I for one am sick and tired of living in this fake capitalism. Since 2008 we have been living in a ridiculously convoluted world where we have been wagging the dog by its tail. Here are some examples:
1. The economy is terrible and demand from 99% of consumers has been truly destroyed - yet profit margins are up and companies have reported record profits due to low interest rates, lay-offs lack of salary increases, channel stuffing and cash hoarding
2. None of these low interest rates have been passed on to the real economy - y'know, the one that creates wealth and generates innovative ideas for future generations. All we seem to care about is keeping fake money in a system which is desperate to deflate so we can pass it around in a carousel and reward ourselves with a pat on the back for "generating" a profit.
3. China is continually lying about its progress and failing to actually implement demand led changes that would allow its society to grow more affluent. This is mainly because the ruling parties are terrified of losing control once the population has enough time and money to escape the tight rule of fake laws for the poor.
4. US Congress is continually doing nothing whilst waiting for the US economy to fall of its inevitable fiscal cliff. There will be one because mathematics, unlike humans, can't lie forever. Again, it seems better to do nothing so you don't get blamed than to try and fail. I always thought trying and failing was the cornerstone of American culture - it seems they have been subverted by the 1% of the population who are perfectly happy with the inequality that exists.
5. Europe is in a constant state of bailing itself out. Every 3 months the same countries receive a bail out from themselves! Again, its obvious this doesn't lead to anything that generates value - but I think a certain part of the baby boomer population just wants to get to retirement so its not their problem any more - hence the constant requirement to keep the system going at all costs on 3 month intervals.
We're all pretty tired of trying to make sense of a world that doesn't make sense. Capitalism kind of died in 2008. Its historic aim - to generate future wealth by investing older people's supply of capital in younger people's ideas to generate demand seems to have been completely disrupted.
On the news, talking heads still discuss everything as if this is a momentary blip suggesting "in a few years time when we are back on the road to growth...." things will be different". How long before people realise that this system, set-up only one generation ago, clearly isn't fit for multiple generations in a globalised world? We now have immediate information transparency through social media, constant global travel and automated computer driven productivity. These things break the models of the past. For instance, imagine a world where we could generate energy for free - it would totally destroy this economic model currently build on raw material wealth. As we work out more ways of implementing our energies in a more efficient manner we destroy the society construct we created in the Bretton woods agreement. This kind of thinking reminds me of the future in the HG Wells book, The Time Machine. Set in the far off distant future where a small minority of humans are looked after with food and leisure time by an underclass that simply maintains them like cattle as they toil underground committed to the labour system we have today. They slaughter the humans as their food source but provide them with humane grazing conditions - at least its organic produce! Unless we sit down as a human race and discuss our long term future requirements we will never reform this economic mess.
We are clearly not meant to live as long as we do now. Where is the discussion on Euthanasia for the elderly or chronic pain sufferers? We are not able to sustain the levels of immigration into Europe and US borders via Eastern Europe and Mexico. Where are the conversations about building up these economies so there is less mass migration? We obviously cannot continue to expect constant world growth above population growth. Where are the new economic models to discuss tax havens and successive increases in money supply which dilute the purchasing power of everyone?
We are clearly not meant to live as long as we do now. Where is the discussion on Euthanasia for the elderly or chronic pain sufferers? We are not able to sustain the levels of immigration into Europe and US borders via Eastern Europe and Mexico. Where are the conversations about building up these economies so there is less mass migration? We obviously cannot continue to expect constant world growth above population growth. Where are the new economic models to discuss tax havens and successive increases in money supply which dilute the purchasing power of everyone?
I'm sure the human race will continue but we do make these things painfully difficult for ourselves. Whilst this zombie economy keeps going millions will go hungry; lose sleep; and lose the essence of living life whilst they worry about their futures.
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