To the extent socialism seeks to directly address the problems arising from a market based economy, in a mass society, it only obscures the problems causing them and has become the loyal opposition to capitalism.
The strength of capitalism is the market functions as an ecosystem, with all the various organisms rising and falling. Otherwise the entire economy becomes a singular organism, that rises and falls as one.
Yet this current financialized system has started to function as a singular entity and all efforts, political, economic, media, military, etc. are all determined to add to this collective effort, as if it were an autocracy.
Why?
The tool that is money has become a religion.
What enables mass economies to function is having an effective medium of exchange. There are times when particular commodities were so prevalent and desired that they could serve as such, such as gold, but what we have as money is a contract, with one side an asset and the other a debt.
Yet we still largely view it as a commodity, as quantified hope and security, that we can mine out of society, to save and store. Hence Econ 101 tells us money is both medium of exchange and store of value. The problem is that while a medium and store are related, they are distinct. Blood is a medium, fat is a store. Roads are a medium, parking lots are a store. These examples certainly wouldn’t be confused, so are economists smarter, or dumber than doctors and highway engineers?
Given that Capitalism has metastasized from the efficient transfer of value, to the creation of nearly infinite amounts of notational value, as an end in itself, to the detriment of both society and the environment, it might be worthwhile to examine this fetishization of the bottom line.
Since money still functions as a contract, in order to acquire and store the virtually infinite amounts of notational value we desire, similar amounts of debt have to be generated.
For one thing, this creates a centripetal effect, as positive feedback draws the asset side to the center of society, while negative feedback pushes the debt to the edges. To a minor extent, this is a tough, but healthy fact of life, but beyond a certain degree it starts to cannibalize the community. Just ask the young, trying to pay off college, buy houses, have children, etc. Meanwhile those inside the loop pick which yacht they want. If you want lots of gold in the penthouse, it’s wise to have strong foundations first, otherwise it will eventually do more than just trickle down.
The other elephant in the room is the government has become debtor of last resort. Where would those trillions go otherwise? Derivatives? Junk bonds? Apple stock? Public debt backs private wealth. Consequently we are blowing up other countries to sustain the presumptive value of surplus notational value.
Maybe we should tax out what we currently borrow. Then people would quickly start finding other ways to save for the future. Possibly by investing directly in the stronger communities and healthier environments, that would give us security, rather than imagining to save for them individually, in a parasitic financial system.
The irony of our individualistic ethos is the resulting atomized culture is more easily manipulated by institutional authority and most interactions are mediated by that kleptocratic banking system. Networks matter as much as the nodes.
There was a time when government was private and it was called monarchy. When the kings lost sight of the fact they served a purpose, in order to be served, they were usurped. Banking is currently having its, ‘let them eat cake moment.’
As the executive and regulatory function of society, government is analogous to the central nervous system. While banking and money, as the value circulation system, is analogous to the arteries and blood.
So just as the head and the heart are separate organs, serving separate functions, so too are government and finance. As politicians live and die on the hope they inspire and we think of money as quantified hope, then politicians cannot be in control of the money supply, as printing excess money is a cheap, short term high.
We need to keep these systems as integrated into the larger economy as possible, however that may be.
Given the current system is about to collapse into the abyss of unpayable debt on which it is built, we are going to have to come up with a plan B.
Otherwise the needle just switches over from greed to fear and the generals and police are in charge, not the bankers.
