As our less foresightful politicians cry “socialism” at the prospect of “the taxpayer’s” (sic) money bailing out corporations, we have socialism in action on our tv screens.
Faced with the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, our (collective) deciders have signalled the media to go all-out with advice on how Main Streeters can survive. There’s everything from how to save on layettes to how to avoid getting laid off (no more talk of getting laid, for the duration).
Interspersed with dire reports from the daily big board, stuck forty percent lower than a year ago, like a fallen horse in an old cowboy movie waiting for the merciful bullet, we’re told to keep buying stocks and bonds, but do it cleverly (like looking for promising companies in China). Saving money has become the primary selling point for many products, and CNN interviewed people who had decided Christmas shouldn’t be about stuff, but about solidarity.
Solidarity is what socialism is all about, and fear of bailing out companies is fear of where that could lead: from cradle to grave tv to a state devoted to the welfare of its citizens.
