The Feel Good Effect then and the way ahead now

[MorkandMindy]

The Reagan Election made a lot of use of the Feel Good Effect.

Basically it came down to 'we are on the right course and all the other countries have it wrong, and Margret Thatcher is going to copy what we are doing and do it over in Britain'.

Can't get much more feel good than that.

 

[MorkandMindy]

There's been a lot of talk about how communism failed and socialism will never work and 'the dollar is king'.

People in the US still vote believing all that is true, vote Right Wing in the belief the Left has failed and can never work.

The consumer is king and can buy anything from anywhere in the World

 

[MorkandMindy]

I wish all that were true.

I was told by those around me that the economy was booming, despite a terrible balance of trade deficit, people told me it was an import-led boom.

Very soon there will be a realization that an import-led boom means we were buying things from other countries and the main thing we were exporting was money.

It hit me very hard at the time because I was in a company exporting mini computers and other US made technical equipment and the rising dollar killed our company dead. I reached the unavoidable conclusion that we were doing two things wrong:

1. We were exporting money and would eventually run out
2. Our manufacturing was going to shrink and a lot of manufacturing workers would lose their jobs.

 

[Pommer]

The consumer is king and can buy anything from anywhere in the World

But can’t “go and get it” since we’re “sequestered” in the States.

 

[MorkandMindy]

The situation we are in now is having to reassess the situation knowing the conclusion is likely to be that we are going in entirely the wrong direction. That will be depressing.

The good news is after we spend a month in the dumps we can come out and fix the situation

 

[MorkandMindy]

We have to do some serious re-thinking.

Did communism fail? Not really because there were no communist countries to fail.

Did the Soviet Union collapse? No, it was a kind of coup where Yeltsin decided if he and two other largest USSR countries, and they agreed to it, became independent of each other then Gorbachev would no longer be any of their bosses, and because the US promised not to move one inch into the former Soviet Union then they could be more independent.

The US kept the promise for a number of years, then broke it during Clinton term 2.

Is socialism inefficient? Often it is, but we need a better level of equality if this country is going to stay together over the long term.

 

[MorkandMindy]

The Roman Empire broke up partly because a large part of the population became disenfranchised and realized they would be better off without Rome. We have to make sure that doesn't happen even if we get called 'socialists'.

I made this diagram, just two minutes ago, so it really is up-to date...

Capitalism however wonderful it is, will tend to pull the country apart if differences in opportunities and wealth become too large. Corruption does the same but well, it is different in certain ways.

Socialism is the price we pay to bind ourselves together as a nation and as a community. We tolerate dumb asses some of the time and accept a certain amount of equality for the sake of togetherness.

 

[Amittai]

Capitalism was founded thousands of years ago to share risks in business such as on voyages. Mutant capitalism desperately needs much "constructive" critique. Private property is another distinct thing from capitalism.

Thatcherism involved many "strange" stitch ups as has every other -ism before and since. But they are culminating ever worse.

 

[MorkandMindy]

...
Thatcherism involved many "strange" stitch ups as has every other -ism before and since. But they are culminating ever worse.

I lived in England back then and noticed while each year there was apprehension as the balance of payments was evaluated, and each time it came out equal after the losses in the visible trade were offset by gains in the invisibles.

Then when Thatcher came in it stopped, unannounced and it seems nobody noticed. Thing was we could run up debts because the currency was backed by our wealth in North Sea petroleum.

Same thing has been going on in the US

 

[Amittai]

... Then when Thatcher came in it stopped, unannounced and it seems nobody noticed ...

And she pretended she was better at bean counting and to be a Methodist. She told the hard workers of the north east they have got to become spivs in Canary Wharf and we see what tricks they feel obliged to get up to since 2004.

Why did relations with the Vatican have to be raised from pro-nuncio to nuncio? Prior to then, it was quite small at the UN and church members' affairs were not considered a diplomatic matter.

Marx and Engels were themselves capitalists of course, but modelling the idea of straying beyond primary purpose.