Our Fizzle of a Revolution

Many times over the past few months I have been asked when is the revolution going to start. I have been asked when is someone going to start it. Who should be the leader? I have heard statements of individuals waiting for someone to lead the way. Others have become disenchanted with the idea of change; that is true change. Others believe that there is no hope. People in general seem to be going in many different directions following this or that person. !ome do nothing more than shout patriotic slogans" others spout the same old things which people have been told all of their lives and have learned to which they cling" and very few offer real solutions which are ignored by most as the solutions seem so alien. In short" they seem lost as what to do and why shouldn#t they? $et#s face it. We are going to have a long road to travel. %here is much to do to wake up more people to create the change that the people" the world need and need soon" very soon. %here has been a lot of misinformation and twisting of facts that has drawn people into the deep sleep that is the illusion of our e&istence. We have been hammered by mountains of propaganda and millennia of human conditioning. In the attempt to maintain the current system going and for people to not only accept it but to cling to it" we have been drawn into a fantasy. ' good e&ample of this was in (ovember of )*++" Warner ,rothers released a !ylvester the -at and .lmer /udd cartoon" 01eir2-onditioned"3 in which !ylvester inherits a fortune and .lmer e&plains to !ylvester the importance of investing in capitalism. .lmer e&plains that years ago" most people worked long hours" earning very little" and for the most part were miserable with a bleak possibility. 1e goes on to e&plain that with investments in the business world" companies are able to grow and provide 4obs and the income for people to live better lives. /or the most part .lmer is right in theory. What the cartoon fails to tell its audience is that people worked long hours for little pay and in some cases very dangerous situations with no rights and were literally taking their lives into their own hands if they stood up for themselves and others because of the greed of those on top who did own the capital. .lmer totally ignores the part where conditions greatly changed only with workers uniting and standing up for change. 1e fails to mention that most of the change started with the rise of unions and the very real threat of rebellion in the early )*55#s which %heodore 6oosevelt took very seriously and initiated change with various pieces of legislation in an attempt to defuse the situation. %his cartoon was released during a time when the 6epublican Party was trying hard to regain ground lost in the shadow of /ranklin 7elano 6oosevelt#s stand for the common man which was actually inspired by .leanor /ranklin was actually more interested in the wealthy classes which he hailed from but found great support from the common person which was carried on by 1arry ! %ruman. %his was in the wake of 8oseph Mc-arthy and his list he never had of communist infiltrators of the !tate 7epartment which he claimed showed the incompetence of the 7emocratic Party. Interestingly" Mc-arthy" the enemy of communism and hero of democracy" had a very !talinistic solution to the labor problems which rose following the wage free9es and rationing of World War II which was to arrest and imprison the union members of railroad industry. %his was in the time of the beginning of the -old War.

7uring this period and since this time much has been twisted. Obviously" the attempt to manipulate public opinion included the use of cartoons such as .lmer and !ylvester#s. 'lso hoping on this band wagon was 6onald 6eagan with talks of capitalism and a recording in )*:) about the evils of sociali9ed medicine. %here had been the ;orean War which ended with no clear winner and we had our asses handed to us in <ietnam we had made the mistake of fighting the war as if it was a war of ideologies when in fact it was a war in which the <ietnamese 4ust wanted their independence from foreign rule and we were viewed as foreigners. 's an economist" I am frustrated with how terms have been thrown around and twisted. What is more infuriating is that the truth is out there. =et" the idea is to maintain the system in a country where the government and the ideas were originally put forth to encourage constant social evolution; but the pull to maintain the status >uo and to keep the same old system economically in place has caused an all out stagnation mired in a swamp of confusion. .conomists" business" and political science ma4ors are 4ust taught to think in the same old bo& and to get the 4obs or careers they desire; they 4ust go along with the same old game and actually perpetuate it for those who sign their paychecks. 6eminiscent of the story of !ir %homas More" in which all his friends turn on him to gain favor with 1enry <III and his decision to take on the church and marry 'nne they did whatever was necessary for their own preservation and personal gain which was through supporting the current regime. 's an economist" I feel a real need to straighten out some of this misinformation. /irst of all" let#s start with -apitalism" since no matter how you look at it" -apitalism seems to be the center of most of our social ails. I guarantee that if you name a social ail" I can make the connection to -apitalism. -apitalism" first of all" is not synonymous with the idea of a /ree2Market !ystem. 'dam !mith is not the father of -apitalism. 'll you would have to do is read !mith to reali9e this he never wrote about -apitalism; he did use the term ?-apital# to refer to all the different factors of production including labor" plant" resources" and intellectual ability. -apitalism does not even appear as a word until the )@+5#s with the rise of the 6epublican Party. %here are similarities" but there is a distinct difference. -apitalism as we know it would be more fittingly attributed to 'le&ander 1amilton" yeah" the guy on the A)5 bill. 1e was our first secretary of the treasury and he did do a lot of ama9ing things to get this country rolling financially. 1owever" he differed from many of our founding fathers by not accepting the /ree2Market !ystem. 1e instead believed in a system in which the government took an active role in the development of industry. 1e believed that the government should invest and protect capital the very core of -apitalism. 1e believed that the companies would be privately owned the only true connection to the /ree2 Market !ystem and the market to be run with little interference with the e&ception of protectionist laws" >uotas" and tariffs so that our markets would be dominated by our businesses with very little competition from foreign interests. 1e believed that there should be a strong central bank overseeing the economy and did what he could to set up the ,ank of the Bnited !tates Cor ,B!D under Eeorge Washington which would be eventually terminated by 'ndrew 8ackson in )@F:. %hese ideas of 1amilton would be trashed with the election of %homas 8efferson to the presidency. 8efferson believed in the /ree2Market !ystem which was essentially a market where two or more met and made a deal with absolutely no interference from a third party such as the government. %his is also where we get our two party system; 8efferson was a member of the 7emocratic 6epublicans who would evolve into the 7emocrats and 1amilton had been a Whig who would rise up again in the )@+5#s as the 6epublicans. 's the 6epublicans came

to power with the election of $incoln" they celebrated their ability to start implementing their economic program by putting 1amilton#s image on our money for the first time which has continued up to the present. Were the 6epublicans evil? 'bsolutely not" they were interested in developing our nation in the hopes of being able to be strong economically and compete on a global level. Instead of letting the market develop and grow on its own" they thought that the best bet was to nurture and protect it. %his protection included protection from labor movements and labor unions were controlled and intimidated by laws such as the -onspiracy 'cts. -apitalist even hire detective agencies such as the Pinkertons to intimidate and even shoot labor leaders. In some cases" they even brought in and used the (ational Euard. %he whole idea was to protect and nurture the -apitalists with the idea that the 4obs they created would keep the populace focused and in line. /uture generations of 6epublicans and -apitalists would use fear as a ma4or weapon in keeping themselves and their agenda in place such as the 6ed !care and Mc-arthyism which was actually a 6epublican Party strategy several new 6epublican members of -ongress were tasked with this fear tactic; !enator 8oseph Mc-arthy was 4ust one who proved to be very able in this strategy. I should say that when a government is involved with the economic direction of the nation" you are no longer living in a /ree2Market !ystem; you are living in a planned economy. One other key trait of -apitalism is demonstrated well in the Movie" ?%rading Places.# 7an 'kroyd#s character is destroyed; his whole life is trashed by the 7uke ,rothers so one can prove a point to the other brother. When the point is proven" 6andolph 7uke asks his brother what are they going to do to bring Winthrop back into the business. Mortimer replies that after what Winthrop did" he has no intention of reinstating him. %his is a ma4or theme in -apitalism. %hey create the situation" they know that they created the situation" and as far as the victims; the people affected by the decisions of the -apitalists? It is their own problem usually citing the ideas of the /ree2Market !ystem. %his brings us to the /ree2Market !ystem which according to 'dam !mith in )GG: is a system of people meeting and dealing with no interference from the government. 1e saw that the only concern of the government would be to do what it could to stop price fi&ing or other forms of collusion. %he idea was to allow the market to develop" evolve" and grow naturally. %here is no grand plan" 4ust allowing the natural flow of supply and demand to dictate the direction. ,y the way" under a true /ree2Market !ystem" no one dominates the market and if they by chance do" it isn#t for long; not giving anyone enough power to greatly affect others lives to the e&tent of that in the movie" ?%rading Places.# 'nother thing that is very attractive about this system is that there is no real dependency on people who see you as 4ust a replaceable cog in their machine as in -apitalism. People are in a situation where there is a re>uirement for them to challenge themselves and grow instead of being dependent on someone else for direction of their lives. !ocialism is very complicated because only there are numerous ideas on it created a myriad of socialist theories such as nationalism" fascism" Mar&ism" et cetera. In the easiest way to e&plain it" it is a reaction to the greed and abuse of those on top. !ocialism only appears because of the dominance over the economy that those on top have. 's I had mentioned" %heodore 6oosevelt" who was a member of the wealthy class and a staunch 6epublican" recogni9ed a clear and present danger to the system and started initiating legislation to curtail the very real possibility of all out rebellion. -ommunism was an idea that developed in the streets of Paris and under the greed and abuses of those on top; it was becoming a real threat to those on

top. !omething had to be done to protect the wealthy" the system from the threatened change. 's I had mentioned" very rarely do -apitalist recogni9e their responsibility for their actions. %heir whole idea was to increase the demands on their employees and oppress anyone who would >uestion their authority not unlike the nobility of Middle 'ge .urope or 1enry <III#s court. !ocialism is basically throwing the dog a bone so that it will willingly rollover and continue playing the game. 'nother way of looking at this is simply when the government supports and nurtures businesses" it is -apitalism; when it supports and stands up for the people" it is !ocialism. 'nother two terms being thrown around a lot are related but are not the same thing as -apitalists would have you believe. Mar&ism is not -ommunism even though most Mar&ists will tell you they are. Mar&ism is the belief in a way of transforming from -apitalism to -ommunism. ;arl Mar& with the assistance of /riedrich .ngel" mainly financial he was the son of a ma4or industrialist and had a constant supply of money to bankroll his friend ;arl while ;arl did his research and writing proposed a bunch of steps needed to complete the transformation. %his included an uprising with the establishment of a strong central" revolutionary government to teach and train the people to be a communist. Problem with this is that communism is an anarchy" a true anarchy with no one in charge of anything. It is a classless society where wealth is more centered on accomplishments and relationships than on things. It is a system in which people reali9e that they are all in this together. It is a system of people in a community working together and through their differences; a system of sharing Cwhich is the meaning of communism the belief in sharing"D helping one another" and looking out for one another. 1ow do you get from a population that is highly dependent on a centrali9ed government because it controls all of the resources including labor to a state where people are in complete control of their own lives and destiny? I don#t get it and neither did ;arl. 1e kept trying to figure it out and kept coming back to a situation where the ma4ority is dependent on a small group who control the resources; giving the small group an ama9ing amount of power over the rest which is essentially -apitalism. 1e finally gives up trying to figure it out and 4ust says that eventually the people evolve to a point that the government willingly steps down giving all control to the people. 's far as private property" profitability" I honestly don#t see how that conflicts with -ommunism as long as those who prosper reali9e that they are prospering because of a group effort; sure it might be your business which you built with your own two hands but it was because of the community that you had the ability to do that. It is basically up to the members of that community to decide how things are to be. I guess a key element would be to remember that you are living in a community and what you do to help the community prosper will help you to prosper. One of the most interesting things about -ommunism that caused me to go hmmm for a long time was the simple fact that if it was such a terrible system why would there be such an ama9ing effort to eradicate it? I mean take fascism. .ven before the horrors of World War II and the death camps came along" most 'mericans stayed away from the Eerman 'merican ,und. With all of its uniforms" pageantry" mysticism" and rallies" this 'merican (a9i movement never seemed to muster more than H5"555. %here was never an attempt to crush" fight" or oppress them compared to the level of organi9ed violence and effort e&pensed against -ommunism to the point that we are sending the military all over the world to crush it including the !oviet Bnion during the 6ussian -ivil War with Operation 'rchangel in the )*H5#s" <ietnam" ,ay of Pigs" ;orea" and the use of the -I' to undermine and overthrow governments of !alvador 'llende in -hile and Patrice $umumba in the -ongo. !eriously" if it was such a horrible" terrible" stupid

system to follow" even more so than /ascism" then why all of the lives" money" and effort? Why were women given the vote and the government start recogni9ing the rights of workers to form unions right after the ,olshevik 6evolution? %hen it dawned on me that it was a true threat to those on top. /ascism is actually a great system for those on top to prosper and is why 1itler" Mussolini" and /ranco were so supported and embraced. -ommunism would be an end of those on top. %heir greatest fear is that if people were to reali9e that they can work together" help one another" look out for one another" and share in good times and bad" they might reali9e that they don#t need those on top. In order for -apitalism which is nothing more than a newer version of feudalism you work for me and show me loyalty" I will take care of you my pet people need to be looking out for 4ust themselves; divided and easily con>uered. ' good analogy would be that -apitalism is like a dysfunctional family where everyone is looking out for themselves and trying to be on top while -ommunism would be a functional family where everyone looks out for and helps each other reali9ing that with each other#s help" life is easier. In shortI -apitalism is the investment" nurturing" and protection of industry by the government" even though the businesses are privately owned. 'nother key element is that the idea of -apitalism is not what is best for the people" the environment" or the world; it is all about what is best for the -apitalist. /ree2Market !ystem is business going on with absolutely no interference. !ocialism is the investment" nurturing" and protection of the workers from the abuses of the greed of those on top by the government which is a way to curtail the possibility of revolution and the toppling of those on top. .ven though it is actually for the good of those on top" they kick and scream and do what they can to end socialism because it cuts into their profit margins. Mar&ism is a belief of a way of transitioning from -apitalism to -ommunism. -ommunism is a classless society with no leaders e&cept for the will of the people in the community where the main idea is that we are all in this together. %here is a general acceptance of the idea that anything I can do to help my community prosper will help me to prosper. I hope that this clears most of it up. Most people out there are 4ust spouting the same old things they have been taught to believe by those on top with the idea that those on top desire to stay on top and will do anything they can to remain on top. People need to reali9e that most of what they know was taught to them by those on top. (othing I have said here can#t be found without a little bit of effort in digging remember to >uestion everything and do not be afraid to ask >uestions. It is the only hope we have of obtaining the true change we need for us and the world. 1opefully" you will check out what I have told you and find the truth it is our first step to getting this /i99le of a 6evolution to start !i99ling good luck out thereJ