Always looking for a good fight from the Left, and too rarely finding same, I'm going to have to find a well-versed, articulate spokesperson to make their argument.
Guess it will have to be me.
Now...remember....this is the Leftist's view of economics, and the world in general.
Lefties.....see if you can deny it!
1. All of us are citizens of the world, and what happens in one nation affects all the others, and, therefore, the only way to get the right things done is by subordinating state sovereignty in favor of international law.
2. The subtext of that idea is that it is time for the power of the market to be handed over to the state. Look at China....see what state-run capitalism can achieve; capitalism doesn't require democracy.
a. India tried capitalism, and is the home of a third of the poorest people on the planet.
b. True, things have gotten better, and the proportion of the world's population that lived on a dollar a day has dropped dramatically....but that is due to globalization, not capitalism.
3. Imagine the nations of the world as a homeowner's association somewhere in America. The spectrum of indebtedness might run from zero debt and healthy bank balance, to some families barely hanging on by their fingernails, not sure how they'll afford groceries much less pay the mortgage.
Now...what happens if the poor family defaults on their mortgage because both parents got laid off, or had a catastrophic illness...foreclosure and eviction!
The house goes on the market...the bank doesn't want to be in the home ownership business, so it sells at a low price....Now, what happens to the value of the other homes in the development?
Everyone loses equity.
4. But, you say...is it the government's job to take money from one group and give it to another? Yup...we call it 'taxes.'
Or, the free-market assesses taxes in this way: when the foreclosed family doesn't pay its fees to the homeowners association, it raises fees on everyone else. They push those who have more to pay more!
5. The best thing for everyone would be rebalancing the economy, lessening economic inequality, and this would be social justice. Wipe out all debt!
Give everyone, and every nation, a chance to get rid of its debts, and start fresh.
6. Some might say that the housing crisis occurred because the government strong-armed banks into providing mortgages to people who didn't qualify. Perhaps...but people have a right to a place to live.
After all, rights should be what an enlightened government decides is best for everyone. While some say rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, how can one be happy without a place to live?
a. Shouldn't that include a job, an education, medical care, too?
The founding documents were written over two centuries ago, before the framers realized how complex society would become.
7. Now, once we start over, with everyone starting at the same place, the global economy would thrive! Of course, we'd need a universal set of rules, with redesigned international institutions, and international laws for all. Individual rights have to take a back seat for the good of everyone's collective rights.
8. The problem is largely the free-market view, complaints about government intervention and regulation, the flawed idea that capitalism works because people pursue their own self-interest, and need no checks on that self-interest, no accountability.
If asking society to invest in its citizens in order to make life better for them is socialism,...well, so be it.
After all...the terms 'socialism' and 'communism' are simply terms meant to demonize.
a. The interim phase between selfish capitalism and selfless communism is socialism. Yes, there is an element of authority, some may call it dictatorship, by an enlightened ruling class of elites who control the human environment in egalitarian terms in order that they may make life better for all.
9. This is about justice...about making life more equitable for all! How can anyone believe that life based on greed and self-interest is a good thing?
The majority of the above based on a lecture by a character....OK, the villain, in Brad Thor's novel "Full Black."
Seems like a fair exposition of the Leftist view,....doesn't it?
I can see that testosterone fist pump from our board-Leftists!!!
Guess it will have to be me.
Now...remember....this is the Leftist's view of economics, and the world in general.
Lefties.....see if you can deny it!
1. All of us are citizens of the world, and what happens in one nation affects all the others, and, therefore, the only way to get the right things done is by subordinating state sovereignty in favor of international law.
2. The subtext of that idea is that it is time for the power of the market to be handed over to the state. Look at China....see what state-run capitalism can achieve; capitalism doesn't require democracy.
a. India tried capitalism, and is the home of a third of the poorest people on the planet.
b. True, things have gotten better, and the proportion of the world's population that lived on a dollar a day has dropped dramatically....but that is due to globalization, not capitalism.
3. Imagine the nations of the world as a homeowner's association somewhere in America. The spectrum of indebtedness might run from zero debt and healthy bank balance, to some families barely hanging on by their fingernails, not sure how they'll afford groceries much less pay the mortgage.
Now...what happens if the poor family defaults on their mortgage because both parents got laid off, or had a catastrophic illness...foreclosure and eviction!
The house goes on the market...the bank doesn't want to be in the home ownership business, so it sells at a low price....Now, what happens to the value of the other homes in the development?
Everyone loses equity.
4. But, you say...is it the government's job to take money from one group and give it to another? Yup...we call it 'taxes.'
Or, the free-market assesses taxes in this way: when the foreclosed family doesn't pay its fees to the homeowners association, it raises fees on everyone else. They push those who have more to pay more!
5. The best thing for everyone would be rebalancing the economy, lessening economic inequality, and this would be social justice. Wipe out all debt!
Give everyone, and every nation, a chance to get rid of its debts, and start fresh.
6. Some might say that the housing crisis occurred because the government strong-armed banks into providing mortgages to people who didn't qualify. Perhaps...but people have a right to a place to live.
After all, rights should be what an enlightened government decides is best for everyone. While some say rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, how can one be happy without a place to live?
a. Shouldn't that include a job, an education, medical care, too?
The founding documents were written over two centuries ago, before the framers realized how complex society would become.
7. Now, once we start over, with everyone starting at the same place, the global economy would thrive! Of course, we'd need a universal set of rules, with redesigned international institutions, and international laws for all. Individual rights have to take a back seat for the good of everyone's collective rights.
8. The problem is largely the free-market view, complaints about government intervention and regulation, the flawed idea that capitalism works because people pursue their own self-interest, and need no checks on that self-interest, no accountability.
If asking society to invest in its citizens in order to make life better for them is socialism,...well, so be it.
After all...the terms 'socialism' and 'communism' are simply terms meant to demonize.
a. The interim phase between selfish capitalism and selfless communism is socialism. Yes, there is an element of authority, some may call it dictatorship, by an enlightened ruling class of elites who control the human environment in egalitarian terms in order that they may make life better for all.
9. This is about justice...about making life more equitable for all! How can anyone believe that life based on greed and self-interest is a good thing?
The majority of the above based on a lecture by a character....OK, the villain, in Brad Thor's novel "Full Black."
Seems like a fair exposition of the Leftist view,....doesn't it?
I can see that testosterone fist pump from our board-Leftists!!!
