Editor, The Times:
“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.” – Winston Churchill
Could capitalism be described in the same terms?
Sadly, in the last 10 years or so, capitalism has just been terrible.
Bailed out in 2008 by the biggest ever dose of 'socialism' – some $2 trillion – it is still dominated by those (to quote the irrepressible Matt Taibbi) who “... couldn't tell the truth if it sat on their laps playing the ukulele.”
Congress faked finance reform and 2,000 paid lobbyists were unleashed to help gut Amendment 716, which (to quote Taibbi again) would have been “... a veritable Hiroshima to the era of greed.”
However, by the time the likes of Chris Dodd (Democrat) and Richard Shelby (Republican) were done, the whole mess was watered down so badly it was virtually toothless.
The Too Big To Fail – Too Big to Jail Gang emerged triumphant. They were free to dream up more Ponzi schemes – hoarding metal, etc. – designed to increase the cost to others while piling up the loot for themselves.
Elsewhere on the planet, the solution to corporate banking malfeasance has been austerity. In other words, make the peasants pay.
Which brings us to the whole question of democracy.
It's been utterly mind-blowing to watch those “... gerbils on Benzedrine” (to use the words of Vancouver Courier writer Geoff Olsen) stumble to the polls to cast ballots against their own interests.
Whether the landslide victory of a Hindu nationalist party in India or the results of the recent European Union election – is this the wisdom or will of the people?
At the present time capitalism is just plain terrible.
Sadly, democracy seems to be sliding in the same direction.
Dennis Peacock
Clearwater, B.C.