Thursday, June 30, 2016

You say you want a revolution


I'm a radical restructuring guy.  My model for social and economic (from "oikonomos," or the rules (law) of the household.  But that's another discussion.) is the basiliea tou theou where the first are last and the last first, where the race to the bottom is the right race to be in (because no matter how much you spread the wealth out, you're still living in Omelas otherwise).  But I have to be practical and notice this:

The biggest losers (other than the very poorest 5%), or at least the “non-winners,” of globalization were those between the 75th and 90th percentiles of the global income distribution whose real income gains were essentially nil. These people, who may be called a global uppermiddle class, include many from former Communist countries and Latin America, as well as those citizens of rich countries whose incomes stagnated.

In all the hue and cry over Brexit and "what it means" (the answer seems to be either a rejection of neoliberalism (however that is defined) or racism.  One explanation is as good as another, but I have to note Britain has an unemployment rate of 5.4%, while Greece still has an unemployment rate of 24%, equivalent to the U.S. Great Depression.  And yet if Greece wants to leave the EU, they're cutting their own throat, while if Britain passes a non-binding referendum that says it might do so, markets around the world collapse on the fainting couch and chaos ensues.  Yeah, it's still pretty much about whose ox is getting gored, and who leaves Omelas, and who stays in the basement.).

Sorry, I'll start again:  in all the hue and cry over that the Brexit vote means, economic reality is badly distorted.  Yes, industrial jobs in Britain have gone away; welcome to the 21st century!  But part of that is because we can no longer exploit the resources and economies of foreign countries.  And that transition means people will find their lives disrupted, and their economies not as cushiony and comfy as they once were; but other people are finding their economies actually offer jobs and a chance at a decent living, so again the issue is:

Ox.  Gored.  Whose?

You can blame neoliberalism and corporations and free trade if you want, but you might as well blame the sunrise and the tides; your complaints will be just as effective either way.  My vision of the basilea tou theou is even more radical than a global economy where everyone gets to participate (rather than merely be exploited), but I gotta say:  This is what a revolution looks like.

If you want a revolution that just decides who gets to sit next in the deck chairs, then it isn't a revolution at all.  A real revolution means you don't necessarily come out on top.

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