Chris Hedges & Michael Moore: Taking the long view of Unfettered Capitalism

More high-level stuff, the view from 15,000 feet. This is Chris Hedges (him) interviewed by Michael Moore about the world of "unfettered capitalism" — our world, in other words.

It's not long (8 minutes) and very tight, very listenable. The discussion is divided into three parts:

1. What is "unfettered capitalism"?
2. This culture is a dying one.
3. Unfettered capitalism is also killing life on the planet (i.e., we're at the limit of our ability to destructively exploit and move on — no more moving to the next green valley).

I disagree (fairly strongly) with point (2); my comment on that is below. However, points (1) and (3) are dead-on; I strongly recommend giving a listen. Good clear thinking:



About point (2), if you care: Civilizations dying in a blaze of 1920s Jazz Age exuberance — dancing their way to death — or in a fit of Nero-era excess à la Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is wonderfully colorful, but inaccurate. Rome lasted 400 years after Nero and peaked as a civilization long after Nero died, arguably due to a long decline in European population relative to other regions.

(Ask yourself, why was Augustus able to find the armies to defend the frontier, and not Theodosius, 300 years later? Answer: Decline in population of recruits — "inventory" as us predatory capitalists like to say.)

As for points (1) and (3) however, Hedges and Moore are right, in my opinion. The planet's true predators are filled with Triumph of the Will Trumpism ( which I define as "the glory of bending the world to your will").

As a result, they miss the fact that literally nowhere will be safe when the population dislocations are global. Even Blackwater won't be much help if your palace is named Bastille Place (or East Hampton).

GP