Great article from The Economics of Happiness blog: If it wasn’t obvious before, it is now: #capitalism has become the most divisive issue of our time. But it’s an oversimplified version. The problem is actually more intricate than straightforward capitalism, and the solutions potentially more unifying. What #FloodWallStreet is trying to do, along with so many other people’s movements, is to transform one of the most un-free markets that ever existed: a corporate state in which the role of government is to ensure that the so-called “invisible hand” favors only the wealthy few and the biggest corporations. The capitalism celebrated by many ordinary Americans, including the reporter, simply doesn’t exist. Whatever you want to call it—capitalism, the growth economy, globalization, the corporate state—our current economic system has aimed to make the world “flat”, paving the way for big business with a thick coating of fossil fuels. Reclaiming and restoring all the rumples and folds will require engaging in a myriad of place-based economic activities, like those mentioned in the Flood Wall Street group. It may be more time-consuming, requiring more tolerance, attention and face-to-face conversation, but if we want to create an economy that works for people and the planet we’ll have to start dealing in details. They may be devilish to explain, but that’s also where the true solutions are—ones that are adapted to local cultures and ecosystems.
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 21:56:47 +0000