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Seems the government system and economic system are inextricably tied, hence lobbyists, subsidies, trade agreements, tariffs, institutions that push bills like the American Legislative Exchange Council, or different cities' respective Business Alliances, or global economic institutions which dictate policy such as the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.
The profit motive is a huge motivator for decision-making in businesses and government, often at the detriment of the well-being of life. For example planned obsolescence is more profitable than producing good quality objects because people have to repeatedly purchase something after it breaks. The stock market investors demand from the companies they have stocks in to maximize profit, but they ignore long-term effects, which is what a long-lasting and healthy economy would focus on. So companies make destructive choices for short-term profit which push enormous costs down the road.
Concerning alienation or isolation, since the existence of the commons pre-capitalist economy, publicly held and shared things and places where people originally gathered and worked together on, have been partitioned and privatized by government for businesses. There's not many public places where people gather anymore, and often public gatherings are discouraged through bureaucratic permitting processes or even threatened by law enforcement. Its a contestation of acceptable use of public (and private) space. With private space only the private-owners, which could be an abstract entity, dictate correct use, even choosing to exclude a huge swath of the population in favor of a minuscule wealthy elite that has exclusive access.
Further, take a look at the suburbs, which have no public gathering places, but only dispersed homes, and intermittent shopping centers. Even innercity has increasing limitations of places to gather and things to do together with others. Through the internet and mass communication people can interact quicker and easier, but the interactions occur with a separation of placetime. Sure people interact along cultural lines such as common hobbies they do together, or at old institutions such as church and school, but access to these institutions still largely depend on wealth, to pay for school, to afford to live in the area of the school or church, to afford to travel wherever.
For the hella poor, living on the streets, the city spends alot of money to force them from place to place with law enforcement, and if they gather somewhere to establish a self-governing encampment of sorts (because its easier to survive that way), then they are dispersed by law enforcement at the urging of the local business alliance. That's why the business alliances try to pass laws like the Sit/Lie ordinance which makes it illegal for the hella poor to be on sidewalks near businesses. Sidewalks are public spaces mind you. From where I'm at the local judicial deemed the Sit/Lie Ordinance illegal, but similar variations are pushed by the wealthy elite against the hella poor.
I'm curious to hear your responses. Thanks for reading this. |
