I am skeptical that knowing history or politics is of much use, unless you are in a direct position to influence or make substantive changes. — Tom Storm
I'd prefer to see much quicker reaction and, ultimately, the overthrowing of corporatism (and capitalism) altogether, in favor of real democracy (i.e., extending to the workplace as well) -- but I'm also a pragmatist. — Xtrix
All this hiding behind the skirts of big government is inimical to true capitalism. — James Riley
What do we make of this? More window-dressing? A much-needed transitional step away from Friedman/neoliberal economics? — Xtrix
Window-dressing most probably, in that they probably wouldn't do anything that doesn't benefit them in the first place and I'd assume care very little about anything else.... but that doesn't mean that some of the time what benefits them, cannot also benefit the population at large. — ChatteringMonkey
Well in the case of BlackRock it's kind of interesting. The CEO is a lifelong Democrat, and so already buys into this stakeholder theory version of capitalism. But besides that, when it comes to asset managers, where the mentality isn't so short-term, it does well to consider things like climate change -- it's sensible, just as it is with insurance companies. Therefore, shifting investments to ESG funds (which no doubt have their issues) and promoting more transparency and accountability for climate-related strategies seems like a self-interested move. These aren't stupid people.
When it comes to industries most culpable for climate change, like Big Oil and Big Agro, while they are beginning to acknowledge climate change is real and will try to convince everyone that everything they do is "green" are always going to be the ones most resistant to change, as it directly effects their livelihoods. For asset managers, who make their money off of how much they make for their investors (along with fees), there's a different set of priorities. If they see the energy sector as unprofitable in the long term (meaning fossil fuels), it stands to reason they will divest -- if they have any sense at all and, again, this is assuming they're not idiots.
Too little too late, perhaps. — Xtrix
it always allows proponents to claim we need more actions to get closer to that ideal in order to see the promised results — Xtrix
Politics and history helps one understand the current state of the world, why things are how they are, how they got here, how they function, and so on. That's as worthwhile as studying physics or chemistry, in my view. Perhaps more so. — Xtrix
it's basically a kind of hobbyism — Xtrix
It's really just a softer version of capitalism, in the same way as Keynesian economics was still capitalism. But maybe that's the path that needs to be taken, who knows? I'd prefer to see much quicker reaction and, ultimately, the overthrowing of corporatism (and capitalism) altogether, in favor of real democracy — Xtrix
I could go on, but you get the picture. True capitalism, which they claim they want, would crush them. They are a bunch of government tit-sucking hypocrites and true capitalism would show them for the cowards they are. Show me a true risk-taking, bootstrapper who did everything on his own and I'll kiss Ayn Rand's dead ass. — James Riley
ourse Friedman was too clever not to see this — Xtrix
True capitalism would be great. It's just that all the self-described capitalists are "Socialism for me, capitalism for you." — James Riley
I think it is as worthy of questioning as systems of slavery, feudalism, and caste. — Xtrix
But the company is well known. — ssu
Stakeholder capitalism sounds too good to be true. — Shawn
I think collective bargaining is a great idea, but so long as capital can run over seas to take advantage of communist (or other non-democratic) labor, then it can't work. The labor supply reduces demand and lowers the value. — James Riley
We can very easily change that as well. It's not like there's nothing we can do. We can prevent tax havens just as well as we can prevent outsourcing. You put restrictions and regulations on what companies can do. This threat of "we'll just take our business elsewhere" is an empty one. These companies would not survive if it weren't for the United States government and general society, and they know it. — Xtrix
We could do a lot, the problem is there isn't enough political will to do any of that. How do we change that? — ChatteringMonkey
The answer is education — James Riley
Short of that, in the past it took war. Or, at the very least, massive social upheaval. So there is always that. I don't want to see my son have to fight in that. But alas, maybe it's his time and I should take a seat. — James Riley
maybe massive social upheaval would be what it takes — ChatteringMonkey
maybe massive social upheaval would be what it takes
— ChatteringMonkey
Do you mean like Trump's Capitol insurrection or something bigger? — Apollodorus
So what I think would be needed is
1) social upheaval/discontent. You need 'fertile ground' to be able to grow a political movement that wants to change things.
and 2) someone or some group of people giving direction to that discontent in the form of a political vision and political organisation. That's what was lacking for instance in the occupy movement or the Arab spring, — ChatteringMonkey
Yes, but if you have neither 1 nor 2 then there is nothing you can do.
There will be no social upheaval/discontent because the state will find ways of bribing people or otherwise suppressing their movement.
If there is no appealing political vision, there will be no coherent or organized movement. That's why there isn't any.
You could take communism for your political vision but most people will not go along with that. That's why you only get minority or single-issue movements like Occupy or BLM. — Apollodorus
You could take communism for your political vision but most people will not go along with that. — Apollodorus
Our public schools have been attacked for decades, of course. Underfund or defund anything we don’t like. Claim there’s a problem that doesn’t exist, defund it, watch it fail, then point to the failure and say “You see!” Then you can privatize it, turning it more into a “business” — so that now you have the student debt problem, with degrees that don’t do much, and kids never really learning anything about the world or about themselves. — Xtrix
So what’s missing other than organization? — Xtrix
True, we can also convince ourselves that there’s nothing to do and that nothing will happen. But I reject that. That’s defeatism, very passive, and exactly the reason nothing changes to begin with. — Xtrix
So what’s missing other than organization?
— Xtrix
Love. That's all I can think of. — James Riley
I was simply trying to realistically analyze the situation. — Apollodorus
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