Things really are falling apart. Our Captains of Industry know that profit maximization at all costs paves the way to a better future for us all. By putting Capital into the hands of the wealthy we will fuel economic prosperity across class lines by creating jobs. Removing the burden of regulation we can lead the way to a new economic paradigm in which the rising economic tide lifts all boats. To staunch the growing international debt/credit crisis social safety nets need to be pared. The many must belt tighten; even suffer a bit, if but for their own good. The rightness of these beliefs are self-evident, even filtered through third hand delivery systems tracing back to the great thinkers who lay prone in the bell towers of the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute, as they adjust their scopes on their oblivious targets, bustling about on the quad below.
Those targets have other things to worry about. Food, clothing, and shelter to be sure, but so much more. They’re feeling more adrift these days, lost at sea, and with no search and rescue operation proposed, let alone mounted, their increasing sense of powerlessness begins to intrude. Their Hope dissipates like morning fog before these bright ideas. It’s a catchy concept. An increasingly scratchy concept. A fools errand. There will be poor always.
Meanwhile our captains are lifting foreign workers out of their poverty, providing jobs, feeding their families, providing goods and services to the next emerging market, raising mankind. They’ve suffered some minor setbacks lately. Plant explosions for one, and BTW, worker suicides are up. Working conditions are beside the point. These kamakazi workers are merely trying to cash in on the deep pockets of their employers. Diving from company rooftops to oblivion never looked so inviting, when hope has faded. These free-loaders are merely cashing in. The obvious solution is to install “suicide nets” in strategic places. Then have worker-bees sign anti-suicide pacts with the company. Always think PR. Control the press, spin the discussion, and the collective amnesia of the masses will do the rest. Above all keep the production lines operating. If things continue to fall apart, we’ll move operations to an even more bereft corner of the world, where they’ll open their hearts and minds to the magic of our Capital.
In some ways it’s easier to accomplish now. That sense of desperation can swing both ways. It can work for us captain, or it can swing the other way. Jobs. Carrot? Or Stick? No matter. When they're hungry and cold they’ll see the logic. Docility can come from desperation or from hunger. Weak body, weak mind. You get the picture. I think we can make this work. As long as things don’t continue to fall apart. As long as all we captains stick together. Stick to the script. Deserters will be shot.
This essay was written in response to a discussion I had last night with an expat businessman who thought parroting the rhetoric of Heritage and Cato, (even filtered through his third generation sources), is the balm the nation and the world needs now, if only the blind would see, and the deaf open their ears. My thinking is further influenced by Matthew Stoller’s excellent essay. In Stoller’s own closing words:
“One day a chunk of the elites will break away from this consensus, as the system experiences a breakdown that is so severe it threatens the interests of a powerful constituency group. For now, we will be watching the embers.”
Cross-posted at my blog.