The Savage of Capitalism

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I just read this very poignant post from somebody on this newspaper article and wanted to see what people think. The article can be found here.

But this is the user post by bullingdonmorons:


You really do have to be an utter moron to support this system.

Decades from now, history books will record these years of Neo-Liberalism as the dumbest period in human history. They will tell of a system that created vast wealth for a handful of people whilst leaving millions struggling to survive, a system designed to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich, a system that promoted a Malthusian hatred of the poor and a complete indifference to the plight of others whilst extolling the virtues of greed and ignorance.

The last 10 years spanned the worst financial crisis in history, a crisis caused by the sheer greed and criminal behaviour of the richest people on the planet aided by the very deregulation and free market ideology that the right wing so craves, and was only solved by using billions of taxpayers money.

But who has paid the price? In 2004, you needed £700 million to be in Britain's 50 wealthiest people. 10 years later, that figure is now £1.7 billion. In 2004, the richest 1,000 people owned assets worth £200 billion, today they are worth £519 billion. The 5 richest families now own more wealth than the bottom 20% combined. The average salary for a FTSE 100 CEO is now £84,000 A WEEK.

Meanwhile, for the rest of us? 20% of the population, 13 million people, are now classed as living in poverty, of which over 8 million come from families who are IN WORK. In 2004, the median weekly wage was £462. Today, it is £427 a week. The cost of living has risen by 34% since 2004, meaning that the average disposable income per household is now almost £1,200 a year lower.
In addition, 913,138 people used food-banks in 2013/14, compared to 346,992 in 2012/13 and 26,000 in 2008/09. There has been a 74% increase in the number of malnutrition-related hospital admissions since 2009, whilst cases of rickets have risen by 25% in 4 years. Public health experts have warned that the rise of malnutrition in the UK ?has all the signs of a public health emergency.?

And this is happening right now, IN ONE OF THE RICHEST COUNTRY ON EARTH.

The ruling elite already own all our land, gas, electricity, railways, water and media. They are now coming for our pensions, our NHS, our roads, our schools and our green spaces. They have systematically destroyed the unions, dismantled our protections, created mass unemployment and are dismembering the welfare state. They make it easier to sack us, make us work longer hours for less pay, force our kids to work for nothing, raise the retirement age whilst cutting our pensions and weaken our health and safety laws. Yet executives of blue-chip companies enjoyed a median pay rise of 32% in the last year alone.

We are being shafted.

So, It's time to get angry, and we need someone to express that anger, because none of our politicians are going to do it. Someone to speak for the millions of hard working people who only want a decent life for themselves and for their kids to have a secure future. Someone that speaks up for all of us, not just a privileged few. Someone that tells us that our worth is not measured by our wealth, but our value as human beings. Someone that tells us that compassion and empathy are not BS. Someone that tells us that ordinary people can expect to have a decent job, a decent house and decent healthcare. Someone that tells us our elderly can live out their final years in a degree of comfort. Someone that tells us our sick and disabled should be allowed to exist with a shred of dignity. Someone that tells us that the most disadvantaged will not be looked down upon as scum.

Someone that tells us that our kids can still have hopes and dreams.

To paraphrase Lloyd George whilst talking about the Great War: "If the people really knew the truth about what was happening, it would be ended tomorrow, but they must never know."

Well, it is time we did know, and time we all stood up and said, enough is enough.

Humans are greedy. So, crony-capitalism, crony-whateverism is going to result in economic inequality. If you give up your liberty
to others - which it seems UK citizens expect government people run most things e.g., health care - then expect to be bled.

"Pure Capitalism" arguably helps the most people.

Last edited by LoveNotHate on 31 May 2014, 5:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

The common denominator in most poor countries is that they usually have a socialist government. Americans who whine about the economy screwing them over, are still far better of with their Playstation consoles, their gas powered stoves, their massive TV sets, their Macs, their smartphones, and their V8 powered pickup trucks with an all leather interior than they would be in Russia, Moldova, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Iran, Cuba, or any other far-left country.

Decades from now, the US and Western-Europe will still have the highest standard of living in the world. Any country with a heavily centralized economy, will still be where it is today. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. An engineer, lawyer, physician, or economist, deserve a bigger share of the loot than someone who dropped out of high school to party.

What is considered a good standard of living is relative. I am happier with no car, sleeping on a mat on the floor with no furniture than I was with a brand new home, two brand new cars and a 60 hour a week job making $30 an hour.

This is not about socialism v capitalism. It is a recognition that our current state (of capitalism) is serving just a small minority while ignoring the majority. If western countries are wealthier because of capitalism then all citizens should be seeing the benefits of such a system. This is not happening. The unemployed are being demonized and punished for not finding jobs that don't exist. Those in work are being forced to work harder while losing their basic rights. And this is happening because the richest 1% want to get even richer.

Capitalism is a fine system, but it needs strict regulation to ensure it works for all and not just a few.

I'm happy knowing that I'll make more money than people who are lazier than me once I finish my degree.

wonderful, so your goal in life is to put yourself into a position to look down your beak at others. Good capitalist.

My goal in life is to be better than mediocrity, while at the same time staying away from hedonism. I could have taken the easy way by not going to college and learning a trade instead (many businesses here collaborate with the high schools, so you do not have to pass a 15 minute popularity contest to get an apprenticeship).

Rarer than Virtue.

ruveyn

Pure capitalism never existed in the first place.

Isn't that what you're doing? Berating others for having goals that lie outside the context of your ideological cause? Good communist.

X27/**6 4t///5h m9-53*k

Your point being?

That's something a former friend of mine doesn't understand. He decided my wife and I were below him because we would prefer the free, (relatively) easy life of bohemian bums. At least we're happy. Last time I saw this former friend, he looked miserable.

^ I'm poor, free AND miserable.