Where are we heading 2.0: The economy, our political state and you on a daily basis.
Some people may say...politics does not affect me, they talk and talk, but nothing they ever do will change my daily routine, how I think or more importantly how I choose to live my life. While much of this may seem generally true, the reality is not so.
Our current state of political affairs is revolving around the capitalist market and what role our political institutions play with in it, as well as outside of it.
As I have mentioned in previous blogs, our government is vital to society as it both relies on our society as well as allows it to exist. I understand this may seem very confusing and rightly so, but when you understand how a society forms and for what reasons, the answer becomes more clear. Humans come together because we are social beings and evolution has shown that in a group we stand a higher chance of survival as opposed to going it alone. This mind you, only covers the general aspects of what we know as society. There are other examples where going it alone can prove beneficial, but that is best left for another discussion.
Our current row of issues consist of the deficit our country and many others are accruing and the major problems that are springing up as a result. The Canadian government is currently telling the world that our financial foundation is firm and we are going to come out of this with little trouble. Our government says this confidently while other global giants such as China and The United States of America struggle to maintain their status quo, let alone envision further profit. I see this and the tension that rightly so becomes a reality as a result and I think of how these Mega-Conflicts (Mega-Conflicts are defined as conflicts that occur between civilization and countries) affect and stem from the everyday life we live and our actions.
Could it be that the push we see coming from all angles to buy, buy, buy coupled in with the decreasing amount of good stable jobs has put us in this position? Times have become so bad and the banking corporations have become so imbedded with the governments of the world that when we find ourselves without any physical money in our hands, our bank smiles and offers us a piece of plastic with credit to help us spend more! Does anyone see the hypocrisy and irony in this aside from me? I know many of you understand this and probably feel something is really wrong, but what I see here is a micro issue that affects our daily living, which has grown so large that even governments feel intense pressure because of it. Somehow, the mentality to spend and rely on credit has gone up throughout the ranks to even the highest and more important parts of our existence and social and political structure.
And what do the economists suggest we do to resolve the problem? Spend our way out of it with government bail outs!!!!!
So...lets add up the facts and see where we stand. We have Capitalism, which has heavily relied on Democracy since it's creation to prosper and remain free, all the while Socialism and other forms of social welfare have been lamented as evil. Now, we have highly privatized institutions that in 2008 failed and received government funding to survive, once again having issues of the same caliber and relying on more government stimulus to continue on. What we have come to now is not the end of Capitalism per say, but the evolution that so greatly needed to happen. Our system and our way of life has finally hit that big wall and unfortunately we do not seem equipped to scale it and continue on. We need some kind of change that will not only allow Capitalism to occur, but also ensure that it's survival is not at the expense of millions of people who have now become displaced from the middle class and rest among the lower classes of our society.
In an effort to avoid becoming "that guy" who always talks about change, but does nothing to inspire it...I have come up with a solution to our current problems this coming change has.
What will we call the evolution that occurs with Capitalism? In response, I can only say that we are entering the new age of Social Capitalist Democracy. Social Capitalist Democracy will be one where the state will step in ensure that jobs remain when these big companies have problems, however with added measures to ensure proper regulations are kept up with and penalties are issued for actions that put the stability of our system into jeopardy. Socialized institutions are no longer needed as regulations and empowerment to the worker will allow business to continue on in a more conscious and sustainable manner.
Gone are the days where we spend without truly knowing how much our actions are going to cost and where our money is going to come from. The average consumer needs to become more conscious with their purchases and have more confidence in not only themselves, but the system they live within. You cannot say that spending less will equate better living, when the path that leads to cheaper products disregards the safety and well being of other people and disrupts the balance we have with out planet. Not to mention, our society has got to let go of this mentality where cheaper products that are disposable are better, when in reality they are not and only leave us in a position where people now rely on cheaper paying jobs because of the demand of cheap items.
The circle of Social Capitalist Democracy relies on conscious well constructed items that can be purchased by a conscious and well placed middle class/society. If people are paid a decent wage that allows them to have a house, go to school and have spending money, then they will buy items also made by others who have similar jobs and will pay more for them if they understand that the item will last and give them an enjoyable experience.
More so, corporations can ease up on this dangerous game they play to increase profits by the largest amount possible. If a CEO starts focusing their attention on the consumer, worker and government as opposed to the board of directors, this change might be allowed to occur. A good work force and an educated and well placed consumer will always spell success for a company's product. In order to achieve this though we need the proper political reinforcement as well as the right business mentality that avoids treating the worker as an object and puts more emphasis on allowing the worker to become apart of the company as an educated member.
I could go on forever with more examples, but I would more importantly like to know what you think about this. How is our system doing and does our direction seem right? Where do you see society going and why?
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Capitalism and You: Riots and Public Unrest
Its Saturday August 13th and the world is burning up in the FLAMES OF UNREST!!!! ....or so the media made us think with the market tumbling and a flurry of rioting going on in London.
After watching the coverage provided by various news agencies over the past few days, I was able to get a glimpse at how these people make their money and sell their papers, I mean we all have to put food on the table and catching your attention does just that when it comes to the world, you and the potential paper your going to pick up to read about it.
I was also given the chance to see how one sided our news coverage can really be. I mean, do not get me wrong, there is always two sides to each story, but what I often referred to as news was becoming pictures on the television showing groups of young white men and visible minorities tagged as Anarchists and thugs vandalizing the streets. I understand that of the many riots that occurred there were individuals out for the chance to cause some major damage, but I found myself lacking in answers as to why the riots had begun or why they had grown so large.
Watching the CBC, I was able to get a few points that attempted to explain this. Upon hearing that the government gave the army and about 16,000 police officers the chance to walk the streets, I just thought in my head...okay, that seems like a good solution to the effects of the rioting and the symptoms of the problem, but how will that fix the root cause to all of this public unrest. There were even examples made referring the Vancouver riots that occurred following the Canucks loss and some attempt was made to try and understand the mob mentality for both examples.
I look at the riots and the uncertainty in the world with the markets and I see many connections that could very well link both issues. People are struggling at the moment, income is down and falling in many cases for the middle class and lower class, while the cost of living continues to grow with the gap between the rich and the poor. The CBC characterized this as the gap between the have and have nots, but I find this title offensive. Why should someone who does not possess a large sum of money in their bank be considered a have not, especially in a system where the rich are given many advantages over the poor.
Capitalism requires you to spend in order for it to survive, we are taught since birth to spend and work for money, to treat money as the most all and foundation of our lives. It comes as no surprise to me when I see youth causing trouble in response to the greatest Capitalist a country has....the government.
What made this rioting even more special was the method of communication that was utilized...facebook, twitter and bbm. What we have witnessed here people is the further evolution of our society and the lack of modernity of our governments. Maybe it is time that our government embraces the internet in a fashion more catered to the youth and younger class of people. We see the internet as a free range zone where ideas and beliefs (both good and bad) can exist free of censorship, why can we not see our governments taking advantage of this amazing source to reach out to us in a more friendlier manner? All I saw on the news was an attempt to censor the use of social networking as a solution to the riots, when this A) defies natural human rights and B) would only incite more violence.
How do you feel about our current state of affairs? I know the world has always had rough patches and on a daily basis appears near the brink of disaster, but I feel there is always hope and guidance with proper direction and education. Do you feel our government has some catching up to do in order to not only better serve us, but conduct it's business?
After watching the coverage provided by various news agencies over the past few days, I was able to get a glimpse at how these people make their money and sell their papers, I mean we all have to put food on the table and catching your attention does just that when it comes to the world, you and the potential paper your going to pick up to read about it.
I was also given the chance to see how one sided our news coverage can really be. I mean, do not get me wrong, there is always two sides to each story, but what I often referred to as news was becoming pictures on the television showing groups of young white men and visible minorities tagged as Anarchists and thugs vandalizing the streets. I understand that of the many riots that occurred there were individuals out for the chance to cause some major damage, but I found myself lacking in answers as to why the riots had begun or why they had grown so large.
Watching the CBC, I was able to get a few points that attempted to explain this. Upon hearing that the government gave the army and about 16,000 police officers the chance to walk the streets, I just thought in my head...okay, that seems like a good solution to the effects of the rioting and the symptoms of the problem, but how will that fix the root cause to all of this public unrest. There were even examples made referring the Vancouver riots that occurred following the Canucks loss and some attempt was made to try and understand the mob mentality for both examples.
I look at the riots and the uncertainty in the world with the markets and I see many connections that could very well link both issues. People are struggling at the moment, income is down and falling in many cases for the middle class and lower class, while the cost of living continues to grow with the gap between the rich and the poor. The CBC characterized this as the gap between the have and have nots, but I find this title offensive. Why should someone who does not possess a large sum of money in their bank be considered a have not, especially in a system where the rich are given many advantages over the poor.
Capitalism requires you to spend in order for it to survive, we are taught since birth to spend and work for money, to treat money as the most all and foundation of our lives. It comes as no surprise to me when I see youth causing trouble in response to the greatest Capitalist a country has....the government.
What made this rioting even more special was the method of communication that was utilized...facebook, twitter and bbm. What we have witnessed here people is the further evolution of our society and the lack of modernity of our governments. Maybe it is time that our government embraces the internet in a fashion more catered to the youth and younger class of people. We see the internet as a free range zone where ideas and beliefs (both good and bad) can exist free of censorship, why can we not see our governments taking advantage of this amazing source to reach out to us in a more friendlier manner? All I saw on the news was an attempt to censor the use of social networking as a solution to the riots, when this A) defies natural human rights and B) would only incite more violence.
How do you feel about our current state of affairs? I know the world has always had rough patches and on a daily basis appears near the brink of disaster, but I feel there is always hope and guidance with proper direction and education. Do you feel our government has some catching up to do in order to not only better serve us, but conduct it's business?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
A Summary of July--Politics and History
Hello Everyone,
Again, it has been a while since I have last made a posting, but summer has taken my attention to the outdoors and the local community. I have still kept my eye on important political events though and am amazed by the recent events over the month of July.
Where to begin? The Americans have made headlines with the end of their shuttle program and the looming default crisis that almost became a reality. It seemed like usual with American media that the world sat on the brink of destruction, while the majority of people stood helpless to watch as the government argued over a decision that could change the country forever.
One quote that stood out from President Obama: "Our country has a AAA credit rating, but what our country and the American people need is a AAA political system."
It seems like the entire world has rapidly changed over the past few months. Among this change we have witnessed a revolution in the middle east, something I do not believe anyone saw coming, but nevertheless has made the Americans happy. The market has fluctuated more and more among job losses and regime changes within major corporations and unfortunately we have seen what can happen when an organization with to much power abuses it as the Murdoch coverage and News of the World have shown us.
I am happy to be alive to witness this change and history making occur, but I feel as if we are all missing something very important that is standing right in front of us screaming for our attention. Among all of this change and self liberation I thought that I would see people becoming more united and happy with life, but all I seem to witness is anger and resentment being shown by many. Granted the recession is long from over and everyone is suffering, but it is important that we all work together to weather the effects of a recession as best that we can.
Anyways, I promise to have more exciting news for my next post and I hope this has sparked some excitement in you...we live in exciting times and are witnessing history being made everyday.
Stay well!
Again, it has been a while since I have last made a posting, but summer has taken my attention to the outdoors and the local community. I have still kept my eye on important political events though and am amazed by the recent events over the month of July.
Where to begin? The Americans have made headlines with the end of their shuttle program and the looming default crisis that almost became a reality. It seemed like usual with American media that the world sat on the brink of destruction, while the majority of people stood helpless to watch as the government argued over a decision that could change the country forever.
One quote that stood out from President Obama: "Our country has a AAA credit rating, but what our country and the American people need is a AAA political system."
It seems like the entire world has rapidly changed over the past few months. Among this change we have witnessed a revolution in the middle east, something I do not believe anyone saw coming, but nevertheless has made the Americans happy. The market has fluctuated more and more among job losses and regime changes within major corporations and unfortunately we have seen what can happen when an organization with to much power abuses it as the Murdoch coverage and News of the World have shown us.
I am happy to be alive to witness this change and history making occur, but I feel as if we are all missing something very important that is standing right in front of us screaming for our attention. Among all of this change and self liberation I thought that I would see people becoming more united and happy with life, but all I seem to witness is anger and resentment being shown by many. Granted the recession is long from over and everyone is suffering, but it is important that we all work together to weather the effects of a recession as best that we can.
Anyways, I promise to have more exciting news for my next post and I hope this has sparked some excitement in you...we live in exciting times and are witnessing history being made everyday.
Stay well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)