Comments on: The end of the machine that produces fear?

By: Michel Bauwens

Michel Bauwens — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 03:39:07 +0000

In reply to Øyvind Holmstad. excellent, thanks a lot!

By: Øyvind Holmstad

Øyvind Holmstad — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 07:11:09 +0000

Have you seen the video (supported by the Post Carbon Institute) There’s No Tomorrow: http://permaculture.org.au/2012/02/28/theres-no-tomorrow-video/

By: Michel Bauwens

Michel Bauwens — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:05:29 +0000

In reply to Julia. I agree Julia. The new system will necessarily be based on at least partially on already proven practices, which represent the seed of the new in the old system.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:45:37 +0000

I wouldn’t give capitalism much longer to live. It’s most likely going to die out within the next 100 years or so, hopefully in my lifetime (I’m 23 as of right now). However, the question we should all be asking is, if capitalism will inevitably collapse, what is to replace it? Will it be mutualism, anarcho-communism, a hybrid of the two, or state-socialism or fascism? That’s why I would argue we should be the ones creating the new system RIGHT NOW as the old system crashes so we can be sure that we (or our children or grandchildren) aren’t out of the frying pan and into the fire.

By: Joe Hueglin

Joe Hueglin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:23:19 +0000

So sorry did not see followup so had to post again

By: Joe Hueglin

Joe Hueglin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:00:55 +0000

This premise “capitalism itself will no longer exist – most obviously, as ecologists keep reminding us, because it’s impossible to maintain an engine of perpetual growth forever on a finite planet,” is stated in error.

Shades of Malthus and Ricardo: “About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”

Iceland chose not to accept “permanent subordination.” Capitalism in its essence has and will always be. Investing Time, Treasure and Talent to produce for exchange to others as a means of earning a livelihood.

By: Steve Brant

Steve Brant — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 20:24:11 +0000

I like how this essay points to the ongoing use of fear to control people (including the advertising industry’s use of fear – of not being thin, pretty, etc enough – to get people to spend money trying to obtain some external “ideal”).

But the idea that “When speculation did go berserk, and the whole machine imploded, we were left in the strange situation of not being able to even imagine any other way that things might be arranged. About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.” suggests to me that the author didn’t do his research adequately enough.

There are a lot of people who ARE capable of imagining things being “arranged” (organized) differently, especially those of us who have studied the works of people such as Buckminster Fuller, W. Edwards Deming, and Russell L. Ackoff (all masters of the art/science of systems thinking). If you Google “steven brant capitalism is dead” you will find my essay from 2008 on The Huffington Post about what we can do (redesign our sociopolitical economic systems around abundance rather than scarcity principles). And if you go to my website, you will see a link to my interview on Fox Business News Live (yes, Fox) about “redesigning capitalism” too.

There are solutions out there. We CAN think differently. And those who fear the future need to keep looking… because hopeful solutions exist that are capable of getting us out of this crisis!

By: Garrett Connelly

Garrett Connelly — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:12:14 +0000

There is nothing new in this article. I thought the idea was to quit hashing over the obvious short sides of corporatism and attempt to establish a route toward a viable future.

By: PG

PG — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:13:37 +0000

David Ellerman – whose work I got to know through this blog – develops an analysis of capitalism that gives lots of hope on its positive transformation and therefore in the future.

The key question of capitalism is not resources mismanagement. It is the employer-employee relationship. Another argument in favor of P2P.

By: Emlyn

Emlyn — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:12:32 +0000

“Finance capital became the buying and selling of chunks of that future, and economic freedom, for most of us, was reduced to the right to buy a small piece of one’s own permanent subordination.” and “When speculation did go berserk, and the whole machine imploded, we were left in the strange situation of not being able to even imagine any other way that things might be arranged. About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”

If I still had a pencil case, I’d write these lines on it. Brilliant!