Tag: capitalism
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Whipping Ourselves and Weeping
This broad tendency among the Western left, from the end of the French Revolution to the present day, is fueled by an impulse towards self-flagellation. The question then is: why does the left feel the need to lash itself in penance? This is not a thorough study but I have been thinking about this for…
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What Is Capitalism?
What is the point of all this? The point is to be able to come to some sort of understanding of what capitalism means so we can understand the political implications and effects it has. We tend to be presented with capitalism as only partly political because it is so strongly associated with money. Because…
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What Happens When a Country Defaults?
If a ruler wants to get something done, they need to give orders. Personally, there are four types of orders: suggestions, directions, requests, and purchases. On a society-wide mechanistic level, these become two types: decrees (orders without the expectation of repayment, which includes suggestions and directions) and requisitions (orders with the expectation of repayment, which…
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What Is Divine Kingship?
It’s obvious that this includes two historical concepts — the divine right of kings in Europe and the mandate of heaven in China (and nearby regions) — but what else does it include and what does it not include? I live in the United States of America, a country whose population is officially about 70%…
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Technology of Authority
This is the theory of a theory, a pre-theory. Capitalism is not simply an economic system or mode of production, it is a method of establishing domination: a technology of authority. It is the more or less direct successor of divine kingship. When the European revolutions of the 19th century had destroyed divine kingship, at…
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Capitalism Is a Lie
Capitalism is a lie, and when I say this I am speaking in a very specific sense. I do not mean that capitalism is built on exploitation, which of course it is. I do not mean that it falsely tells people they can have things which the system will prevent them from having, which it…