I noticed quite a few "class warfare" posts recently. A book that might be of interest.

[tbyg52]

The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy
http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Right-Capital-Dethroning-Aristocracy/dp/1576752372/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

I have not finished it yet, but the analogy of corporatism to aristocracy is striking.

"The most fundamental right of an aristocracy is a right to income detached from productivity - in other words, to be free from labor. In America we believe we never had a class of nobles, but we simply called them by a different name: gentlemen."

"In the worldview of corporate financial statements, the aim is to pay stock holders as much as possible and employees as little as possible."

No kidding.

"As it is the right of the people to alter or abolish government, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish the corporations that now govern the world."

[RainDog]

1. this is a great book.

the woman who wrote it is a business person - she is speaking from a position inside the capitalist worldview.

[tbyg52]

4. Thanks for the kick - I really think she's on to something.

And to think I ordered it just to get free shipping from Amazon (and there's another story....
http://www.thenation.com/article/37484/trouble-amazon

:hi:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. (click link) (click new tab) (add to wish list)

:thumbsup:

[BuelahWitch]

3. I put it on my Amazon Wish List, thanks!

:hi:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. GMTA

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Thanks. Sounds like a must read. I already see the comparisons.

[bluedawg12]

7. Great points - power amassed in the hands of a few

on a global scale, with a resistance to regulation and oversight, is a recipe for loss of the voice of the people. Well, we have gone beyond that, they are now "persons," with lot's and lot's of money and power and a decisive hand in government.

[Bozita]

8. Along the same lines, I bought a copy of Thomas Frank's ...

... "What's the Matter With Kansas?" at my local dollar store last week. It was the only copy in the store.

This is NOT an attempt to hijack this thread.

[tbyg52]

12. Aw, go ahead - I only recently was introduced to the concept anyway...! ;-> nt

[applegrove]

9. Great quotes!

[lostnfound]

10. Excellent book. Except for IPOs, stocks are subsidized gambling not investing.

A stock rewards those who bought its IPO thereby putting capital into the company. But the company may survive 100+ years and never get another dime of investment money from those shareholders. Stock ownership is like owning the title to a feudal estate, which entitles you to the proceeds of that estate.
Look at the biggies -- the Fortune 100 -- for example. Maybe 1% or less of the market cap represents money that was actually "invested" in the company (i.e., used to establish the company or buy equipment or fund its startup operations). The rest of the market cap can be interpreted as a kind of Ponzi scheme depending upon new entrants into the stock market but also continually being subsidized by the efforts of the workers who employ the resources of the company to accrue more wealth to the feudal lord - I mean, the stockholders. It's a mind-boggling book in that it makes you question the essential framework of the modern economy.

[Solly Mack]

11. k/r

[TexasObserver]

13. Yes, there's a nonstop barrage of GOP talking points.

The amazing thing is the number of posters who never post anything remotely progressive, or even pro Democratic. One would think gun control, gay rights, women's rights, minority rights, protection of consumers, holding accountable corporate wrongdoers would all be supported unanimously by DUers, but alas, not true.

Remember when being a progressive meant being progressive?

[bluedawg12]

14. There are a number of books out (on Amazon site) on this theme

Another book title echoes what I said earlier: corporatism = the end of democracy==> "Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy" - http://www.amazon.com/Gangs-America-Corporate-Disabling-Democracy/dp/1576753190/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c

"This power structure has resulted in layoffs, plant closings, and other forms of social discord. In the second part, she examines a thought-provoking course of action that would improve matters a new set of paradigms and laws that would result in economic democracy, insuring that corporations exist for the public good. Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, John Locke, and Adam Smith are some of the luminaries she cites to support her points of view." - Review on Amazon, The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy
Marjorie Kelly - http://www.amazon.com/Divine-Right-Capital-Dethroning-Aristocracy/dp/1576752372/ref=tmm_pap_title_0