Capitalist to Your Bones?

I’ve opined previously about “volitional ignorance” or, put otherwise, ignorance by CHOICE. Lately I’m hearing more and more folks tell me how much they “believe” in Capitalism. The reality is that most folks who say this don’t have a clue how Capitalism actually works. To begin with, Capitalism is NOT about thinking money and commerce are good things. Capitalism is 100% about manipulation and modern slavery. Historically we’ve associated the term “slavery” with an abject lack of freedom bordering on actual incarceration. I think it’s time to use the term more broadly and acknowledge that those who are left with the choice of “Working” or “Dying” are also slaves (“wage slaves” is the term used by more and more non-capitalists) Before the Civil War this was the same choice given to slaves in the South. The only real question is whether it has always been so and, to some extent, the answer is - not entirely.

Let’s think back to the birth of modern commerce and the rise of “Civilization.” The Western world is the birthplace of both modern commerce and Capitalism. While today there remain groups of humans who substantially live in reliance on practices that have been in place among humans for thousands and thousands of years they no longer represent the norm. Whether it’s the northernmost reaches of the North American continent, the modern-day Mayans in the Yucatan, the indigenous groups of South America (including those NEVER conquered by Spain or Portugal) and, of course, groups in Mother Africa, they have not abandoned living off of the Earth in favor of Capitalism. Unfortunately for the species and the planet, they are a significant exception to the norm.

Our species was born in Africa and remained there until approximately 50,000 years ago. While there had been some smaller and earlier migrations this was when the world we know today was first heavily peopled. It is my belief these large migrations are what ultimately gave birth to commerce and trade. In its earliest incarnation trade almost certainly did NOT involve actual currency or credit. Instead it’s highly likely that it involved an exchange of items deemed intrinsically valuable such as food and water. It is not surprising that some of the best known cities associated with trade arose along migration routes. The “Fertile Crescent” is where both agriculture as we think of it today and the use of “money” came to be. Indeed, there is speculation that the first forms of currency stood as markers for various commodities such as grains and cloth. With the dawn of money and a willingness to accept a token representing some good or service in exchange for some other item of value the seeds of Capitalism were planted.

The rise of the “Middle Man” is, in my theory, the true catalyst for Capitalism. The farmer and fisherman had to burn time in order to engage in Trade. Rather than doing this they opted to pay someone to handle Trade for them allowing them to expend much more time producing food. In this model, compensation for the middle man was necessary as, otherwise, there was no reason for the middle man to work on behalf of someone else. That doesn’t mean the middle man was always given money as it’s likely, at least initially, that meat or produce was sufficient however, at some point, money became the game. While I’m certain there weren’t too many folks with excess wealth early on it’s clear that they came into existence fairly early and the cancer they represented spread far and wide.

A man with 1,000 head of cattle is measurably more “wealthy” than a man with 100 head of cattle however there’s more to the story than sheer numbers. My Californio ancestors were cattle men and, indeed, were once considered among the wealthiest in pre-USA California. A war and a lengthy drought changed all of that. My ancestor, Don Ricardo Vejar, lost literally everything over a piece of paper. While he didn’t know it when he signed it, he was extended credit to feed his cattle and that credit was secured by the southern half of the Rancho San Jose and his additional land in the Rancho Los Nogales. When the men who cheated him were ambushed by unknown attackers a profiteering former hired hand purchased most or all of Don Vejar’s lands at an enormous discount and immediately became a man of great wealth. Unlike the man who had employed him, Louis Phillips did NOT earn his sudden wealth and, personally, I believe he worked with the men who had cheated Don Vejar planning all along to chase the New Yorkers off. What that makes Phillips is the quintessential capitalist. His enormous wealth, estimated to be 3 million dollars in 1892, was generated by others.

Capitalism at its core is the combination of opportunity and money, even if both are ill-gotten. Jeff Bezos is a good example of a capitalist. Jeff had a GREAT idea that gave birth to the company we now refer to as Amazon. Jeff certainly should have received a material benefit in exchange for his great idea and, unsurprisingly, he did. There is no Universe however in which Jeff’s idea is worth almost 200 Billion dollars. How then did Jeff make his billions? The answer, just as with Louis Phillips, was - the work of others. While there are certainly those who would paint Capitalists as far more beneficent few things could be further from the truth. While I have increasingly referred to Capitalism in 2021 as “End-stage Capitalism” my terminology is lost on most folks. I call Capitalism as it exists today end-stage because I do not believe the planet (or our species) can support it any longer. The disparity between the people who actually CREATE wealth (workers) and those who siphon it away from its Creators (capitalists or “sweat vampires”) has reached a point where it cannot be sustained.

Today, the group we often refer to as the 1% are the capitalists/sweat-vampires and the remaining 99% are loosely (but relatively accurately) referred to as the workers. While many in the 99% aspire to be a part of the 1% the statistical chance of it actually happening is almost non-existent. That’s even more true as wealth (the value created by workers) is increasingly being directed to an incredibly small group of humans. Unfortunately for capitalists the curtain has been pulled back by the pandemic. Literal trillions of dollars have been funneled to large corporations and their elitist leaders while the workers have had to almost literally beg for money to buy food and shelter in the name of saving the “economy.” In fact the ONLY thing that’s been saved is the lifestyle of the 1% and their sycophants, the Grifters. If things don’t change, and soon, we may all find out just how worthless money really is and “Capitalism” will go the way of the Dodo.