Progressive politicians repeatedly tell us that capitalism is a system rooted in the wealthy’s exploitation of the poor. To convey this in an emotionally resonant way, they employ images of “sweatshops” in the developing world. While some people labor away in factories, often in terrible conditions, the owners of Walmart and Nike rake in profits, enjoying their luxurious penthouses in Manhattan. Many find this compelling.
In an address to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society in 1865, Frederick Douglass noted that he had often been asked “What should we do with the Negro?” Douglass remarked:
I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm eaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall….And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!
Some intellectuals, especially on the left, continue to claim that the West’s economic development would have been impossible without the resources extracted unjustly from the developing world, also known as the “Third World.” Even nuanced thinkers may automatically presume these assumptions to be true.
There is a decision that no person, nor foreign government, can make for Venezuelans: decide how Venezuela will be after Chavismo. We think and are always asserting that our fellow Venezuelans have to reject any “kind of socialism,” because if the society accepts a return to the practices and policies that were in place before the Chavez era, they will be condemned to repeat history.
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Until disco came back to me at dance clubs and via the great “boogie nights” in the 1990s, I didn’t recall a whole lot from my childhood in the 1970s. Trying to build my own “Speed Racer” and being in awe of the rock group KISS stand out.
The year 2020 is one of the most disrupted times in at least the last half century, maybe longer. Global protests and riots, the covid-19 virus, lockdowns, and police killings of unarmed citizens. Add to that widespread rioting, looting, arson, homelessness, and destruction of property, including the tearing down of statues. This chaos in the streets is being facilitated by mayors, governors, and police chiefs who are unwilling to enforce the law.
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Foreign policy seems to have been placed on the back burner in the Trump era. Domestic issues, generic outrage politics, and the present covid-19 pandemic have sucked the oxygen out of American political discourse.
A tweet by the widely followed “Existential Comics” account recently made the rounds.
It might be easy to dismiss, but with more than 345,000 followers, the account apparently appeals to a lot of like-minded people.
The tweet caught my eye in large part because of how many people liked what amounts to a very economically ignorant and naïve “pop quiz.”
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