The Capitalism Papers : Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System PDF
Preview The Capitalism Papers : Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System
THE CAPITALISM PAPERS THE CAPITALISM PAPERS Fatal Flaws of an Obsolete System JERRY MANDER COUNTERPOINT B E R K E L E Y Copyright © Jerry Mander 2012 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Interior design by David Bullen Cover design by Michel Vrana Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data is available ISBN 978-1-61902-218-8 COUNTERPOINT 1919 Fifth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 www.counterpointpress.com Distributed by Publishers Group West 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to the memory of my friend and colleague Edward (Teddy) Goldsmith, visionary, activist, compassionate inspirational leader, and the most charming, inclusive, kindest, and entertaining man I ever met. He knew everything in this book long before I did. Table of Contents PART ONE: INTRODUCTION I. Economic Succession THE MISSING LINK THE “C”-WORD THIS BOOK Disclaimer Structural Arguments II. Growing Up Global A NEW WORLD ORDER FROM YONKERS TO WHARTON NEW DAWN FOR BUSINESS ROBERT MCNAMARA, ENFORCER FORTY YEARS LATER III. The Copenhagen Conundrum CARBON DEBT COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA THE CANCÚN CONUNDRUM THE MORALES CONUNDRUM PART TWO: THE FATAL FLAWS OF CAPITALISM IV. Intrinsic Amorality & Corporate Schizophrenia IS GREED GOOD? EVERYDAY LIFE IN ADVERTISING ARE CORPORATIONS PEOPLE? CORPORATIONS ARE MACHINES V. Intrinsic Inequities of Corporate Structure EIGHT INTRINSIC INEQUITIES OF CORPORATE STRUCTURE 1. Profits from Business Operation 2. Profits from Capitalization of the Public Commons 3. CEO Megasalaries & Bonuses 4. Stock Payments & Dividends 5. Invested Earnings: The Multiplier Effect 6. Wage Repression of Employees 7. The “Worker Productivity” Scam 8. Cashing Out: The Sale of Company Assets THE ILLUSION OF CORPORATE “EFFICIENCY” VI. Endless Growth on a Finite Planet ECOSYSTEM INTO ECONOMY Gross Domestic Product (GDP) What’s Left Out of GDP? Virtual Growth “PLANETARY BOUNDARIES” Resource Shrinkage on a Finite Planet Financial Speculation in Food Supplies Privatization of Water Peak Species & Peak Beauty EARTH ISLAND FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS VII. Searching for Growth: Desperate Measures SEVEN EXPLORATIONS IN GROWING GROWTH 1. Shifting from Real Growth to Virtual 2. Creating “New Resources”—Privatizing the Commons 3. Expanding the Military Economy 4. Green Capitalism 5. Search for Green Energy 6. Creative Destruction 7. Techno-Utopianism & New Nature VIII. Propensity Toward War WAR AS ECONOMIC STRATEGY THE STEALTH ECONOMY DOING THE NUMBERS COMMERCIAL ARMS TRADE MILITARY KEYNESIANISM F-35 Lightning II Fighter: $325 billion (Lockheed Martin Corporation) Gerald Ford–Class Supercarrier: $120 billion (Northrop Grumman Corporation) Future Combat System: $340 billion (Boeing and SAIC) Littoral Combat Ship: $38 billion (Austal USA and Lockheed Martin) U.S. MILITARY BASES Asia Pacific Western Europe Middle East Africa South America FOCUS ON THE PACIFIC “COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE” OF WAR IX. Privatization of Democracy RULE BY THE RICH DOING THE NUMBERS WHAT IS A BILLION DOLLARS? THE “PROBLEM” OF SURPLUS CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN GOVERNMENT POLITICIANS FOR SALE KOCH BROTHERS: ROLE MODELS FOR NEOFEUDAL EXPRESSION DEMOCRACY? X. Privatization of Consciousness WHO NEEDS ADVERTISING? LIVING INSIDE MEDIA Advertising to Children Global Reach THE POWERS OF RECEIVED IMAGES Are You Immune? Is Television Real? “Truth” in Advertising Virtual Reality GLOBAL CONTROL AOL–Time Warner Disney The News Corporation CRISIS POINT XI. Capitalism or Happiness LAISSEZ-FAIRE DOING THE NUMBERS CONSEQUENCES OF INEQUITY ECONOMICS OF HAPPINESS SUFFICIENCY SUMMARIES & AFTERTHOUGHTS PART THREE: EPILOGUE XII. Which Way Out? FOUR MEGASHIFTS TOWARD A NEW ECONOMICS 1. Nature Comes First 2. The Primacy of Scale: Not Globalization, Localization 3. Experiments in Corporate Values and Structure 4. Hybrid Economics UNCHARTED TERRITORY Bibliography Organizations Acknowledgments
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