“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
―Philip Freneau
Friday, August 14, 2015
Hating Capitalism
In the early Spring, when icy waters flow from snowy hills,
and the crumbling soil loosens in a westerly breeze,
then I’d first have my oxen groaning over the driven plough,
and the blade gleaming, polished by the furrow.
The field that’s twice felt sun, and twice felt frost,
answers to the eager farmer’s prayer:
from it boundless harvest bursts the barns.
But before our iron ploughshare slices the untried levels,
let’s first know the winds, and the varying mood of the sky,
and note our native fields, and the qualities of the place,
and what each region grows and what it rejects.
Here, wheat, there, vines, flourish more happily:
trees elsewhere, and grasses, shoot up unasked for.
See how Tmolus sends us saffron fragrance,
India, ivory, the gentle Sabeans, their incense,
while the naked Chalybes send iron, Pontus rank
beaver-oil, Epirus the glories of her mares from Elis.
Nature has necessarily imposed these rules, eternal laws,
on certain places, since ancient times, when Deucalion
hurled stones out into the empty world,
from which a tough race of men was born.
Come: and let your strong oxen turn the earth’s rich soil,
right away, in the first months of the year,
and let the clods lie for dusty summer to bake them in full sun:
but if the earth has not been fertile it’s enough to lift it
in shallow furrows, beneath Arcturus: in the first case
so that the weeds don’t harm the rich crops, in the other,
so what little moisture there is doesn’t leave the barren sand.
I'm sorry, but even though this fellow Mackey is, apparently, a successful businessman, and says all the right things he LOOKS and SOUNDS like a JERK.
His "hairdo" alone is enough to raise eyebrows.
In a shallow, silly culture such as ours where "appearances" are EVERYTHING this man does himself and his views little good by trying ti promote them himself. The contrast with Nick Gillespie's confident, manly manner and fine voice only makes poor Mackey look worse than he probably is.
If this sounds unduly harsh, I'm sorry, but it IS the truth. Mackey would NEVER go over well with the great American Public.
And that is where we disagree. Mackey is a proponent of the status quo ante capitalism, one in no need of basic reform. He's an unapologitic big-capital corporatist, who has been successful in achieving the top-tier of cultural capital neo-liberalism.
It's the wrong message AND the wrong messenger. Capitalism IS the answer. Corporatism and Crony Capitalism is it's "death drive".
It's far, far from limited to ageing hippies, Thersy. It's one of these faddy mirages that appeals to otherwise perfectly rational people with a mild or severe case of 'chemophobia' and a fashion sense. From a marketer's perspective creating money out of nothing on the back of fuzzy fears is a dream come true.
I heard an NPR story this morning about workers in Shanghai leaving the city to start "organic farms" in the country... so I suppose that I must concede the point.
I'm sorry, but even though this fellow Mackey is, apparently, a successful businessman, and says all the right things he LOOKS and SOUNDS like a JERK.
ReplyDeleteHis "hairdo" alone is enough to raise eyebrows.
In a shallow, silly culture such as ours where "appearances" are EVERYTHING this man does himself and his views little good by trying ti promote them himself. The contrast with Nick Gillespie's confident, manly manner and fine voice only makes poor Mackey look worse than he probably is.
If this sounds unduly harsh, I'm sorry, but it IS the truth. Mackey would NEVER go over well with the great American Public.
Just telling it as I believe it is.
RIght message killed by wring messenger.
And that is where we disagree. Mackey is a proponent of the status quo ante capitalism, one in no need of basic reform. He's an unapologitic big-capital corporatist, who has been successful in achieving the top-tier of cultural capital neo-liberalism.
ReplyDeleteIt's the wrong message AND the wrong messenger. Capitalism IS the answer. Corporatism and Crony Capitalism is it's "death drive".
ReplyDeleteWorth a $100 M. Check.
"[...] discovered the works of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.[13] Mackey is an admirer of some of Ayn Rand's novels.". Check.
Organic foods... nice hoax!
Organics are a "cultural" capitalist product... marketting "goods" to aging hippies.
ReplyDelete[...] marketing "goods" to ageing hippies.
ReplyDeleteIt's far, far from limited to ageing hippies, Thersy. It's one of these faddy mirages that appeals to otherwise perfectly rational people with a mild or severe case of 'chemophobia' and a fashion sense. From a marketer's perspective creating money out of nothing on the back of fuzzy fears is a dream come true.
I heard an NPR story this morning about workers in Shanghai leaving the city to start "organic farms" in the country... so I suppose that I must concede the point.
ReplyDelete