Society + Culture,

The Highest Stage of Capitalism
 
It is far less controversial today to suggest that monopoly capitalism has taken control of societies and over the lives of individuals then it would be a decade ago or three decades ago. It has become quite obvious. Large corporations and the ultra wealthy have command of most governments. Within the scope of American hegemony, politicians have unabashedly put policies in place under the dictates of big money. In other parts of the world the IMF and The World Bank have grabbed governments and their citizens by the collective throat in a stranglehold that literally squeezes the life out of many and impoverishes most.   

In the 1980s, big money demanded that governments slash social spending. Governments marched in step to the dictates of Wall Street. Now, in the so-called new American century, pressure is still pushing governments to cut social spending. This is done with much less alarm than in the 80s or 90s. They have succeeded in cutting the expectations of the working classes and the process of cutting distribution to those in need is done with far greater ease. Contrarily, spending on death and military machinery is rarely criticized as it is hyped up under the fabricated threats of terrorism.     

What can we make of this? What can we make of the impulse to spend money to kill but not to feed and take care of people? Has Satan himself taken control of the planet?  The answer is not to be found in such superstitious drivel but may be just as, or more, frightening. 

A Caustic Blessing

The answer is that capitalism has matured to a point where it no longer has a single humane sentiment left. It has become an abstract psychopath. It has matured to a point where it's impact on societies is far more detrimental than beneficial. Early capitalism may have taken us out of the inertia and stagnant mood of feudalism. But this revolutionary force itself is turning in on itself and on all of us. We are coming or we have come to a point where we must seriously consider revolution against capitalism itself. 

In the last century, the policies of John Maynard Keynes served to distribute wealth to make life palatable for most in modernized capitalist societies. This was in response to the communist threat emanating from the USSR as well as from the working classes within capitalist societies themselves. Besides Keynes' apparent benevolent initiatives, much effort went toward convincing us that communism and any true socialistic governance would necessarily result in dictatorial tyranny. On the other hand, capitalism was a golden arched gateway leading to a kingdom of materialist heaven. They built a ring of modern buildings near the Berlin Wall to show the poor sods on the other side what they are missing in the Land of Oz. Propaganda was aimed mostly at showing the wonders of life under modern capitalism and the misery and drudgery suffered by those that dared rebel against their legitimate masters. Many remain convinced that wealth distribution of any kind will result in totalitarian horror.    

The revolutionary impact that capitalism has had on humanity cannot be overstated. It has transformed the physical landscape. It has also transformed the way we do things and perhaps most profoundly, it has changed our minds. The impact of our financial life on who we are and how we behave is rarely studied but if we look at any single dimension of this we can see that it is profound. For instance, if we are either the victim of financial devastation and experience sudden poverty after a life of opulence or conversely, if we suddenly become wealthy after a life of poverty, our experience of the world and our own lives is altered dramatically. Status and wealth mean freedom in capitalist society. If we are poor, freedom is, as the song says, just another word for nothing left to lose. The rich can move things and people around in arbitrary and capricious shifts of mood. The poor cannot do anything but beg an employer to buy their labour, their time, and their fleeting glimpses of freedom.   

That massive transformation into capitalist society may seem small when we consider the reality of the average Joe selling his life in order to eat. But consider the material deprivation of life under feudal conditions and then Joe appears in far better shape. Joe has also left behind the mental shackles of feudalism. We no longer blindly consider those with wealth 'our betters' and we no longer march to war when the master tells us to kill to secure his place. We have, as a result of capitalism, become far more rational beings than our feudal ancestors had been. The 60s social revolution was not a socialist revolution, but capitalist psychology usurping the tired archaic dictates of religious and traditional values. In some ways, capitalism has been a great blessing to most of humanity.     

Now, as capitalism matures and morphs into monopolism, we increasingly find ourselves living under the dictates of the ruling class and they are ruling with far more arbitrary and ruthless whips and chains than they did in the relatively genteel Fabian socialist past. They no longer aim to ply us with social programs and trinkets (unless there is profit in it) and are more inclined to rule with an iron fist. It seems as if the feudal lord is returning to make our lives more miserable and frightening than ever. There has been a colossal shift in the past few decades.               

Monopoly Capitalism

The question arises at this point; Why not return to the quasi-socialism of the past? The answer is, it can't be done. And even if we could, the we would resume another trajectory toward the barbarism of the present. There are iron laws inherent in capitalism and as a result of the nature of this system, it's death is indigenous to it. We are plunging headlong into the future whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, we are on a collision course. 

Consider two aspects of monopoly capitalism and the impact it is having and will have on us. First, the tendency to the centralization of capital and the impact that has on the lives of the ruled (us) and secondly, consider the impact of the internationalization of production.  

In its adolescence, capitalism was a matter of various businesses competing with each other within a given society or nation. Although trade always gave enterprise an international flavour, nations worked through relative sovereign authority. Although large corporations influenced policies, sovereign nations could defy the extreme right and popular socialistic policies could be legislated into law and policy. In its early adolescence, there was a national cohesiveness within the scope of that nations particular capitalism and the will of the electorate held a measure of sway. This remains the case in European nations to a greater extent than in America. But America is the most evolved from a capitalistic sense and that is why it is the most backward in a humane or socialistic sense. They lead and unfortunately, we will follow.      

As maturation evolves, the whole system becomes more dynamic and anarchistic. And as it evolves, the system also becomes increasingly hungry. What was true yesterday is not true today and what is true today will be forgotten tomorrow.