« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: The Normal Violence of Capitalism  (Read 4447 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline MrsSmith

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5977
  • Reputation: +466/-54
The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« on: September 27, 2009, 03:12:27 PM »
Quote
Joanne98  (1000+ posts)      Sun Sep-27-09 02:08 PM
Original message
The Normal Violence of Capitalism
 
Americans believe that the normal state of things is not-violence, and that is why they are shocked and appalled they see violent acts. The health care debate has revealed that violence is normal. Look at our own Mary and Ron McCurrin: forced into an unnecessary divorce to survive financially. Look at this study (.pdf), which tells us that being uninsured dramatically increases the risk of death, primarily from lack of treatment for chronic diseases. This isn’t an abstraction: recently a young woman died because, lacking insurance, she refused to go to the doctor when she had swine flu and pneumonia. This kind of systemic violence is normal in our system; it is killing people, and no one is accountable.

The financial crash reveals another side of normal capitalist violence. Millions of Americans lost jobs and millions more lost their savings either through direct theft or through the collapse of the stock market, and no one is held accountable.

Health care and the financial system are closer than they may seem. I recently went to the sentencing hearing for a man convicted of stealing millions from retirement plans. One by one the victims came to the podium to tell the Judge how they were affected by the loss. “I worked 35 years on the factory floor, and that was my retirement. I don’t know when I can retire, and I’m tired.” These people have lost years of their lives, just like many of our sick people.

Somehow we perceive this as shocking, not as the normal state of things. In fact, these examples are the direct consequences of the way we organize our society. Statutes and rules, court decisions, executive branch decisions, all interlock to create a system, and the outcomes are predictable results of the rational operation of that system. Slavoj Zizek discusses this in his book Violence. We think of the real economy as the system in which real people make real things for sale, and we think of financial speculation as a non-real abstraction, a parasite on the real system. In fact, the inexorable logic of speculation drives the productive sector. It is not an abstraction. It has rules, logic, and money, and people to operate with them, and it has real world impact. When the financial system fails, the productive sector suffers.

Therein resides the fundamental systemic violence of capitalism, much more uncanny than any direct pre-capitalist socio-ideological violence: this violence is no longer attributable to concrete individuals and their “evil” intentions, but is purely “objective,” systemic, anonymous

Continued>>.
http://firedoglake.com/2009/09/27/the-normal-violence-o...
 
:orly:  

It's sure nice to have such smart people explain the violence of our economic system!!!!11!!1!  :sarcasm:

 :thatsright: :mental:
« Last Edit: September 27, 2009, 03:14:58 PM by MrsSmith »
Logged
.
.

Antifa - the only fascists in America today.

Offline djones520

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4207
  • Reputation: +181/-146
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #1 on: September 27, 2009, 03:17:59 PM »
Joanne98 has without a doubt my vote for #1 DUmmie of the year.
Logged
"Chuck Norris once had sex in an 18 wheeler. Some of his semen dripped onto the engine. We now call that truck Optimus Prime."

Offline AllosaursRus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11672
  • Reputation: +424/-293
  • Skip Tracing by Contract Only!
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #2 on: September 27, 2009, 03:28:53 PM »
Yeah, right! No violence in socialism or communism, is there DUmbass? Difference I see in this article is a woman refused to go to the doc because she didn't want to have to pay for it. No one to blame but herself. For cryin' out loud, I would think my life is worth a little more than a trip to the doctor and a short stay in the hospital. What part about them NOT being able to refuse you, don't you get?
Logged
I'm the guy your mother warned you about!
 

Offline dandi

  • Live long, and piss off liberals.
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3341
  • Reputation: +553/-28
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #3 on: September 27, 2009, 03:37:52 PM »
Yes, capitalism is the most violent economic/political system...except for all the other types of systems that require violence from the state merely to keep them in place, i.e. socialism, communism.
Logged
I don't want...anybody else
When I think about me I touch myself

Online Carl

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 19871
  • Reputation: +1655/-100
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #4 on: September 27, 2009, 03:38:51 PM »
Wonder how DUmmies would like life in a real socialist/communist system.

Logged

Offline Chris

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1476
  • Reputation: +522/-16
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2009, 03:42:13 PM »
[youtube=425,350]dOOTKA0aGI0[/youtube]

For franksolich... Scene 3
Logged
This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58722
  • Reputation: +3102/-173
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2009, 03:48:37 PM »
Thank you, Chris, I appreciated the small kindness!
Logged
apres moi, le deluge

Milo Yiannopoulos "It has been obvious since 2016 that Trump carries an anointing of some kind. My American friends, are you so blind to reason, and deaf to Heaven? Can he do all this, and cannot get a crown? This man is your King. Coronate him, and watch every devil shriek, and every demon howl."

Offline dandi

  • Live long, and piss off liberals.
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3341
  • Reputation: +553/-28
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2009, 03:52:14 PM »
Quote from: djones520 on September 27, 2009, 03:17:59 PM
Joanne98 has without a doubt my vote for #1 DUmmie of the year.

I tried to argue with her once on another site. She has the IQ of a toenail fungus.
Logged
I don't want...anybody else
When I think about me I touch myself

Offline franksolich

  • Scourge of the Primitives
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 58722
  • Reputation: +3102/-173
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2009, 03:53:28 PM »
Quote from: dandi on September 27, 2009, 03:52:14 PM
I tried to argue with her once on another site. She has the IQ of a toenail fungus.

Don't forget the violence she wreaks on her washing machine.

She changes her underwear only every ten days.
Logged
apres moi, le deluge

Milo Yiannopoulos "It has been obvious since 2016 that Trump carries an anointing of some kind. My American friends, are you so blind to reason, and deaf to Heaven? Can he do all this, and cannot get a crown? This man is your King. Coronate him, and watch every devil shriek, and every demon howl."

Offline TheSarge

  • Platoon Sergeant
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9557
  • Reputation: +411/-252
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2009, 06:50:02 PM »
Quote from: Carl on September 27, 2009, 03:38:51 PM
Wonder how DUmmies would like life in a real socialist/communist system.



They'd turn Conservative within a week.  Those that didn't die from shock when they realized that THEY wouldn't be the ones living in the castle that is.
Logged
Liberalism Is The Philosophy Of The Stupid

The libs/dems of today are the Quislings of former years.  The cowards who would vote a fraud into office in exchange for handouts from the devil.

If it walks like a donkey and brays like a donkey and smells like a donkey - it's Cold Warrior.  - PoliCon



Palin has run a state, a town and a commercial fishing operation. Obama ain't run nothin' but his mouth. - Mark Steyn

Offline ATTC

  • Probationary (Probie)
  • Posts: 31
  • Reputation: +0/-0
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2009, 08:56:26 PM »
Quote from: TxRadioguy on September 27, 2009, 06:50:02 PM
They'd turn Conservative within a week.  Those that didn't die from shock when they realized that THEY wouldn't be the ones living in the castle that is.

H.L. Mencken (1880-1956):
"The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it."

... and how's the other quote go?  Something along the lines of "those who willingly argue for socialism do so with intention of being the ruler"

Not quite sure how exactly it goes.  Maybe someone here can help me out.
Logged
Where'd I go wrong? /sarc

Offline AprilRazz

  • I love my...
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2705
  • Reputation: +202/-16
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2009, 06:37:36 AM »
When someone works hard to earn money there will always be someone out there trying to steal it. Case in point the democrat party.
Logged
Proud Navy Wife and Veteran

"How a politician stands on the Second Amendment tells you how he or she views you as an individual... as a trustworthy and productive citizen, or as part of an unruly crowd that needs to be lorded over, controlled, supervised, and taken care of." Suzanna Hupp


racist – A statement of surrender during an argument. When two people or disputants are engaged in an acrimonious debate, the side that first says “Racist!” has conceded defeat. Synonymous with saying “Resign” during a chess game, or “Uncle” during a schoolyard fight. Ori

Offline NHSparky

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 24431
  • Reputation: +1280/-617
  • Where are you going? I was gonna make espresso!
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2009, 07:54:24 AM »
Quote from: ATTC on September 27, 2009, 08:56:26 PM
H.L. Mencken (1880-1956):
"The urge to save humanity is always a false front for the urge to rule it."

... and how's the other quote go?  Something along the lines of "those who willingly argue for socialism do so with intention of being the ruler"

Not quite sure how exactly it goes.  Maybe someone here can help me out.

I'll give you a couple of more contemporary ones by P.J. O'Rourke:

"The good news is that, according to the Obama administration, the rich will pay for everything. The bad news is that, according to the Obama administration, you're rich."

"Liberalism is just communism sold by the drink."
Logged
“Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the government take care of him better take a closer look at the American Indian.”  -Henry Ford

Offline jukin

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 16367
  • Reputation: +2217/-170
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2009, 01:01:30 PM »
Bad news for DUmbasses:

The worst genocides of the 20th Century
 
Mao Ze-Dong (China, 1958-61 and 1966-69, Tibet 1949-50) 49-78,000,000
Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1932-39) 23,000,000 (the purges plus Ukraine's famine)
Adolf Hitler (Germany, 1939-1945) 12,000,000 (concentration camps and civilians WWII)
Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44) 5,000,000 (civilians in WWII)
Ismail Enver (Turkey, 1915-20) 1,200,000 Armenians (1915) + 350,000 Greek Pontians and 480,000 Anatolian Greeks (1916-22) + 500,000 Assyrians (1915-20)
Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-79) 1,700,000
Kim Il Sung (North Korea, 1948-94) 1.6 million (purges and concentration camps)
Menghistu (Ethiopia, 1975-78) 1,500,000
Yakubu Gowon (Biafra, 1967-1970) 1,000,000
Leonid Brezhnev (Afghanistan, 1979-1982) 900,000

None of the above are capitalistic.
Logged
When you are the beneficiary of someone’s kindness and generosity, it produces a sense of gratitude and community.

When you are the beneficiary of a policy that steals from someone and gives it to you in return for your vote, it produces a sense of entitlement and dependency.

Offline Ptarmigan

  • Bunny Slayer
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 24414
  • Reputation: +1057/-226
  • God Hates Bunnies
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #14 on: September 28, 2009, 02:03:27 PM »
Quote from: jukin on September 28, 2009, 01:01:30 PM
Bad news for DUmbasses:

The worst genocides of the 20th Century
 
Mao Ze-Dong (China, 1958-61 and 1966-69, Tibet 1949-50) 49-78,000,000
Jozef Stalin (USSR, 1932-39) 23,000,000 (the purges plus Ukraine's famine)
Adolf Hitler (Germany, 1939-1945) 12,000,000 (concentration camps and civilians WWII)
Hideki Tojo (Japan, 1941-44) 5,000,000 (civilians in WWII)
Ismail Enver (Turkey, 1915-20) 1,200,000 Armenians (1915) + 350,000 Greek Pontians and 480,000 Anatolian Greeks (1916-22) + 500,000 Assyrians (1915-20)
Pol Pot (Cambodia, 1975-79) 1,700,000
Kim Il Sung (North Korea, 1948-94) 1.6 million (purges and concentration camps)
Menghistu (Ethiopia, 1975-78) 1,500,000
Yakubu Gowon (Biafra, 1967-1970) 1,000,000
Leonid Brezhnev (Afghanistan, 1979-1982) 900,000

None of the above are capitalistic.


I think Stalin killed a lot more than 23 million. Same goes with Pol Pot, who likely killed 3 million. Let's not forget Saddam Hussein.
Logged
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
-Napoleon Bonaparte

Allow enemies their space to hate; they will destroy themselves in the process.
-Lisa Du

Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #15 on: September 28, 2009, 02:07:49 PM »
Quote from: Ptarmigan on September 28, 2009, 02:03:27 PM
I think Stalin killed a lot more than 23 million. Same goes with Pol Pot, who likely killed 3 million. Let's not forget Saddam Hussein.

And I could swore that Hideki Tojo got tagged with at least 25 million in the "Rape of Nanking" incident alone.
Logged
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline djones520

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4207
  • Reputation: +181/-146
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #16 on: September 28, 2009, 02:17:57 PM »
Quote from: DefiantSix on September 28, 2009, 02:07:49 PM
And I could swore that Hideki Tojo got tagged with at least 25 million in the "Rape of Nanking" incident alone.

25 million?  I've only heard in the hundreds of thousands.  Maybe getting up to 800,000.
Logged
"Chuck Norris once had sex in an 18 wheeler. Some of his semen dripped onto the engine. We now call that truck Optimus Prime."

Offline Chris_

  • Little Lebowski Urban Achiever
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 46845
  • Reputation: +2028/-266
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #17 on: September 28, 2009, 02:34:13 PM »
Quote from: djones520 on September 28, 2009, 02:17:57 PM
25 million?  I've only heard in the hundreds of thousands.  Maybe getting up to 800,000.

I do have to admit that when I heard the "25 million" number it was being reported by the MSM, and they were citing the ChiComs as their source for the tidbit.  Could put some veracity questions to it.

 :cheersmate:
Logged
If you want to worship an orange pile of garbage with a reckless disregard for everything, get on down to Arbys & try our loaded curly fries.

Offline djones520

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4207
  • Reputation: +181/-146
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #18 on: September 28, 2009, 02:36:42 PM »
Quote from: DefiantSix on September 28, 2009, 02:34:13 PM
I do have to admit that when I heard the "25 million" number it was being reported by the MSM, and they were citing the ChiComs as their source for the tidbit.  Could put some veracity questions to it.

 :cheersmate:

Yeah, I did some searching and couldn't find a single source that said more then 1,000,000.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm
Logged
"Chuck Norris once had sex in an 18 wheeler. Some of his semen dripped onto the engine. We now call that truck Optimus Prime."

Offline AllosaursRus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11672
  • Reputation: +424/-293
  • Skip Tracing by Contract Only!
Re: The Normal Violence of Capitalism
« Reply #19 on: September 28, 2009, 08:51:30 PM »
It's not good when we exagerate like the left.
Logged
I'm the guy your mother warned you about!
 
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »