitalism = Embracing Communism, Part II
Jon Stewart nails it. He’s as frustrated as I was a few weeks ago, i.e, we’ve reached the point where criticism of any aspect of capitalism is viewed by some Republicans as not only undermining capitalism, but also embracing socialism, communism etc. It’s crazy. … Can you imagine the same establishment mindset when others moved to pass common sense child-labor laws or sensible anti-snake-oil regulations? … You can’t do that! … But why? … Because it’s anti-capitalism!
Throwing this one out for thought: The no-compromise defense of everything capitalism might tend to, ironically, confirm Marx's belief that capitalists were incapable of reforming their own capitalist system, thus requiring radical and revolutionary change. But capitalism did reform and transform itself in the 19th and 20th Centuries, passing common-sense economic regulations and protections, via the democratic process, and utterly confounding Marxists in the process. Yet now we have these clowns who say reforming or even criticizing capitalism equates to Marxism? Weird times.
Jon Stewart nails it. He’s as frustrated as I was a few weeks ago, i.e, we’ve reached the point where criticism of any aspect of capitalism is viewed by some Republicans as not only undermining capitalism, but also embracing socialism, communism etc. It’s crazy. … Can you imagine the same establishment mindset when others moved to pass common sense child-labor laws or sensible anti-snake-oil regulations? … You can’t do that! … But why? … Because it’s anti-capitalism!
Throwing this one out for thought: The no-compromise defense of everything capitalism might tend to, ironically, confirm Marx's belief that capitalists were incapable of reforming their own capitalist system, thus requiring radical and revolutionary change. But capitalism did reform and transform itself in the 19th and 20th Centuries, passing common-sense economic regulations and protections, via the democratic process, and utterly confounding Marxists in the process. Yet now we have these clowns who say reforming or even criticizing capitalism equates to Marxism? Weird times.
