I beg to differ; I think it would be an improvement, but in any case it's not what we have now (in the US).
"Pure" capitalism would be Keynesianism, e.g. no regulation, markets would find their own level & biz could be done anywhere w/ anyone (foreign governments notwithstanding). This will never be allowed here, it's too unstable. Imagine if each & every industry & service sector behaved like Info during the dot-com boom (& bust), then what if these cycles manifested monthly, or even weekly. This would work best w/ distributed governmental franchises which functioned according to subscription rather than purely regional representation.
So no, none of that is going to happen. But capitalism, even in its current form is not really the issue (or if one said it was then what would be the practical alternative?). The issue is that this thing, let's just call it "late capitalism" seems to be absolutely incompatible w/ democracy, & something has to go -- since there's no replacement for capitalism you connect the dots...
I think there was a window which existed briefly in the last decade which would have allowed true direct democracy utilizing the tech available. Now however that window has closed or is closing. A vote no longer represents political will, instead it's now merely evidence of the efficiency aspects of market force & the extent to which the voter has been conditioned by various interests.
We no longer have even a democratic republic. We have a plutocracy where those who've sold their votes do not even realize they've done so. Heresy tho it may be, maybe we need to again see voting as a 'right' as opposed to a 'privilege'. It's an old saying, "in a democracy the people get the goverment they deserve" -- but we don't deserve this & likely can't afford it. Perhaps we need some new form of Jim Crow to save us from ourselves.
One has to study a bit to get a driver's license, & one needs to take a relatively thorough test to prove one can safely operate a car. But if a vote is more dangerous than a car shouldn't one also have to study, practice, & take a test to get a voter registration card? Increasingly uninformed opinion is not a "luxury", it's a cancer, when applied to the voting process it can issue in the triumph of ignorance & ignorance will destroy us, our institutions, our "way of life", to say nothing of innocent people abroad.
I'm starting to feel one should demonstrate an ability to think before one can win the right to vote -- our consumption patterns are being tracked anyway (if we allow it) -- so what if we say that upon the purchase of ones third Brittany Spears product one loses ones registration card? No wait, I've got it! We offer every adult in the country a choice. They can vote or they can have free cable-t.v for life. That should return us to a rational electorate...
Posted on Nov 8, 2002, 1:38 PM from IP address 4.33.84.93