Posted on 10/20/2009 6:47:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Jack Bogle published "The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism" four years ago. The battle's over. The sequel should be titled: "Capitalism Died a Lost Soul." Worse, we've lost "America's Soul." And worldwide the consequences will be catastrophic.
That's why a man like Hong Kong's contrarian economist Marc Faber warns in his Doom, Boom & Gloom Report: "The future will be a total disaster, with a collapse of our capitalistic system as we know it today."
No, not just another meltdown, another bear market recession like the one recently triggered by Wall Street's "too-greedy-to-fail" banks. Faber is warning that the entire system of capitalism will collapse. Get it? The engine driving the great "American Economic Empire" for 233 years will collapse, a total disaster, a destiny we created.
OK, deny it. But I'll bet you have a nagging feeling maybe he's right, the end may be near. I have for a long time: I wrote a column back in 1997: "Battling for the Soul of Wall Street." My interest in "The Soul" -- what Jung called the "collective unconscious" -- dates back to my Ph.D. dissertation: "Modern Man in Search of His Soul," a title borrowed from Jung's 1933 book, "Modern Man in Search of a Soul." This battle has been on my mind since my days at Morgan Stanley 30 years ago, witnessing the decline.
Has capitalism lost its soul? Guys like Bogle and Faber sense it. Read more about the soul in physicist Gary Zukav's "The Seat of the Soul," Thomas Moore's "Care of the Soul" and sacred texts.
But for Wall Street and American capitalism, use your gut. You know something's very wrong: A year ago "too-greedy-to-fail" banks were insolvent, in a near-death experience.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Capitalism is NOT dead, or dying. Move out of the way, reduce taxes, and watch how it works.
We need to create a virtual Galt’s Gulch.
Here are 20 reasons the author believes American Capitalism is on its way towards collapse ( SUMMARIZED ). If you want to read the full article and full reasons, click on the above link:
Here are the Top 20 reasons American capitalism has lost its soul:
1. Collapse is now inevitable
(NO REASON PROVIDED, Just the usual hash of gold souring and the dollar declining )
2. Nobody’s planning for a ‘Black Swan’
While the timing may be uncertain, the trigger is certain. Societies collapse because they fail to plan ahead, cannot act fast enough when a catastrophic crisis hits. Think “Black Swan” and read evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.”
3. Wall Street sacked Washington
Most of Wall Street went over to the dark side, got mega-greedy and took control of “Washington America.” Their spoils of war included bailouts, bankruptcies, stimulus, nationalizations and $23.7 trillion new debt off-loaded to the Treasury, Fed and American people.
4. When greed was legalized
( The fact that he mentions Michael Moore’s latest tirade against capitalism shows how off the wall he is )
5. Triggering the end of our ‘life cycle’
Like Diamond, Faber also sees the historical imperative:
Once a society becomes successful it becomes arrogant, righteous, overconfident, corrupt, and decadent ... overspends ... costly wars ... wealth inequity and social tensions increase; and society enters a secular decline.” Success makes us our own worst enemy.
6.
Wall Street wealth now calls the shots in Congress, the White House
7.
America’s top 1% own more than 90% of America’s wealth
8.
The average worker’s income has declined in three decades while CEO compensation exploded over ten times
9.
The Fed is now the ‘fourth branch of government’ operating autonomously, secretly printing money at will.
10.
Since Goldman and Morgan became bank holding companies, all banks are back gambling with taxpayer bailout money plus retail customer deposits
11.
Bill Gross warns of a “new normal” with slow growth, low earnings and stock prices
12.
While the White House’s chief economist retorts with hype of a recovery unimpeded by the “new normal”
13.
Wall Street’s high-frequency junkies make billions trading zombie stocks like AIG, FNMA, FMAC that have no fundamental value beyond a Treasury guarantee
14.
401(k)s have lost 26.7% of their value in the past decade
15.
Oil and energy costs will skyrocket
16.
Foreign nations and sovereign funds have started dumping dollars, signaling the end of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency
17.
In two years federal debt exploded from $11.2 to $23.7 trillion
18.
New financial reforms will do little to prevent the next meltdown
19.
The “forever war” between Western and Islamic fundamentalists will widen
20.
As will environmental threats and unfunded entitlements
Exactly.
Capitalism will make a big comeback once we get a new president who is NOT a communist.
Sad to say the people in charge....Obama regime, are rooting for this. Would just be thrilled!
That is a classic example of govt getting in the way...
GETTING IN THE WAY?? Yes, in a way. Free these businesses to make ‘sound’ business deals without feds intervention.
“Capitalism will make a big comeback once we get a new president who is NOT a communist.”
If we can wait that long.
Don’t expect the GOP to run anyone who fits that description.
Look at some old movies and music videos and compare to what passes for entertainment now and there is no room for doubt that we have fallen into a hole. In the “racial hell” of the 1950s we had Louis Armstrong and Nat “King” Cole in “post-racial” America we have Kanye West. This ain’t progress folks!
“I gather that this also means to allow them to go bankrupt as a result of their stupid business decisions no matter how big they are ( which of course will result in even greater MASS LAYOFFS )”
Yep
The author mentions ‘uncontrolled greed’ exhibited by Wall Street.
However,he fails to mention the ‘extreme class envy’ by those who leech off,in the name of entitlement and redistributed by the state in the name of economic justice , the wealth created by many others in the free market system.
Both are quite evil.
RE: YEP
You mean allowing major banks to fail resulting in mass bank runs and deposits of ordinary citizens to be held WITHOUT government intervening is a good thing ?
America's enemies are now at the helm of state, and have thrown off all pretense about their intentions, which includes destruction of the American currency, destruction of the American (and world) economy, and destruction of The American Dream and concomitant loss of individual autonomy.
But hey! As the public school educated local yokel put it last November, “I'm votin’ fer change!”
Remember these days right here, right now, for in the not-too-distant future you'll look back on these “tranquil times” quite fondly as the period known as the Calm Before The Storm.
CA....
I think our decline as a nation has more to do with our spiritual decline. If a nation removes God from society then eventually there will be no more society.
Future historians will look back and conclude that Capitalism was killed in the late 1970’s, when avowed Marxist and Terrorist Bill Ayers did not go to prison for his violent activities, but rather was placed into a supreme position of influence within our education system. Three decades later the population was too ignorant and weak-minded to stand up to a full-frontal assault on the system that had provided for them all that they had.
Tough questions and it is not as easy to answer as saying, “Let’m fail.” I suggest targeting those people that need help, instead of poring money into these failing businesses. The housing crisis MUST be fixed by some entity, and the feds are the only entity that can step in to stem the bleeding. I guess my focus would be geared toward the individual rather than big business. If people are prosperous then business will follow.
Your #21 seems to be spot on.
Let’s see, we already have the radical Van Jones exposed for the commie that he is...
Now we have two of Obama’s “czars” declaring their admiration for Mao Tse Tung’s policies ( that killed tens of millions of people ). We also have Kevin Jennings, active member of radical gay group ACT-UP, who tells a 15 year old who had sex with a teacher -— he hoped he used a condom — instead of reporting the teacher, as School-safety Czar !!
We also know of his close association with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers ( who now confesses he helped write his book — DREAMS OF MY FATHER ). Did I fail to mention “God Damn America” Reverend Wright ?
What does that make of Obama’s personal sympathies and plans for this country ?
Unless there is a major overhaul of congress next year, I’m afraid this nation is on its pass towards destruction.
I disagree with a lot of the premise of this article, but WHAT HE LEFT UNMENTIONED will be a major contributor towards the path of destruction.
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