'Doomsday Capitalism:' Local virus? Global pandemic?

[marmar]

June 15, 2010, 12:01 a.m. EDT

'Doomsday Capitalism:' Local virus? Global pandemic?
Commentary: 7 signs toxic partisan politics is killing capitalism, democracy, your retirement

By Paul B. Farrell, MarketWatch


ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Warning: "Capitalism as we knew it is dead." What a grabber! A flashing neon sign on Times Square near Morgan Stanley? No, it's the headline on a promo ad for the new book co-authored by the highly regarded American editor of the world's leading business magazine, the Economist.

Yes, "capitalism as we knew it is dead." Who killed it? The usual suspects. Everybody. And it was easy. First we killed democracy. Yes, democracy as we knew it is also dead.

Next question: What'll take its place? In "The Road from Ruin," Matthew Bishop, the Economist's business editor and co-author Michael Green tell us "capitalism as we knew it" died on "Sept. 15, 2008, the day Lehman Brothers went bust. That much is clear. What we don't know yet is what will replace it and whether that version will be any better than what went before."

Wrong: We do know exactly what will replace it. We also know it won't be better. In fact, far worse, far more self-destructive. The "Doomsday Capitalism" virus is spreading:

1. The Economist's doomed Capitalism 2.0

Start with "The Road From Ruin." Four "big ideas," a grand vision of what a revival of capitalism must have to succeed: First, "rethink economics." Second: "redesign global governance," including loss of the dollar's reserve currency status to create "a stabler global financial system." Third, "capitalism must rediscover its soul," put "values back into business," and "serve the greater good." Fourth, "promote financial literacy."

Four "Big Ideas." All doomed. Why? America hates them. Everyone: Palin, McConnell, Beck, the GOP's Tea Party of No-No. Yes, even the White House, Congress, Geithner, Bernanke and Dodd. And certainly the Goldman Conspiracy of Wall Street too-greedy-to-fail fat-cat bankers. All guaranteed to hate the four big ideas, hate them more than Cormac McCarthy's bleak post-apocalyptic "The Road."

Hate? Yes, here's why: The GOP does not want to "rethink" economics. No compromise. They want to reinstate their beloved free-market Reaganomics ideology. Period. Also non-negotiable: They'll never surrender the dollar as reserve currency. Un-American. Worse than surrendering America's divine right as the world's sole superpower.

What about "soul?" Wharton economists warn: Washington's financial reforms are not "game-changers," will leave "plenty of risk in the system," thanks to hundreds of millions spent by Wall Street lobbyists. So America will continue sliding deeper into an economic sinkhole with no-soul, no-values, no 'Invisible Hand.' .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/doomsday-capitalism-virus-is-spreading-2010-06-15