Doctrinaire capitalism is coming to crisis via increasing disconnects between pursuit of self-interest and realization of the common good. Moral philosopher Adam Smith assumed no leakages out of productive capital, into nonproductive uses; assumed no short-term oriented schemes in which plow horses are turned into hobby horses, figuratively, with pseudo-capitalists taking the money, then running.
Read MoreWelcome To Capitalism In Crisis
Jim Sawyer is a radio producer and commentator who holds a PhD in labor economics. He has managed human resource programs and served as a governor’s assistant for human resource policy in a politically conservative Western state. Jim is a professor emeritus from a Jesuit university,where he held an endowed chair focused on issues pertinent […]
Read MoreEp 36: Pseudo-Capitalism
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Fraud always involves deception. With increasing frequency, we are beset by fraud-laced schemes. Remember the Wells-Fargo banking scandal in which two million fake customer accounts were created? Here’s an even more jaw-dropping example of pseudo-capitalism, from Germany. A man bombed a soccer team’s bus, allegedly, but first, he rigged the market. The perpetrator borrowed shares […]
Read MoreEp 35: Commentary on Wells Fargo
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This is Jim Sawyer for Capitalism in Crisis.org Wells-Fargo Bank, in April, clawed back an additional $75 million from two executives it now holds accountable for the bank’s five-year sales scandal. As many as two-million fake customer accounts were opened at management’s behest. Since September, government oversight has forced Wells to walk back blame-shifting onto […]
Read MoreEp 34: Truth Marching On (Featuring The Battle Hymn of the Republic Penned By Julia Ward Howe)
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Julia Ward Howe, who penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic—just months after Fort Sumter’s fall—was a writer, poet, abolitionist, social activist and suffragette. To understand Ward Howe, we must understand her contextually, within the turbulent period in which she lived. Truth goes marching on, she exclaimed, profoundly. What a fitting backdrop for reflection upon […]
Read MoreEp 33: Ike The Barber
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Communism has evolved. Remember the old Soviet system? It crashed in 1991. In place of markets, Soviets used quotas, fashioned by committees. Never mind what citizens actually wanted—or needed—stuff was chosen for them by bureaucrats, instead. Of course, when the price system is undermined, disastrous consequences may follow. For the Soviet system, economic and political […]
Read MoreEp 32: FUNDAMENTALISM, American-Style
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Let’s get down to basics. The Washington swamp must be drained, NOW. Sound familiar? Right out of Donald Trump’s play book? Right out of father’s play book, also. Throw the bums out; in the Sawyer household was a familiar refrain. Fundamentalists like Buss reduce Technicolor-like complexity, to black and white simplicity. The only thing in […]
Read MoreEp 31: Old Men Like Me
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Buss was a complex character. I eavesdropped on father as we were closing our neighborhood store—the night before Christmas—marking the end of the busy shopping season. Just then a man entered, distraught, and engaged Buss clumsily. Next, spontaneously, he exploded in tears. With a large family, he couldn’t afford presents for his kids. Disabled and […]
Read MoreEp 30: Jimmy The Communist
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Mom, as she required I call her, was actually my paternal grandmother. At sixteen, a Texan, she ran off with a Missourian; Dad, as he required I call him. Today, George probably would be busted for carnal knowledge—even child rape. He was five years Nora’s senior. First they ran to turn-of-the-century Cheyenne where Nora lost […]
Read MoreEp 29: Take The Money and Run
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In my family of origin, father did not consider it irrational–or unethical—to…act out…politically, contrary to long-term self-interest. Buss did so, repeatedly. It had profound consequences for his wife and kids, however. Adam Smith, capitalism’s founder, was a moral philosopher, actually. He asked and answered questions about what constitutes moral behavior; both for individuals and for […]
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