Allow me to first qualify that title post. Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin are not in their graves. Really, they are elsewhere (I do not know where as I am not their final judge). Nevertheless, the figure of speech applies that they are "laughing in their graves" because of what is happening to America right now.
After all the tension during the Cold War, the destruction of America did not have to come by way of a Soviet nuclear bomb. All that was necessary was to allow Americans a decadent lifestyle and see the economy self destruct.
Now, the government is making moves to bailout the troubled financial institutions. Did I hear it right? The US taxpayers are to pay for the blunders and wrong decisions of bozos in corporate attire on Wall Street. The same guys who made what I call "artificial money" chargeable to the taxpayers real hard earned money. These so called Ivy League guys and smarties of Wall Street ought to be prosecuted for being reckless with their decisions and consequently having the general public to pay all the damage.
So now I hear Karl Marx whispering to Lenin, "They should have read your "Materialism and Empirio-criticism" and tried communism in the first place".
On this note, I just have to say, I am not a political scientist or an economist. Being the non-conformist that I am, I'm just the person who always likes to view things from the other side of the fence.
Hmmm.... my prof always tried to make the point that Marx and Lenin believed in completely different things.
ReplyDeleteBut what the hey, these are interesting times, the lack of substance of the American economy, speculation fueled by greed, has finally caught up with them, something some economists had predicted, but which everyone else thought would never happen.
True. Both ran to different directions on the pole but there were always points of convergence.
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks for reminding me of Marx-Lenin. Gotta execute the assignment, hehe!!! :D
ReplyDeleteMarx is more of the economic theories while Lenin tried to adjust the Marxist theories in Russia since the country itself is not an industrial power as Marx would have suggested for a state to convert to socialism (after that would be communism).
The basis of the communist rebels of the Philippine islands is more Maoist-Leninist that Marxist itself I think.
And some analysts say, "Welcome to the United Soviet States of America," hehe!!! :D
ReplyDelete...and we passionately read their books, listen to their speeches, and sometimes glorify ;)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, could it be the possibility that Marx's dreams are fulfilling? Remember that it only takes a "thesis" and an "anti-thesis" to attain a different level of civilization or "synthesis."
ReplyDeleteLloyd,
ReplyDeleteLet's not get too far ahead of ourselves. First, America has not been destroyed. It did not follow the path of the USSR wherein the economic situation was the same as the US Depression in the 1920's and it had been ongoing for at least close to a decade until it melted down in 1989. What's happening now is a mix of corporate greed and congressional apathy. When laws started to be passed earlier in this new century, it was to relax the credit requirements of people who are not usually able to qualify for mortgages. The federal government started FANNIE MAE and FREDDIE MAC around 1998 to guarantee those loans that would otherwise not be funded. Now, many in the mortgage business saw the opportunity to make money when interest rates went down resulting in high demand for homes, which in turn resulted in higher home prices, thus mortgages were bigger compared to the previous decade. When interest rates went up, home demand went down, most people with adjustable rate mortgages or interest only mortgages had to pay huge sums monthly on their mortgage. This led to many defaulting on their mortgages thus, in a nutshell, this is what's happening right now. The US economy is far from going straight into a depression because of the protections established after the 1920 stock market crash, i.e. there's a more efficient central bank, more money supply, and government has the ability to infuse cash into the system if needed. So, in the end, capitalism still wins over communism aka Marxism. Just look at China, they have a communist political doctrine but had to fashion their economy on capitalism to avoid the same fate as the USSR. That's what Marx and Lenin should have done, and that's the real reason why they should be "squirming in their graves." Hahaha.
Yes of course. Redemption is around the corner. My post is just a quick "shaker-upper" to inject an uncommon view. It is not at all a treatise on politics nor economy...purely anecdotal if I should say.
ReplyDeleteBut it's good that the post engaged you to give us a first hand point of view :-)
I say the world is just too complicated. Thats going to be our downfall
ReplyDelete