A long chain of cause and effects

Holism, on the other hand, would view the entire chain of cause and effect that leads to — and away from — automobile manufacturing.

What the Candidates Really Stand For

The Capital Institute report, titled Regenerative Capitalism, emphasizes that the world economic system is closely related to, and dependent upon, the environment. According to the Capital Institute, the consequences of this economic worldview are vast and far reaching, encompassing a host of challenges that range from climate change to political instability.

For example, the current capitalist system has created extreme levels of inequality, the report says. This, in turn, has led to a host of ills, including worker abuse , sexism , economic stagnation and more.

The case for an independent Left party

It could even be considered partly responsible for the rise of terrorism around the world, the report claims. In other words, this inequality has become a threat to the very system that is creating it. In practice, this might lead to close analysis of supply chains, investigations of the effects of water use, circular economy initiatives, community economic development work or a host of other sustainability efforts.

While some people associate holistic thinking with mystics or hippies, the worldview is borne out in ways that are measurable, precise and empirical. Not surprisingly, the theory underlies other scientific and social tools, such as system theory and chaos theory. This holistic approach flies in the face of a great deal of long-held beliefs. The report emphasizes the importance of innovation and adaptability over rigid structures and belief systems. At first glance there would seem to be great differences between McCain and Obama.


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On foreign policy, he plays up his military history and has made wholesale support of the Iraq War a signature issue. On domestic concerns, McCain has made tax cuts and corporate welfare for the bosses his priority.

Challenging the Two Parties of Big Business with Kshama Sawant

And he speaks of the plight of working-class and poor people with more apparent concern than his rival. The only people who may see the change they want from these elections are the U. Eight years of George W. The big capitalists and their agents openly express fear that more of the naked imperialism that defined the Bush years will trigger greater struggles of the oppressed abroad, threatening their investments from the Middle East to South America.


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They hope the next administration will extract the U. Similarly at home, the rulers worry that the chasm between them and the increasingly desperate working class will spark a return to the protests, strikes and riots that have rocked this country in previous times of war and economic crisis. For these reasons, much of the American ruling class has been throwing its support behind Obama as representing change they can believe in.

His victory over Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries was certainly evidence of improved racial attitudes among many white Americans. But racism remains widespread, and a sizable minority of white Americans will never vote for a Black candidate. This anti-Black racism is unfortunately echoed even by some sectors of the Latino population, who are victims of racism themselves. Of course, Krugman does not want Obama to appeal to the working class to struggle against its exploitation by the capitalists.

A close race could force him to adopt a more populist approach. But just how far he is prepared to go to avoid encouraging working-class resentment of the system as a whole can be seen in his efforts to distance himself from the concerns and struggles of Black people, those who most readily identify with his campaign and who also account for many of the most exploited and oppressed workers.

No Support to Capitalist Parties!

The fact that America may well elect its first Black president is without doubt a sign of improved racial attitudes among broad numbers of whites. In a country built on the idea that Black people were the less-than-human property of whites, and in which racism is still wielded by the ruling class to divide and conquer the working class, it is an extraordinary development.

But the gains won by Black people were not gifts generously bestowed by enlightened whites. But it was also key to ending those struggles. First, the Black movement was turned away from the power of strikes and protests to the powerlessness of the voting booth; then the pro-capitalist Black elected officials betrayed their working-class constituents. They proved themselves trustworthy tools of the racist capitalist system. Indeed, the ruling class quickly learned to appreciate the role that Black officials could perform in defusing explosive protests movements, calling for calm and insisting on sacrifice in hard times.

This experience of Black Democratic politicians is one reason the ruling class can look with little fear to the prospect of a Black president. Another is that the mass struggles of Black people and other people of color, as well as those of the working class in general, have been so successfully quelled: Our article in Proletarian Revolution No.

Since then Obama has further distanced himself from Black concerns. The most notable instance came in response to the media-generated frenzy over remarks by his friend and pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. These included local and regional issues, foreign policy, social issues like sexuality, access to guns, flag-burning, draft protests, and so on. Capitalism rolled along, in part, because both parties functioned as alternative cheerleaders for it, treating it as beyond criticism.

Recent political gridlock , shutdowns , etc suggest a "new normal" has arrived. Political combat between the parties has become more intense and intractable, because capitalism has changed since the s. By then, the post second world war boom in western Europe, north America and Japan — and also anxieties about the USSR, China, and their allies — had lofted real wages and government-funded social services far above their levels in capitalism's global hinterland, especially Asia, Africa and Latin America. Capitalists in western Europe, North America, and Japan were therefore eager to evade both the high wages and the taxes they faced.

Major technical breakthroughs at the time made evasion possible. The ubiquitous availability of jet travel made movement around the globe much easier, cheaper, and faster. Computer and telecommunications advances enabled enterprise headquarters to monitor, command and control production facilities anywhere on the planet.

It suddenly became practical to move production and distribution sites from locations of high wages and taxes, to locations of poverty and weak government. Sharp competitors led the way as, first, manufacturing and then, service jobs were increasingly "exported" or "outsourced". Laggards suffered and so learned the importance of following their more nimble competitors. Most Republicans and Democrats facilitated the process by endlessly promoting " free trade " and arguing that any constraints on free enterprises' relocations were unthinkable, inefficient and other synonyms for "really bad".

As more and more jobs left the US, and formerly prosperous cities and states entered long-term declines, the two parties blamed their favorite targets: The idea that capitalism and capitalists were the problem was something neither Democrats or Republicans allow into their debates and talking-points.