[rad-green] Capitalism is one virus away from existential disaster, and only its victims' money can save it -- George Galloway

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*https://www.rt.com/op-ed/483417-virus-capitalism-existential-disaster/
<https://www.rt.com/op-ed/483417-virus-capitalism-existential-disaster/>RT
         18 Mar 2020Capitalism is one virus away from existential disaster,
and only its victims' money can save itBy George GallowayGalloway was a
member of the British Parliament for nearly 30 years. He presents TV and
radio shows (including on RT). He is a film-maker, writer and a renowned
orator. Follow him on Twitter @georgegalloway*
[image: George Galloway: Capitalism is one virus away from existential
disaster, and only its victims' money can save it]
=C2=A9 Getty Images / D-Keine
Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Maynard Keynes have been knocked into a
cocked hat by Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Emmanuel Macron, the new
holy trinity of dirigiste capitalism.

According to the laws of capitalist economics, an airline which cannot fill
its seats must go to the wall. If the public's taste for ocean-going
cruises dissipates either by fashion or pandemic, the cruise company goes
under the relentless waves, sink or swim.

John Maynard Keynes and Franklin D. Roosevelt bucked that in the 1930s
Great Depression, deciding that the fate of nations could not be left
merely to the unseen hand of market forces, but that if not a heart then at
least a brain must be applied. That accountancy was not economics.

The descendants of Keynes and FDR would not normally be found in either the
British Conservative Party or the GOP. Reagan and Thatcher must be turning
in their graves. Because this week the prevailing capitalist orthodoxy was
turned on its head and eye-watering sums of public money were splashed not
by Sanders or Corbyn or Melenchon, but by their polar opposites whose whole
careers have been built on denouncing the slightest bit of Keynesianism as
socialism or even communism.

Unless one believes all three have experienced a Damascene conversion, one
can safely say the scale of the bail-out equals the scale of the threat
perceived to capitalism itself by the coronavirus epidemic. Donald Trump is
getting ready to sign $1,000 checks
<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/coronavirus-trump-m=
nuchin-1000-check-economy>
to =E2=80=9C*every American.*=E2=80=9D Macron, under siege and thinking of =
the Bastille
every morning he wakes up, is going to spend the equivalent of 20 percent
of France's 2019 GDP to beat this new unseen, elusive enemy.

When the pigs in Animal Farm metamorphosed into the opposite of their
former selves, they began to chant =E2=80=9C*four legs good, two legs bette=
r.*=E2=80=9D For
the Holy Trinity, equality was always good, but some would be more equal
than others. =E2=80=9C*Public good, private better*=E2=80=9D was their mant=
ra.

But the scale of the public health threat posed by the pandemic
demonstrates beyond contradiction that private is not better than public,
an economy which principally is private cannot meet the needs of the human
race when existential dangers arrive.

This is not new, though it may have been forgotten.

The war-time alliance of the USSR, Britain, and America could not have
prevailed if the example of Milo Minderbinder in *Catch-22* had been
followed. Milo, a capitalist to his core, rented out his own USAF bombers
to the enemy to bomb his own side. Well, business is business.

Only strong centralised states with command economies can wage total war,
and profiteering, hoarding and panic bulk buying are rightly considered
crimes. The USSR already had one; Britain and America had to become so for
the duration. Under capitalism, if people cannot go to work and earn money,
or eat out, entertain themselves or shop, all the private enterprises
dependent on these things must fail. That's accountancy. Economics,
however, requires shock-absorbers so that economic capacity, which will be
harder to bring back than to protect, is not lost forever. And politics is
the art of ensuring that a crash is never so apocalyptic as to raise the
possibility that the people will not rise up, especially not during the* Id=
es
of March*...

Boris Johnson, who just four months ago characterised the economic policies
of his Labour opponent as reckless soviet-style communism, announced EXTRA
public spending greater than the entire 2019 GDP of Portugal. A =C2=A3350
billion package which he and his Chancellor
<https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/17/rishi-sunak-pledges-350bn-=
to-tackle-coronavirus-impact>
repeatedly
said was merely the beginning. We will do =E2=80=9C*whatever it takes,*=E2=
=80=9D they said,
seven times between them. Interest-free loans, loans at attractive rates,
mortgage holidays, the protection of uninsured businesses unwise enough not
to have sought indemnity for pandemics, the scrapping of business rates for
pubs, restaurants, retail and service industry businesses. Implied is
subsidy for private airlines, privately owned airports; under-review is the
potential plight of tenants, hourly wage-workers, those in the gig economy.
The heartless Tories even found millions for the destitute so they could be
taken off the streets, and given a space in which they might =E2=80=9C*self=
-isolate*
.=E2=80=9D

Of course, within this bout of socialism, there are many footprints =E2=80=
=93 much
bigger than a pig's =E2=80=93 of some being more equal than others =E2=80=
=93 Sir Richard
Branson for example will fare much better than the Rickshaw driver in
Piccadilly Circus. But it nevertheless shows that in the third decade of
the 21st century, after 250 years of hegemony, capitalism has left us two
pay-cheques away from penury and one virus away from existential disaster.
And only the money of its victims can save it.

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><b><a href=3D"https://www.rt.com/op-ed/483417-virus-capita=
lism-existential-disaster/" target=3D"_blank">https://www.rt.com/op-ed/4834=
17-virus-capitalism-existential-disaster/</a><br><br><font size=3D"4">RT =
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A018 Mar 2020</font><br><br><font size=3D"6=
">Capitalism is one virus away from existential disaster, and only its vict=
ims&#39; money can save it</font><br><br><font size=3D"4">By George Gallowa=
y<br><i style=3D""><br>Galloway was a member of the British Parliament for =
nearly 30 years. He presents TV and radio shows (including on RT). He is a =
film-maker, writer and a renowned orator. Follow him on Twitter @georgegall=
oway</i></font></b><div class=3D"gmail_default"><font size=3D"4"><div style=
=3D"margin:0px 0px 2.3em;padding:0px;display:inline-block;vertical-align:bo=
ttom;width:406.612px;text-align:right;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Archivo,=
sans-serif"></div></font><div style=3D"margin:0px 0px 1em;padding:0px;font-=
family:Archivo,sans-serif"><div style=3D"color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;paddin=
g:0px"><span style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4"><img alt=3D"=
George Galloway: Capitalism is one virus away from existential disaster, an=
d only its victims&#39; money can save it" src=3D"https://cdni.rt.com/files=
/2020.03/xxs/5e7236c685f54057ef52e63e.jpg" style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px;=
border:0px;display:block;opacity:1" width=3D"280" height=3D"157"></font></s=
pan></div><div style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px;width:813.237px"><div style=
=3D"margin:10px 0px 0.714286em;padding:0px;line-height:1.28571em"><font col=
or=3D"#000000" size=3D"4"><span style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">=C2=A9=C2=
=A0</span><span style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">Getty Images /=C2=A0</span=
><span style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">D-Keine</span></font></div></div></=
div><div style=3D"margin:0px 0px 1em;padding:0px;line-height:1.4em;color:rg=
b(0,0,0);font-family:Archivo,sans-serif"><font size=3D"4">Franklin D. Roose=
velt and John Maynard Keynes have been knocked into a cocked hat by Donald =
Trump, Boris Johnson, and Emmanuel Macron, the new holy trinity of dirigist=
e capitalism.</font></div><div style=3D"margin:0px 0px 1em;padding:0px;line=
-height:1.4em;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Archivo,sans-serif"><p style=3D"=
margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4">According to the laws of=
 capitalist economics, an airline which cannot fill its seats must go to th=
e wall. If the public&#39;s taste for ocean-going cruises dissipates either=
 by fashion or pandemic, the cruise company goes under the relentless waves=
, sink or swim.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><fo=
nt size=3D"4">John Maynard Keynes and Franklin D. Roosevelt bucked that in =
the 1930s Great Depression, deciding that the fate of nations could not be =
left merely to the unseen hand of market forces, but that if not a heart th=
en at least a brain must be applied. That accountancy was not economics.</f=
ont></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4">The =
descendants of Keynes and FDR would not normally be found in either the Bri=
tish Conservative Party or the GOP. Reagan and Thatcher must be turning in =
their graves. Because this week the prevailing capitalist orthodoxy was tur=
ned on its head and eye-watering sums of public money were splashed not by =
Sanders or Corbyn or Melenchon, but by their polar opposites whose whole ca=
reers have been built on denouncing the slightest bit of Keynesianism as so=
cialism or even communism.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;paddi=
ng:0px"><font size=3D"4">Unless one believes all three have experienced a D=
amascene conversion, one can safely say the scale of the bail-out equals th=
e scale of the threat perceived to capitalism itself by the coronavirus epi=
demic. Donald Trump is getting ready to sign $1,000=C2=A0<a href=3D"https:/=
/www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/coronavirus-trump-mnuchin-1=
000-check-economy" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"margin:0px;padding:=
0px;background:0px 0px;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(4,79,170)" targe=
t=3D"_blank">checks</a>=C2=A0 to =E2=80=9C<em style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0=
px">every American.</em>=E2=80=9D Macron, under siege and thinking of the B=
astille every morning he wakes up, is going to spend the equivalent of 20 p=
ercent of France&#39;s 2019 GDP to beat this new unseen, elusive enemy.</fo=
nt></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4">When =
the pigs in Animal Farm metamorphosed into the opposite of their former sel=
ves, they began to chant =E2=80=9C<em style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">four=
 legs good, two legs better.</em>=E2=80=9D For the Holy Trinity, equality w=
as always good, but some would be more equal than others. =E2=80=9C<em styl=
e=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">Public good, private better</em>=E2=80=9D was =
their mantra.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font=
 size=3D"4">But the scale of the public health threat posed by the pandemic=
 demonstrates beyond contradiction that private is not better than public, =
an economy which principally is private cannot meet the needs of the human =
race when existential dangers arrive.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px =
0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4">This is not new, though it may have bee=
n forgotten.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font =
size=3D"4">The war-time alliance of the USSR, Britain, and America could no=
t have prevailed if the example of Milo Minderbinder in=C2=A0<em style=3D"m=
argin:0px;padding:0px">Catch-22</em>=C2=A0had been followed. Milo, a capita=
list to his core, rented out his own USAF bombers to the enemy to bomb his =
own side. Well, business is business.</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px =
0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4">Only strong centralised states with com=
mand economies can wage total war, and profiteering, hoarding and panic bul=
k buying are rightly considered crimes. The USSR already had one; Britain a=
nd America had to become so for the duration. Under capitalism, if people c=
annot go to work and earn money, or eat out, entertain themselves or shop, =
all the private enterprises dependent on these things must fail. That&#39;s=
 accountancy. Economics, however, requires shock-absorbers so that economic=
 capacity, which will be harder to bring back than to protect, is not lost =
forever. And politics is the art of ensuring that a crash is never so apoca=
lyptic as to raise the possibility that the people will not rise up, especi=
ally not during the<em style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">=C2=A0Ides of March=
</em>...</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=
=3D"4">Boris Johnson, who just four months ago characterised the economic p=
olicies of his Labour opponent as reckless soviet-style communism, announce=
d EXTRA public spending greater than the entire 2019 GDP of Portugal. A =C2=
=A3350 billion package which he and his=C2=A0<a href=3D"https://www.theguar=
dian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/17/rishi-sunak-pledges-350bn-to-tackle-coronaviru=
s-impact" rel=3D"noopener noreferrer" style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px;backg=
round:0px 0px;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(4,79,170)" target=3D"_bla=
nk">Chancellor</a>=C2=A0repeatedly said was merely the beginning. We will d=
o =E2=80=9C<em style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">whatever it takes,</em>=E2=
=80=9D they said, seven times between them. Interest-free loans, loans at a=
ttractive rates, mortgage holidays, the protection of uninsured businesses =
unwise enough not to have sought indemnity for pandemics, the scrapping of =
business rates for pubs, restaurants, retail and service industry businesse=
s. Implied is subsidy for private airlines, privately owned airports; under=
-review is the potential plight of tenants, hourly wage-workers, those in t=
he gig economy. The heartless Tories even found millions for the destitute =
so they could be taken off the streets, and given a space in which they mig=
ht =E2=80=9C<em style=3D"margin:0px;padding:0px">self-isolate</em>.=E2=80=
=9D</font></p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 0.6em;padding:0px"><font size=3D"4=
">Of course, within this bout of socialism, there are many footprints =E2=
=80=93 much bigger than a pig&#39;s =E2=80=93 of some being more equal than=
 others =E2=80=93 Sir Richard Branson for example will fare much better tha=
n the Rickshaw driver in Piccadilly Circus. But it nevertheless shows that =
in the third decade of the 21st century, after 250 years of hegemony, capit=
alism has left us two pay-cheques away from penury and one virus away from =
existential disaster. And only the money of its victims can save it.</font>=
</p></div></div></div>

<p></p>

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