Capitalism is dead.

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Wednesday May 20, 2009 · 12:34 PM PDT

2009/05/20 · 12:34

Once upon a time there was a vast swath of land that, aside from the Natives and other beings that lived in it, could be had for the taking.

This was the philosophy of those who had come to the Americas from Europe, and implemented Manifest Destiny, a philosophy which colonized what we now call the United States, on the backs of a hundred different indigenous tribes, and millions of people from Africa, brought here against their will.

The sort of thing which built up our country in the name of Manifest Destiny is no more; partly because we devised machines to replace the laborers/slaves, but also because we more or less have colonized every last bit of earth this continent had to offer.

Yet we continue to hold onto that Manifest Destiny dream: that dream of the cowboy, wrangling his lariat; the dream of never-ending resources and the constant reaching for new ones. The legacy of capitalism, which is, and always had been, built on an unending stream of capital, and cruel human labor.

It's a dream that was realized, and overshot, somewhere during the twentieth century. But it's a dream that has now evolved into nothing but a fantasy, one which our country still wishes to hold onto, ignoring the sorts of labor and blood that had been wept in its creation.

I think capitalism, and what it had always meant, has ceased to exist in our current world. There is no Manifest Destiny anymore, for there is nothing left to manifest upon: our resources are depleting, and there is nothing left to colonize, though we certainly try our best to implement slavery in other countries, to produce our cheap Wal-Mart goodies that mean nothing but which we feel we have a right to.

I think that we as a progressive society have turned against the very foundations of capitalism: of owning slaves, of subverting indigenous peoples, of laying waste to our environment in the name of reaching out for more, and more, and more.

Yet we still have that more-and-more philosophy; but what we need to ask is, is our asking worth it? Will we still demand capitalism, given its history, and the fact that what made capitalism work, doesn't exist anymore? And was atrocious, to begin with?

What is the true meaning of capitalism? I don't know; I'm not a scholar about such things. But I have to believe that capitalism is an idea that we cannot hold anymore, if we are truly progressive. The foundations of capitalism, really, have always been ugly, and if we are true progressives, we must turn our backs on that, and reach out for something else that isn't dependent upon the rape of resources, or the taking advantage of the citizens of this world.

This is just an opinion piece. I know you guys can fill in the gaps. Flame as you will.

Thanks for reading.

PS: Great conversations going on in the comments. Tune in just for that. :)

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