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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 7/14/10

The Scapegoat of Least Resort

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Americans seem to think that the only alternative to un-regulated capitalism is some sort of collective dictatorship such as Russian had under Stalin. But other countries have in fact developed societies that are both freer than ours and more responsive to the needs of their people. They have done so by developing a well thought out mixed economy. Any of the Scandinavian countries during the last two thirds of the last century are proof that a mixture of financial arrangements to meet a variety of needs, and that is under the control of a government that is accountable to the people, can in fact work tolerably well. There is no reason why capitalist enterprises -- as long as they are of a reasonable size and sufficiently regulated -- should not be a part of the mix, along with cooperatives, worker owned businesses, and government agencies.

Some would argue that it will be impossible to prevent the big banks and multinationals from continuing to rule the world. They would suggest that we pursue more modest goals that leave the overall system in place. Chastise this corporation here, and tinker with those regulations there. The problem is that virtually all of our major global threats are direct outcomes of unregulated capitalism. It is the nature of the beast that, if left to its own devices, it will rape the earth, squander its nonrenewable resources, and to devour its inhabitants. Gulf is no different than BP. Monsanto is a threat to the health and well-being of millions, if not billions, of people, as are Phizer, Walmart, Halliburton, McDonalds, and so on. Once an unregulated corporation grows to a certain size, it functions in a criminal manner. That is how it survives.

Perhaps there is no way to bell the cat, but if so the future is bleak indeed. The fact is that the neoliberal establishment, the Washington consensus, the "free" or unregulated market system, the oligarchy, or whatever you want to call it, has yoked our species to a suicidal course of action. Already we hear the three horsemen of the new apocalypse: economic collapse, ecological destruction, and global war. Either we bring the neo-liberal establishment under control or we perish. We cannot afford to be satisfied, at this point, with prosecuting any scapegoat of least resort -- even one as big and as guilty as BP. The problem is larger than that. It is systemic.

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Note: An essay that provides a more comprehensive examination of the scape-goat concept, and it's relevance to politics and social policy, can be found here: http://www.politicsofhealth.org/main/a_tough_weed_to_uproot

The above article was concerned with only one aspect of this phenomenon.

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Write for Politics of Health and work with David Werner on issues of health. Worked in the field of "Mental Health" all my life. Am now retired. Jim
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