The “longtermists”. This has nothing to do with saving humanity; this has everything to do to assure they—who unjustly hold power, resources, capital—maintain and escalate their status throughout human existence.
When the majority of the wealth is acquired by a minority… I blame debt: You need it for basic life essentials like a car and education and a house. For years, you don’t actually own the car or house. In the end, you pay them almost twice because of interest. If you can’t make the payments, they’ll offer you a new contract that lasts twice as long.
You will always be hedged in. You will always be paying someone. You will own nothing of worth. For some good news, you can minimize the impact if you are clever financially.
If change is happening, I’d vote to disband the fractional reserve system.
Capitalism has never come out of feudalism, it has simply put a label of “democracy” on it.
There are a few cosmetic changes, you don’t have the birthright anymore and serfs can move between owners freely. Structurally it is largely the same system though.
The difference is that landlords and kings have been exchanged for large corporations and banks, with spokespersons we call politicians.
Basically, and now it’s coming back full circle.
Never was an circle, power has never left the hands of the elites, more than on short occasions after a revolution, only to be seized again immediately. The population never had real sovereignty.
Having grown up in USSR, I have to disagree there. USSR had inequality, but nowhere close to the levels seen under capitalism. There also wasn’t an elite class because social mobility was very high. All the leaders of USSR came from humble backgrounds and working class families. If USSR took a different turn in the 90s we could’ve been living in a much better world today.
You have said it yourself, the advance did not last long and we do not live in a better world, but in a world in the hands of an elite, for whom a briefcase with money is worth more than the life and well-being of the population. To quote G.Orwell in Animal Farm, when pigs learned to walk on 2 legs.
USSR was the first serious attempt at challenging global capitalism. While capitalist world ultimately prevailed over USSR, it may not outlive USSR for much longer the way things are going. Capitalism is an inherently self destructive system, and it cannot last forever. Ultimately, the elites rely on the masses being compliant in order to perpetuate the system of oppression. This contract only works as long as people are willing to put up with the class relations as they are.
Do you still live in russia?
I don’t, my family moved after the collapse. At this point I don’t see any real difference between Russia and other capitalist countries.
The article is behind a paywall. Can someone access it ?
Thank you
