I’m attaching a link to an article that famed physicist Albert Einstein penned in 1949. With the topic of socialism entering the news cycle connected with the Sanders campaign, I thought it might make for interesting discussion.
monthlyreview.org/...
One paragraph in particular that I would like to highlight is as follows. Highlights are mine.
“Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.
1. The point about capital concentration seems pretty straight forward. We have had several noteworthy episodes of wealth concentration in American history (Gilded Age, Roaring 20’s) which have been modulated by progressive legislation under Teddy Roosevelt. We are currently experiencing the great concentration of wealth since the 1920’s and have greater wealth inequality than any other industrialized democracy.
fortune.com/...
2. The point about private capital effectively acquiring the legislature also seems relevant to today’s America. The recent viral Twitter video showing AOC role playing a “bad guy” in a congressional committee very clearly illustrates how corruption has now been largely sanctioned in the political system.
3. The point about the underprivileged being at a disadvantage has clearly been demonstrated by a 20 year Princeton study of several thousands legislative decisions which show that the US legislative product is biased in favor of the elite even when a majority of the population is in agreement on the alternative.
www.bbc.com/...
4. The last point about elite control of the media is demonstrated by the fact that 6 corporations controlled 90% of the TV, radio and print media just a few years ago. That’s dramatically lower than the 50 corporations it took to add up to 90% control in 1983.
www.businessinsider.com/…
Summary
After reading this, it seems like Einstein was an astute observer of capitalism and his views are very relevant to the condition of modern day America.
Historical precedent suggests that inequality levels can become unsustainable if they are too severe as they will result in social unrest.
I’m curious to hear people thoughts on the following questions.
1. Is the current level of inequality sustainable or will it inevitably result in a breakdown of the economy and social norms?
2. What approaches to resolving inequality would you recommend? Do you believe that more socialistic policy such as MFA, free college, increased min wage, etc. is part of the solution?
3. The following is an example of a US News ranking of countries based upon quality of life. The US is not in the top 10. Should the US aspire to be on this list?
www.usnews.com/...
Comments are closed on this story.