Capitalism is not about free competitive choices among people who are reasonably equal in their buying and selling of economic power, it is about concentrating capital, concentrating economic power in very few hands using that power to trash everyone who gets in their way.
Wall Street sees a social fabric or social contract as inefficiencies, which need to be removed.
Living capital, which has the special capacity to continuously regenerate itself, is ultimately the source of all real wealth. To destroy it for money, a simple number with no intrinsic value, is an act of collective insanity - which makes capitalism a mental, as well as physical pathology.
Not exclusively, but the bulk of our local economy should be covered by local currencies, which is more efficient than having global currencies which lose connection with reality in the markets, shops and communities of the people.
There are actually very few US politicians who have integrity and vision.
There is a huge shift taking place in the global awareness in the last 5 years with strong views about globalization and the power structures of major corporations.
To achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our "garbage index" - that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse - to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other nonbiodegradable resources, once taken from the ground, must become a part of society's permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity. Organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system.
But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is providing everybody with a decent means of living.
Moreover, statistics can be deceiving: the growth of jobs in the US in the 90s was due to many part-time jobs, with no benefits and generally low pay.
We should be moving toward local currencies not global or European currencies.
As an economy measures performance in terms of the creation of money, people become a major source of inefficiency.
In the US, most progressives start to see the differences between internationalism and economic globalization.
More humane societies are usually smaller, like the Scandinavian countries and Holland, where it is much easier to reach consensus and cooperation.
Global competition is about winners and losers.
There is no visible sign that the current politicians in the US are willing to see the need for change.
Europeans say they are proud of their social fabric, of strong rights for workers and the weak in society.
It will take some time before a politician will capture the imagination of the American people and have the vision and understanding to do what is necessary for a better future for the people of America and the world.
Our global economy is out of control and performing contrary to basic principles of market economics.
So, there is enormous instability in the global economy with a shift of winners and losers.
If you look at the US economy over the last 15-20 years wages have been stagnating or even declining.
The first principle of the market economy is that it is comprised of many small buyers and sellers, which implies a substantial degree of equity. Another fundamental market principle is that costs are internalized in the producer's price.
