tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538477881080991285.post4585998347114304532..comments2024-03-29T00:39:09.772-04:00Comments on City Father: Labor Day 2011City Fatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17769559147659492086noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538477881080991285.post-27872368699995528902011-09-05T19:07:56.841-04:002011-09-05T19:07:56.841-04:00Very thought-provoking, Fr. Ron. Just a few quick...Very thought-provoking, Fr. Ron. Just a few quick thoughts in response. <br /><br />First, I'm not sure that the middle class is such a rational actor, capable of discerning systemic inequalities and then somehow legitimizing or delegitimizing the system as a whole. I think there are two distinct processes - the individual engages with the economy, as always, though a Rawlsian veil of unknowing, not only as to the specific elements of her transactions, but also with respect to a macro-economic understanding of her situation. Marx would say that this vacuum would be the moment at which a consciousness of systemic flaws should begin to take hold, but his method of analysis isn't shared by the American middle class, whose Dow up / Dow down understanding of the system recalls the legendary labor leader who, when asked what his contract demands were, said: "More!" <br /><br />So we have an extraordinary percentage of the population in homes with negative equity, seemingly permanent high unemployment, and the wealthiest are getting wealthier. <br /><br />Contrary to the laws of physics, capital in motion does not necessarily stay in motion. I think that a big part of the current crisis is that capital is being used not as a medium of exchange, but as a means of status and power - companies are hoarding huge amounts, instead of spending it on hiring and expansion. Capital, having unsettled the old, authoritarian social dynamic, is being used to instantiate a new one. <br /><br />And you're right - it looks to be a rather inequitable one. <br /><br />DEFDavid Frydrychowskihttp://manhattanbarrister.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com