Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The Economy Cannot Recover Until the Big Banks Are Broken Up

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Economy Cannot Recover Until the Big Banks Are Broken Up

from Washington's Blog.

A lot of people still haven't heard that the economy cannot recover until the big banks are broken up.

But virtually all independent economists and financial experts say that it is vital to break up the giant banks....

I was quite impressed by the people he placed on this list: people who favor breaking up the big banks and letting them fail when they lose their bets. I inspected some of the links at random to check to see if they really took these positions, and they did. But a reading of their arguments leads me to the following interpretation:

There is definitely a split within the US capitalist ruling class as to the policies pursued by authorities to bailout the banks during this recent crisis. On one side there are these people who fear that the reckless actions of hedge fund gamblers, banks, mortgage industry, etc. went too far this time. If not reined in, they see that the latter could in the future actually kill the goose, capitalism, that lays their golden eggs.

But, of course, hindsight is cheap. I wonder where these critics were when the economic crisis started to unfold and before the key decisions were made. And as for their views about breaking up the big banks--it's all hooey, it ain't gonna happen. They know it should happen. It is obvious that it should happen. But they really can't get up enough gumption to really spoil the party.

On the other side, of course, are all the people who benefited: those connected with the big financial institutions, those who continue to grow fabulously rich. The latter are like drunken sailors who won the lottery and regard the former as "party poopers".