Capitalism's Bigger Problem-Michael Lerner's Critique of Bernie's Argument

[jalan48]

How do the majority of Americans feel about themselves? How do they view their relationships with others-co-workers, friends and family? Are the relationships based on trust, on a sense of everyone working for the common good? Or are they, by and large, based on a belief that one has to get as much out of their interactions with others as they can? That the idea of profit isn't something confined to material products but has spread in our society to include relationships with others. He argues Bernie hasn't taken his argument against the current economic system far enough,

"What he fails to do is help the rest of the American public understanding that some of their biggest heartaches are also tied to capitalism–not because it doesn’t give them enough economic returns or the ability to consume more, but because it promotes values that are destructive to human relationships and families , popularizes an ethos of “looking out for number one” and popularizes materialism and self-destructive self-blaming."

"It’s hard for professionals and the upper middle class to believe this, but most people spend most of their awake hours each work day doing work that feels meaningless and unfulfilling. They quickly learn that their sole value in the marketplace is the degree to which they can contribute directly or indirectly to the old “bottom line” of money and power of those who own and manage the corporations, businesses and other institutions where they find employment. Moreover, they learn that those who are most successful are those who have learned best how to maximize their own advantage without regard to the well being of others in the work world outside their particular work unit, or the well being of those buying their goods or services."

We live within an economic framework that conditions our views of other people and the environment. Is this all there is? The exploitation of other people and our environment? And to what end? So we can buy more products? It's an empty existence that leads to the dystopia that many Americans see coming, especially the young ones. The American Dream isn't real, it's a fabrication.
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/04/this_speech_could_reignite_bernie_sanders_heres_the_argument_he_needs_to_make_about_capitalism/

[Wounded Bear]

1. K & R ......for visibility..

Good commentary on how our obsessions come back to bite us.

[Rebkeh]

2. It's hard to feel good as an American when EVERYTHING is transactional

This is a more than a campaign, it's a movement.

Good post, thanks.

[jalan48]

3. Thanks-the part about self-blaming makes a lot of sense to me.

Is there any wonder drug and alcohol abuse is rampant in our society.

[Rebkeh]

4. Me too

And violence, suicide, etc etc etc

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. I am convinced that every major problem we, and the world, suffer today...

economic policy at its core. We can't fix those problems as they are only the symptom. The disease is rampant greed and policy control at the top. That is the big picture and Bernie gets it.

[The2ndWheel]

8. The problems exist in our minds

Rampant greed and policy control at the top aren't symptoms?

Our abstract human imagination is the source. We think there is more to life, or that there should be more to life. Which is why we come up with rights, or religion, or economics, or whatever else. A kid not knowing how to read isn't an objective problem. That's a problem caused by human beings when we thought up these straight and curved lines that form what we call words. It's not like they exist somewhere out there, and we found them.

Human beings not having enough food to eat is not an objective problem. The climate changing is not an objective problem. People killing each other isn't an objective problem. They all exist as problems within the human mind, and that could be why they're so difficult to solve. Not to mention that we think everything has a solution. What is doesn't have to comply with what we want.

If the planet is finite, but the human imagination is essentially limitless, there's always going to be a conflict between the two.

[RufusTFirefly]

6. This is terrific. Thanks for posting!

I've long been a fan of Rabbi Lerner, but I haven't read anything by him in a long time. This is wonderful.

I don't think some people realize the extent to which our selfish economic system has infected our imaginations and corrupted the way we measure what's truly important in life.

[jalan48]

7. Thank you-I had him as a professor in college-he was amazing.

It's hard to see outside the system we live in. I think Bernie explains things in a way that enables people to do that-even if only briefly. Money and the diversion it buys are empty of meaning in the end. I remember when i was in the hospital and couldn't sleep-I turned on the TV and it hit me hard, how empty the infomercials and the re-runs of people shooting each other were. I just wanted to get well and go home. It was like a form of hell.

[Gregorian]

9. Good for Profits, Bad for Society

I just listened to this outstanding podcast. There are some amazing revelations in this talk. For example, if airlines companies had to pay for the costs to society for the things that are bad for society, like pollution, they might not even be able to function. The costs that capitalism ignores are very big. Wars are a capitalist venture, for America, and they too would not happen if costs had to be supported by those companies that are doing these things.

It's hard to get this message out. Having it in podcast form doesn't help. But for now it's the best we can do.

http://www.democracyatwork.info/eu_good_for_profits_bad_for_society?utm_campaign=030315_gdprofit&utm_medium=email&utm_source=democracyatwork

[Bernin4U]

10. Millennials are our future

They seem to get it. They want more from life than just to get ahead. To be the first on their block to put a Bentley in the driveway.

Which of course drives the older generations crazy. Who are these damn kids who choose art and music and creativity and love for each other over love of money?

For them, Bernie is a no-brainer. Getting them to show up at the polls may be another story.

For everyone else, I'm not so sure. Bernie can point out what the problems are, but getting people to connect the dots, and consider all the cultural implications may be a whole other thing.

Essentially it's asking people to accept the values of progressivism. If they don't get it already, is it really something Bernie should be expected to do single-handedly?

[jalan48]

11. I don't think he can do it single-handedly, he's said this himself.

It's just a different way of explaining what is wrong with our system. I don't think most people get it-they have no framework which helps them understand what is going on in their life, no way to explain why they feel the way they do about work, friends , themselves. We are like corks bobbing up and down in the water with no understanding of where we are or why. It's more than not having enough money to buy what other people have-it's questioning the need of why we have to do this. You're right-it's a big leap but one I think is necessary if things are going to change in a way that will deal with the really big issue of climate change.

[forjusticethunders]

12. All I want out of life

is to be able to pay for my needs, work at a job that is low stress and flexible, have a little left over for leisure, and take care of my future wife and my friends that need help.

I don't give a shit about having a big house, about having a lot of material possessions to show how "successful" I am, about having a nice car (I don't even have a car and I don't really want one, I wish our society was geared more towards public transport).

I never understood the NEED for half the stuff the upper middle class wants.

[Ivan Kaputski]

13. The American Dream ...you can only aquire it when you are ...dreaming.