By John Bassett McCleary
2/4/09

Capitalism is the new Feudalism, and the feudal system is why most colonists and immigrants left the old country to come to America. Many Americans believe that capitalism is the economic system upon which this country was founded.  They are incorrect.
This country was actually formed with the ideals of free enterprise as its economic foundation, not capitalism.  There is a big difference between capitalism and free enterprise.
Free enterprise is the concept of a level playing field on which all people are free to be enterprising.  Conversely, capitalism, as it is abused today, is a system in which the wealthy and powerful do everything within their means, legally or illegally, to make it difficult or impossible for other “moral businessmen” to compete in the market place or survive in business.
A capitalist actually does not believe in free enterprise; a capitalist wants a monopoly, not free enterprise.  He believes in complete freedom for himself, of course, but restrictions and disadvantages for others.  A true capitalist is actually un-American, un-democratic and un-patriotic. It is a cruel joke that the game Monopoly was invented and became so popular in a democratic country.
Capitalism as we know it is only about 100-150 years old.  The United States of America is over 220 years old.
Capitalism developed from the free enterprise system, yet it is not the true democratic economic system that was envisioned and adopted for the United States by our Founding Fathers.  Free enterprise is the rightful, just and fair economic system for a democracy, and that is what was chosen for our country.
Capitalism as we know it didn’t have a name at the time of our independence, but if it had, it would have been called speculation, wage slavery and feudalism. We left the “old country” to escape these things.  These are not activities our Founding Fathers had in mind for their democratic economy.
Democracy is the only form of “government” that truly benefits everyone.  Of course, a few people feel restricted by having the majority choose the playing field.   Greedy people and those who think they are above morality want to run the world in a way that gives them all the advantages.
One of the primary reasons colonists came to America was to break free from the economic oppression in their old country.  Indentured farmers wanted land of their own in order to create a stable economic future for their families. Urban retail store and factory workers came to this country to start their own stores and factories.  The lower classes dreamt of the economic freedom and self-determination, of owning their own homes and businesses.
The colonies broke free from England largely because of economic oppression.  New Americans thought they had left the kings, lords and landed gentry behind.
What the middle class and working class didn’t realize was that the “Ruling Class” would not give up their control so easily.  The boats that came to America also carried “power men,” speculators, and feudal lords.
The United States of America is now an economic dictatorship.  The greedy people have slowly, but surely, been able to take over our government.  It has taken them only 200 years to dismantle the democratic protections our Founding Fathers created for everyone.  Now the rich are the only people with self-determination.
How can we call ourselves a Democracy when one of the most dominant aspects of our life is a totalitarian monopoly?  Our Founding Fathers did not, and would not have agreed upon such a selfish economy for their Union Of, By and For The People.
There is nothing wrong with Capitalism that couldn’t be solved by a measure of humility, gratitude and generosity.  Of course, these are all traits considered by most normal humans to be desirable, yet they are dismissed as weaknesses by a greedy person.
What I say is not a condemnation of all Capitalists or all those who believe in the Capitalist system.  But this is definitely a condemnation of all those selfish people who don’t thing other people deserve to be enterprising as well.
Why do some folks want to have all the money and power?  I know the answer!  It is not really the money or even the power.  It is the desire for dominance.
This is basic Freudian Psych 1-A. It comes down to insecurity.  Because of their upbringing, or lack of it, they were made to feel inferior; therefore, insecure and vulnerable.  As a result of this, some people act out arrogantly, thinking that it shows self-confidence.
It is primal for some people to want to dominate others.  It is the way they compensate for their own insecurities. This “boss” mentality doesn’t want the masses to have even a measure of satisfaction, because they think it will make them less controllable.
Sharing the wealth is often called a Communist conspiracy, but it is the best way to keep from having constant economic and political upheaval, and eventual revolution. In nature’s food chain, all nourishment comes from the smallest organism and travels upward, feeding each member of the chain until it eventually reaches the top predator.  In human economics in order to make the whole process work equitably, the money must start at the bottom and pass through the ranks, nourishing and satisfying each member of society until it reaches the bosses at the top, as it always does.

All postings are the original writing and concepts of John Bassett McCleary
Author of The Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 70s

Obama wants to spread the wealth back to where it belongs in a democracy.  The core of this country is its people, and the majority of its people are suffering economically right now.
The capitalists have been redistributing the wealth upwards to the already wealthy for the last 25 years.  Reagan’s trickle-down economy is killing this country and the American Dream.
This present economic crisis is a dramatic example of the greed of the wealthy.  The mortgage meltdown is only partially due to the deregulation of bank procedures and deceptive loan practices.  It is largely due to the fact that most corporations in this country refuse to pay living wages, while, at the same time, outsourcing jobs in order to show large profits to potential stock investors, thus giving larger salaries to owners, CEO’s and upper management.   John.10.29.08

Many people think it is un-American to criticize Capitalism, yet it is actually patriotic to do so.  Most Americans do not know that Free Enterprise, not Capitalism, was the actual economic foundation upon which our Founding Fathers built this country.  Our country is 232 years old, yet capitalism, as we know it, is less than 150 years old.
Capitalism is the new Feudalism, and the feudal system is why most colonists and immigrants left the old country to come to America. The problem is that the tyrants and feudal lords, in search of new people to subjugate and land to conquer, arrived on the second boat to America.
Capitalists want a monopoly, not free enterprise.  Free enterprise is a level playing field, which embodies the American Dream for everyone; whereas capitalism gives the dream to a small percentage of the people.  Sharing the wealth has been considered a Communist conspiracy since McCarthy and Nixon’s slander of the 1950s, yet it is found in most tribes, villages and small towns, and is the best way to keep the world from constant political upheaval and eventual revolutions.
In nature’s food chain all nourishment must come from the smallest organism and travel upward, feeding each member in the chain so that it can eventually reach the top predator.  In an equitable and rational human economic food chain, the money should start at the bottom and pass through the ranks, nourishing and satisfying each member of society until it reaches the bosses at the top.  Rich folks, don’t worry, you will get the money eventually, as usual; but if you don’t let the poor folks have it temporarily, you may as well be tyrants of old, and you will also have to start preparing for food riots and possibly revolution.  As Bob Marley said,  “A hungry man is an angry man!”     Capitalism is not a democratic form of economy!  Why do we allow it in America?  Capitalism benefits those who are already wealthy, and they are continually changing the rules to give themselves more advantage.
The rich do not reach down to pull up anyone else.  There are only a limited number of stalls in the executive bathroom.   John 9.29.08