Saturday, March 21, 2009

Regarding Obama

Regarding Obama.
I've no doubt he'll work on the problems, but I don't think that the general intertwinedness between the corporate and the governmental will be overcome. That's a serious problem for me because it is not only a conflict of interest, it effectively disenfranchises whatever amount of the 300 million us citizens votes. We are given a few options for candidates, and those candidates cannot run without corporate funding. We sort of chose the candidate that ends up in office, but effective advertising is shown to have such a profound effect on purchasing behaviour that it would be a bad idea to think it didn't do something similar with voting. Essentially all candidates are fundamentally Liberal Capitalists, with varying attitudes on social issues. The social issues can vary because the people funding them aren't worried about the social, they're only worried about making money. So the variance in candidates though very real doesn't change the fundamental outlook that they must have in order to get the office. This applies to all of our elected officials, and once one looks at the process of lobbying in congress it becomes even more apparent how intertwined the corporate and the governmental are. So while I see Obama making changes, which will be beneficial, it will not remove one of the basic problems that lead to all this. The serious influence of the corporate on the governmental will not change under his leadership, or under the leadership of any president elected by the same system. The liberal capitalist agenda will remain strong, and the fundamental conflict of interest which causes ills to the planet, the people and the ability of citizens to affect the governing body above them will not be resolved.

It is a somewhat pessimistic way of looking things, but things are dark. I'm not of the opinion that this Liberal Capitalism is evil. It isn't, but I am worried by the fact that it is indifferent. There are no socially constructed taboos, and mores, to prevent them from doing ill. Humans however have implicit rules engrained in us from birth. The indifference of the powerful is dangerous. The Corporate doesn't control everything, but their amount of influence is so large as to be astronomically difficult to fully represent the vast expanse of their power.

There could be hope in all this, but I'd have to think more. I don't think that that fundamental problem will be solved while the US still exists, but there is a small chance I'm wrong, and I really do hope I am.

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