We’ve been told the system is broken. It’s not. It’s captured. If we want to change anything, we have to stop defending the cage and start using power.
"We need someone willing to use these tools to dismantle monopoly capitalism, not defend it." SO: we need someone who can wield power the way DJT does, but use it to dismantle the current paradigm? I agree with everything you say. We need a whole new ideology. We need to dismantle the current rigged system. Isn't that in large measure what Bernie has been trying to do for decades? Educate people about a viable alternative? There's nothing like the power of an idea whose time has come. And I believe we are in that time. Democratic Socialists are the future. Or the continued boot of oppressive vulture capitalism.
Anne I liked what you wrote so much, I expanded on what you and Corbin wrote:
Trump uses our democratic institutions for evil. Let's help voters recognize Trump wields power the way FDR wielded power, with the same tools--but for evil.
However, where passive, elite, Neoliberal Dems accept democratic institutions are sacrosanct, immutable, holy objects, Trump knows they are not. They are only tools. A sword can cut for good or for evil.
We need someone--a team is also likely--willing to use these same tools to dismantle monopoly capitalism (see also Captured Capitalism by Steve Teles on Amazon books and on YouTube). The current system is rigged wildly in favor of monied elites. Only positive use of our democratic "tools" can dismantle the harm done.
This is what Bernie has stood for and spoken for decades, educating people about a viable alternative.
We are in a Choice Point. For the lower 99% of voters, some new strain of Democratic Socialism is the only fair future, the only winable future. Anything less than a positive use of democratic tools by passive, elite, Neoliberal Dems--I'm looking at you, toothless Abundance Theoreticians--preserves vulture capitalism's dominance.
Maybe the good thing about peril we are in is that it showed us in real time what is the plan, project 2025. And it basically raped out government with total disregard for the Constitution. They stole our lives, our privacy to use against us and control us. Yes the parties are entrenched and allowed things to get to this moment.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
And we are many!
We do have the power, we just have to shake off whatever is stopping us to remake our government to serve we the people.
Yes, this is how I think most people under age 40 think. It's not wrong. However it's not yet embracing https://RunForSomething.net/ nor is it yet sufficiently informed-educated to critique https://www.DSAusa.org/ so it moves to something fresher and more resonant with people under 40.
Don’t necessarily get the under 40 comment but I agree that the path forward cannot be to fall into the same lame representation that gets in office and thinks Washington knows best. Working people know their needs and they have been mostly ignored or blocked. Just look at the continuing battle for decent, basic health care that doesn’t bankrupt people. And GOP is still fighting for the corporations and equity firms that have destroyed housing and hospitals by treating them as realty. We need a new path, we have to do the hard things.
Like your other commenters, I agree with everything you’re saying. However, I can’t help but remember during COVID when Biden signed an EO for such a simple thing as requiring nursing home employees to wear a mask while working. This to protect the most vulnerable segment of the population and immediately the magats rushed off to a pet judge to scream about the employee’s rights to kill as many seniors as they want. And won.
What’s to keep a minority in the new congress from doing the same thing with each proposed or enacted piece of legislation that you lay out? Simply get it to their right wing supreme court and have the legislation overturned. Look what they’ve done with settled law in the areas of voting rights, abortion, gerrymandered states and dark money in elections.
How do we start? How do we get someone elected without them being vetted by those entrenched? And not just one. We need hundreds that are willing to fight for what's right and not cave to the first billionaire that deposits a few million into their personal bank account. How can they fight against the corporate dems who want nothing more than to protect their enormous donations?
I guess what I am asking is how the hell did FDR do it when he was in much the same position then as we are now?
I did a search and came up with the following. I think we are in a different position but I'm posting it anyway in case it's helpful:
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt successfully enacted the New Deal due to a combination of factors, including a landslide victory in the 1932 election, a strong Democratic majority in Congress, and his effective use of his first 100 days in office to push for legislation. He also skillfully framed his policies to address the needs of various groups, including the poor, the elderly, farmers, and labor unions.
Here's a more detailed look at how FDR was able to pass the New Deal:
1. Strong Presidential and Congressional Support:
Roosevelt's victory in the 1932 election was decisive, giving him a strong mandate to act. He won with a landslide majority, according to Wikipedia.
He also had a large Democratic majority in Congress, allowing him to pass his agenda relatively quickly.
2. First 100 Days:
Roosevelt immediately called Congress into a special session and worked tirelessly to get legislation passed.
He presented and successfully passed a series of 15 major bills designed to counter the Great Depression.
In total, Congress passed 77 laws during his first 100 days, many focused on reviving the economy through public works projects.
3. Public Appeal and Effective Communication:
Roosevelt effectively used his "fireside chats" on the radio to communicate his policies directly to the American people.
He framed the New Deal as a program to address the needs of all Americans, appealing to diverse groups.
4. Collaboration and Negotiation:
While Roosevelt had a strong majority, he also had to work with different factions within his own party, including Southern Democrats.
He also had to contend with some Senators who had resisted his efforts to purge certain members of his party.
5. Addressing the Needs of Different Groups:
The New Deal included programs to redistribute wealth, income, and power in favor of the poor, the elderly, farmers, and labor unions.
This broad appeal helped to solidify support for his policies.
In summary, FDR's success in passing the New Deal can be attributed to his strong political position, his effective use of his first 100 days, his ability to connect with the public, his negotiation skills, and his focus on addressing the needs of various groups."
Yes, the system is not broken or rigged or captured, it is designed to work this way. Therefore, changes you're mentioning will not do it without changing the core of the system. Private ownership of means of production and capital concentrated in the hands of the very few is in the essence of all problems we're facing. Means of production and capital must be transferred from employers to employees with all of us being equal part owners of companies we work with and not allowing any one of us to be the only one who decides how the wealth is created and how it is used. That is the only way to solve the problems that existing system has brought upon us. Everything else is just kicking the can down the road and making arriving to the solution more difficult.
Political spines are scarce. Money in politics has wrecked everything. People are hungry for leadership and change. The status quo will not stand. At 70, I’m here for it.
Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister of Finance for Greece, has been talking and writing about this since at least the world economic meltdown in 2007/8. (I’m only now turning in.) In very general terms, the American working class correctly identifies the Democratic Party as their enemy but misidentifies the Republican Party as their ally. Meanwhile the middle class correctly identifies the Republican Party as their enemy but misidentifies the Democratic Party as their ally. The problem is that most members of both parties are corrupt and busy enriching themselves at our expense and helping their billionaire donors destroy the environment in the process. Corruption is the disease of every ruling class. They are always corrupted by the power of their positions. We need an entirely new political system and a complete overhaul of our economic system on a worldwide scale. We, the many, have always had all the political power to change the world but revolution is scary. However, only our own fear can defeat us. We need to educate ourselves, organize together and plan.
Eric, behind your words I hear a spark, a flame of freedom alight. A big key to expand your fire is to "Find the others like you." This was always Doug Rushkoff's advice to sincere questions like yours. What have you done to find local like-minded people? How's it going?
The only problem with this article, is that it doesn't go deep enough into the CORE PROBLEM.... which is not just "monopoly capitalism"... it is CAPITALISM ITSELF... ALL FORMS OF IT!!! Capitalism will ALWAYS lead to monopolies!
WHY? Because capitalism encourages and rewards the accumulation of wealth by individuals. It is based on the FALSE premise that we as individuals have control over our own lives and must compete with all other individuals for resources/wealth.
But the TRUTH is that we live on a finite planet where ALL LIVING BEINGS ARE TOTALLY INTERDEPENDENT! So, when anyone, for whatever reasons, is allowed to accumulate great wealth, that automatically decreases the wealth for everyone else. What we are experiencing now is the direct result of that!
What is needed is a completely different mind set... one based on the TRUTH... the need for COOPERATION.... NOT MORE COMPETITION!!! We need an economic system that is SOCIALLY and COOPERATIVELY ORIENTED (protecting the good of the WHOLE... NOT another capitalistic system!
Capitalism is inherently INDIVIDUALISTIC and COMPETITIVELY ORIENTED (focused on protecting the accumulation of material wealth by individuals). What we need is Socialism.... NOT capitalism. ANY system that allows great wealth disparity will ALWAYS result in the wealthiest buying off the government and creating the same situation we are now in.... ALL OVER AGAIN!!!
Lee, I like this VERY MUCH. Your remarks are a ringing endorsement for worker-owned and worker-run businesses. Have you explored this movement?
In the realm of local, state and national politics, the only levers which create lasting change are grassroots voter mobilization and https://RunForSomething.net/
Thank you Bruce, If I were not 82 and did not have too many serious medical problems, I would probably run for something. But now all I can do is continue writing protest lyrics for the Tucson Raging Grannies, comment on articles online, and try to find some way to make my own articles available to the public.
I am not at all savvy at navigating websites and have no ability to pay for someone else to do it for me, so if you know of anyone who would volunteer to help me, I would love that! I do have an account on "Medium," but have not been able to figure out how to successfully use it to make what I've written available to the public.
Hi Lee, I also have 400 articles on Medium. I have used them as "mental floss" and as first drafts. Putting hours into acquiring more social media followers is not how I want to spend my time.
Medium's problem is the paywall. Two ways around this:
One is to find a Medium online "publication" aligned with your topics. Invite them to look at all your pieces and use them in their curated collections.
Second, get a free LinkedIn account and post the pieces you want to have greater circulation as articles. In a sense, Linkedin is the same as Medium.com without a paywall. Both platforms enter your articles into Google where they show up in user searches. But it's only free for most users to read your pieces on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn emails you each week how many views and readers you had.
Beware of LinkedIn groups. Most are antique and defunct. Check their feed of recent posts. Only post to groups with any recent posts.
That's about all you can do which is both cheap and easy. gave up on posting to Facebook. I'm still unable to see if any reads-likes any thing I post there.
It is really correct that it is no longer Left against Right. It is the rich and powerful against the poor and powerless.
FDR was a great Statesman. Not only did he have the right ideas, his heart was in the right place and with the big mandate he got, he could actually make huge reforms that benefitted the People.
Another thing that helped him, and perhaps we are not quite there yet, is the very deep misery that the People were enduring, caused by the Dust Bowl and the foolish 20s with its show off of wealth and corruption and corrupt speculators that preceded the crash.
Well, hopefully, the dry years of the Dust Bowl do not repeat, but we are seeing the new speculators: The $Trump coins, bitcoins cryptocurrency... That is all speculation, as these instruments are not worth the money they are printed on. They do not correspond to tangibles. They are more akin to collectors items: Having no intrinsic value, except to another collector.
So the makings of the new crash are there: Corruption and speculators.
Batten down the hatches, make victory gardens, help your poorer neighbors when you can: It's going to hurt.
Cecile, I like this VERY MUCH. Love your endorsement of "hope for the best AND prepare for the worst." Have you had any luck locally finding others like you with whom you are like-minded? Mutual aid, mutual support is a big part of what's coming.
Moral support is essential if we are to keep ourselves from being bullied.
"L'union fait la force", as we say in French. Or, as on the Great Seal: "E Pluribus Unum".
Out of many, One.
I'm in Wisconsin Rapids, a pretty red area. We protest every Friday and Saturday. Sometimes as few as a dozen, sometimes 100.
The group is loose and yet very cohesive. I found that Progressives messages, centering around Unions and Freedoms work best. Anti-corruption messages resonate too , but not as well.
I've been following this guy since he launched AmericasUndoing...
His lucid reasoning cuts through the BS mainstream media regurgitates to defend their corporate patrons...
You wanna understand how America was built and operates to this day...
Read or stream the Book Ghost Forest by Greg King, footnoted, citatations, facts about how Americas Robber barrons fleece Americans...
I don't know where its going, or how it ends, but I'm not going down on my knees!
I think its gonna take a working class backlash to big to stop, to shift this 50 Yr slide...
literally millions of working class American's angry at the Investor class instead of picking on each other...
decentralized across America in groups of thousands, requiring such a dispersion of police assets that there's not enough of them to go around.
The Unemployed, the Under/employed, people loosing, civil servants, teachers, nurses, Vets in the streets...
Enough strikes, enough people boycotting corporate businesses and shopping locally instead, to bring corporate profit's to a standstill, and wall street to their knees, and re-unionizing!
Call it what you will, civil disobedience...
Thats what it's gonna take cause nobody's coming to save us!
I admire your fire, David. I also invite and encourage you to imagine how things could work out for the best. Here's my vision:
In 2025, as has been happening, younger, fresher Dems winning most or every seat they contest. This suggests, as many predict, a huge Blue Wave in Nov. 2026. This will rob MAGA of its majority in House or Senate--or both.
Then in 2028, AOC will be old enuf to run for President or be vice-President. I like Bernie for Pres and AOC for VP. If elected this team with likely have a senate and house majority. Then in their first 100 Days--hold onto your hat!
Comments, expansions invited. Everyone, post your own positive vision here also.
Corbin, I again shared your post on social media and to John Nichols of the Nation and with Dan Froomkin of Press Watch. I again said you are the closest wriuter we have now to Thomas Paine. Be sure to inform us of any new candidates running for office you like so we can vote for them.
It’s important to remember that Hitler’s initial support came from the wealthiest German industrialists (who share his antisemitism). There are a parallels here to the Tech bros. Just slightly different targets.
Also, in order to enact this, public spending is needed which, under the current system is funded by debt. The majority of this debt is purchased by the biggest investors, which exacerbates money being siphoned to the top as they collect their interest.
Teri--maybe. How much do you know about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)? Prof. Stephanie Kelton is by far the most visible proponent. I'm not sure she hits the nail on the head. Here's my attempt to explain MMT in 800 words,
Revised June 2025
MMT: Economics isn't linear equations. It's “four body problem” thinking
842 word summary of Stephanie Kelton.
To understand HOW Economics is evolving, we have to recognize how weak and simplistic cold economic math was. It was easily manipulated by elites. MMT shows how new economic math is many times more complex and cannot be manipulated by elites. Dive in. https://link.medium.com/ClmKtUK0YIb
MMT is Changing Economics from linear equations to “four-body-problems”
842 word summary of Stephanie Kelton
To paraphrase several Modern Monetary Theory thinkers I follow, mainstream economics is evolving.
Old Economic Math treats all economics based on family-household finances:
- You can only spend as much as you take in, in income,
- You can’t spend more than your income,
- If you owe money, you have to work to pay it back,
- Budgets not only matter, they are crucial and carry weight.
Notice in the above, these are all linear equations:
- Income = how much you can spend,
- Monthly bills = how much you have to pay immediately
- Debt = how much you have to pay out over a longer term.
The problem with Old Economic Math is it does not apply--has nothing to do with--to nation-states who print their own sovereign currency.
1) If a country measures its income and outlays in money it prints itself, then this state is the same as the Post Office and the stamps it sells. The Post Office can’t run out of stamps. When the PO needs more stamps, it simply prints more stamps.
2) The analogy of family-household finance never did, never will, apply to sovereign nation states who print their own money.
- A family cannot legally print its own dollars.
- A family suffers consequences if they do not pay their taxes and monthly bills.
A sovereign nation state has neither of these consequences.
Rishi Sunak and 2024 Tory Party in England, I’m looking at you. Stop lying to the UK public.
Sovereign state economic math as juggling
How sovereign states manage economies into health
When sovereign nation states produce economic peace and prosperity for their citizens, this is what they are doing:
- They juggle how much to spend on projects against the dangers of inflation,
- They juggle who and how much to tax against the dangers of recession and depression,
- They juggle starting new “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects against existing unemployment,
- They juggle tariffs and incentives to build new productive factories against a desired level of national GNP,
- They juggle interest rates against unemployment, housing shortages and incentives to build new factories.
Please notice NONE of the above are simple linear equations. They are all juggling problems.
We learn linear math equations in elementary school. Success at juggling takes more initiative, attention and practice than simple linear equations.
To be good at economics at the national level requires being good at juggling multiple priorities. If I change how I juggle this one ball, how does it affect all the other balls I am juggling?
Rishi Sunak and his untrustworthy Tory friends are proclaiming they are stuck at elementary school math; and, have yet to graduate to the kind of thinking capable of managing a nation-state economy.
Sovereign state economic math as a “four-body problem”
In this analogy which four balls have to be kept circulating to maintain a healthy economy? They are:
- Building new factories to replace old factories no longer adequately productive.
Guess what? Changing the size or weight of any one ball immediately affects how the other three other balls must be handled.
The above is meant to support and clarify what Stephanie Kelton and other MMT people have taught me.
Old, simple two-body problem thinking (tax vs. spend) has to die. More complex four-body problem thinking (balancing employment, inflation, productive capacity) has to be taught and practiced.
Q: Is there any other appropriate metaphor for MMT?
A: Yes, the juggling of four balls in the air can be analogized to a hologram. In a hologram, a change in any one node, affects every other node. This is how the human immune system and metabolism works.
Q: Was there ever any benefit to analogizing sovereign nation state economy to household spending?
A: Yes. In the USA, before a college education was the norm for the vast majority of citizens, between the 1800s and 1930s, analogizing nation state economy to household budgets made more sense--than nothing at all!
'Juggling four balls" would have been incomprehensible to citizens with rarely more than a sixth-grade education.
I hope the above encourages MMT to STOP trying to explain MMT as a linear-logical math. MMT does not exist on a two- dimensional plane. It only comes alive and workable conceived in a three-dimensional space. All economists and politicians resistant to MMT, or confused by it, are missing this shift from grade school household economy math (add, subtract), to more intuitive-holistic-ecological problem solving.
If you see a way to expand on my article, go for it. May be possible to use it as part of a booklet you can monetize. Or we can collaborate if useful. My article not copyrighted. No restrictions.
We also need a new title. MMT is no longer a theory. The MMT name is holding the movement back.
That wasn’t supposed to send yet… where was I … yes, relative to supply of goods kind of the definition of inflation? Also, where did the idea come from that taxes “take money out of the economy?” The government immediately spends it. Often not on the most productive things, but it’s not like the money vanishes, just because it gets spent on, say, highway maintenance or social services rather than some billionaires’15th summer home.
Hi Teri, there is no answer to your question about soverign nation spending when you couch it in terms of a household budget. You have unknowingly, put your finger on the biggest problem political economy thinking now faces. Congrats!
Well, MMT kind of sounds like money is an imaginary thing that can simply be expanded to fulfill every wish. As a former bank teller, I realize that paper and coins are simply markers of value, but there’s something I’m missing about this theory. I think the part that makes no sense to me is the idea that money is CREATED by Congress authorizing spending.
Wow you actually believe in capitalism. That’s sad funny odd. Like the New Deal you want to save it once again? I think the situation is much more dire this time and the possibilities and solutions are much more utopian. Messy utopia or oblivion- pick one.
Good analysis of economic capitalisms inevitable descent into feudalism. But no mention of who ultimately runs the federal reserve, the financial system, the entertainment/media system, the foreign policy of the usa, the churches in the usa, every member of congress and presidents?
MakeTheWorld... you aren't wrong. Were you hoping Corbin would cover and address every possible aspect of positive change? Were you hoping for a magic pill which would solve all the problems you list? I wonder what level of challenge you face in your own life today; and, what positive solutions you apply to them?
Whotf are you? hasbara, a fed? Corbin's a big boy. He hot played by the best careerists in dc who pretended to be a revolutionaries for big bucks. How's the democratic party doing?
"We need someone willing to use these tools to dismantle monopoly capitalism, not defend it." SO: we need someone who can wield power the way DJT does, but use it to dismantle the current paradigm? I agree with everything you say. We need a whole new ideology. We need to dismantle the current rigged system. Isn't that in large measure what Bernie has been trying to do for decades? Educate people about a viable alternative? There's nothing like the power of an idea whose time has come. And I believe we are in that time. Democratic Socialists are the future. Or the continued boot of oppressive vulture capitalism.
Anne I liked what you wrote so much, I expanded on what you and Corbin wrote:
Trump uses our democratic institutions for evil. Let's help voters recognize Trump wields power the way FDR wielded power, with the same tools--but for evil.
However, where passive, elite, Neoliberal Dems accept democratic institutions are sacrosanct, immutable, holy objects, Trump knows they are not. They are only tools. A sword can cut for good or for evil.
We need someone--a team is also likely--willing to use these same tools to dismantle monopoly capitalism (see also Captured Capitalism by Steve Teles on Amazon books and on YouTube). The current system is rigged wildly in favor of monied elites. Only positive use of our democratic "tools" can dismantle the harm done.
This is what Bernie has stood for and spoken for decades, educating people about a viable alternative.
We are in a Choice Point. For the lower 99% of voters, some new strain of Democratic Socialism is the only fair future, the only winable future. Anything less than a positive use of democratic tools by passive, elite, Neoliberal Dems--I'm looking at you, toothless Abundance Theoreticians--preserves vulture capitalism's dominance.
https://RunforSomething.net/
Well said, sir!
Maybe the good thing about peril we are in is that it showed us in real time what is the plan, project 2025. And it basically raped out government with total disregard for the Constitution. They stole our lives, our privacy to use against us and control us. Yes the parties are entrenched and allowed things to get to this moment.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
And we are many!
We do have the power, we just have to shake off whatever is stopping us to remake our government to serve we the people.
Yes, this is how I think most people under age 40 think. It's not wrong. However it's not yet embracing https://RunForSomething.net/ nor is it yet sufficiently informed-educated to critique https://www.DSAusa.org/ so it moves to something fresher and more resonant with people under 40.
Don’t necessarily get the under 40 comment but I agree that the path forward cannot be to fall into the same lame representation that gets in office and thinks Washington knows best. Working people know their needs and they have been mostly ignored or blocked. Just look at the continuing battle for decent, basic health care that doesn’t bankrupt people. And GOP is still fighting for the corporations and equity firms that have destroyed housing and hospitals by treating them as realty. We need a new path, we have to do the hard things.
Like your other commenters, I agree with everything you’re saying. However, I can’t help but remember during COVID when Biden signed an EO for such a simple thing as requiring nursing home employees to wear a mask while working. This to protect the most vulnerable segment of the population and immediately the magats rushed off to a pet judge to scream about the employee’s rights to kill as many seniors as they want. And won.
What’s to keep a minority in the new congress from doing the same thing with each proposed or enacted piece of legislation that you lay out? Simply get it to their right wing supreme court and have the legislation overturned. Look what they’ve done with settled law in the areas of voting rights, abortion, gerrymandered states and dark money in elections.
How do we start? How do we get someone elected without them being vetted by those entrenched? And not just one. We need hundreds that are willing to fight for what's right and not cave to the first billionaire that deposits a few million into their personal bank account. How can they fight against the corporate dems who want nothing more than to protect their enormous donations?
I guess what I am asking is how the hell did FDR do it when he was in much the same position then as we are now?
I did a search and came up with the following. I think we are in a different position but I'm posting it anyway in case it's helpful:
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt successfully enacted the New Deal due to a combination of factors, including a landslide victory in the 1932 election, a strong Democratic majority in Congress, and his effective use of his first 100 days in office to push for legislation. He also skillfully framed his policies to address the needs of various groups, including the poor, the elderly, farmers, and labor unions.
Here's a more detailed look at how FDR was able to pass the New Deal:
1. Strong Presidential and Congressional Support:
Roosevelt's victory in the 1932 election was decisive, giving him a strong mandate to act. He won with a landslide majority, according to Wikipedia.
He also had a large Democratic majority in Congress, allowing him to pass his agenda relatively quickly.
2. First 100 Days:
Roosevelt immediately called Congress into a special session and worked tirelessly to get legislation passed.
He presented and successfully passed a series of 15 major bills designed to counter the Great Depression.
In total, Congress passed 77 laws during his first 100 days, many focused on reviving the economy through public works projects.
3. Public Appeal and Effective Communication:
Roosevelt effectively used his "fireside chats" on the radio to communicate his policies directly to the American people.
He framed the New Deal as a program to address the needs of all Americans, appealing to diverse groups.
4. Collaboration and Negotiation:
While Roosevelt had a strong majority, he also had to work with different factions within his own party, including Southern Democrats.
He also had to contend with some Senators who had resisted his efforts to purge certain members of his party.
5. Addressing the Needs of Different Groups:
The New Deal included programs to redistribute wealth, income, and power in favor of the poor, the elderly, farmers, and labor unions.
This broad appeal helped to solidify support for his policies.
In summary, FDR's success in passing the New Deal can be attributed to his strong political position, his effective use of his first 100 days, his ability to connect with the public, his negotiation skills, and his focus on addressing the needs of various groups."
See also my reply to Elidema25 above :)
Yes, the system is not broken or rigged or captured, it is designed to work this way. Therefore, changes you're mentioning will not do it without changing the core of the system. Private ownership of means of production and capital concentrated in the hands of the very few is in the essence of all problems we're facing. Means of production and capital must be transferred from employers to employees with all of us being equal part owners of companies we work with and not allowing any one of us to be the only one who decides how the wealth is created and how it is used. That is the only way to solve the problems that existing system has brought upon us. Everything else is just kicking the can down the road and making arriving to the solution more difficult.
Political spines are scarce. Money in politics has wrecked everything. People are hungry for leadership and change. The status quo will not stand. At 70, I’m here for it.
Agree, I'm 74! If of interest, see my comments above to your point.
I can’t argue with a single point you’ve made. Your unbiased clarity offers relief from suffocation by propaganda.
Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister of Finance for Greece, has been talking and writing about this since at least the world economic meltdown in 2007/8. (I’m only now turning in.) In very general terms, the American working class correctly identifies the Democratic Party as their enemy but misidentifies the Republican Party as their ally. Meanwhile the middle class correctly identifies the Republican Party as their enemy but misidentifies the Democratic Party as their ally. The problem is that most members of both parties are corrupt and busy enriching themselves at our expense and helping their billionaire donors destroy the environment in the process. Corruption is the disease of every ruling class. They are always corrupted by the power of their positions. We need an entirely new political system and a complete overhaul of our economic system on a worldwide scale. We, the many, have always had all the political power to change the world but revolution is scary. However, only our own fear can defeat us. We need to educate ourselves, organize together and plan.
Eric, behind your words I hear a spark, a flame of freedom alight. A big key to expand your fire is to "Find the others like you." This was always Doug Rushkoff's advice to sincere questions like yours. What have you done to find local like-minded people? How's it going?
We have to demand the end of unlimited campaign spending--SCOTUS will capitulate when the people demand it. That is the root of our evil.
A fine sermon from the pulpit of sanity. The system is not broken, it is functioning as intended, which is precisely the problem.
And the next monk who hears "just vote harder" without structural transformation may simply laugh until the incense burns out.
The bars are not democracy. The rules are not sacred. The cage was built to be profitable. Time to stop polishing it and start breaking it.
Virgin Monk Boy
Your comments almost read as poetry. You might revise this into a poem to see if it has even more impact, free verse is also acceptable.
The only problem with this article, is that it doesn't go deep enough into the CORE PROBLEM.... which is not just "monopoly capitalism"... it is CAPITALISM ITSELF... ALL FORMS OF IT!!! Capitalism will ALWAYS lead to monopolies!
WHY? Because capitalism encourages and rewards the accumulation of wealth by individuals. It is based on the FALSE premise that we as individuals have control over our own lives and must compete with all other individuals for resources/wealth.
But the TRUTH is that we live on a finite planet where ALL LIVING BEINGS ARE TOTALLY INTERDEPENDENT! So, when anyone, for whatever reasons, is allowed to accumulate great wealth, that automatically decreases the wealth for everyone else. What we are experiencing now is the direct result of that!
What is needed is a completely different mind set... one based on the TRUTH... the need for COOPERATION.... NOT MORE COMPETITION!!! We need an economic system that is SOCIALLY and COOPERATIVELY ORIENTED (protecting the good of the WHOLE... NOT another capitalistic system!
Capitalism is inherently INDIVIDUALISTIC and COMPETITIVELY ORIENTED (focused on protecting the accumulation of material wealth by individuals). What we need is Socialism.... NOT capitalism. ANY system that allows great wealth disparity will ALWAYS result in the wealthiest buying off the government and creating the same situation we are now in.... ALL OVER AGAIN!!!
Lee, I like this VERY MUCH. Your remarks are a ringing endorsement for worker-owned and worker-run businesses. Have you explored this movement?
In the realm of local, state and national politics, the only levers which create lasting change are grassroots voter mobilization and https://RunForSomething.net/
Your comments?
Thank you Bruce, If I were not 82 and did not have too many serious medical problems, I would probably run for something. But now all I can do is continue writing protest lyrics for the Tucson Raging Grannies, comment on articles online, and try to find some way to make my own articles available to the public.
I am not at all savvy at navigating websites and have no ability to pay for someone else to do it for me, so if you know of anyone who would volunteer to help me, I would love that! I do have an account on "Medium," but have not been able to figure out how to successfully use it to make what I've written available to the public.
Hi Lee, I also have 400 articles on Medium. I have used them as "mental floss" and as first drafts. Putting hours into acquiring more social media followers is not how I want to spend my time.
Medium's problem is the paywall. Two ways around this:
One is to find a Medium online "publication" aligned with your topics. Invite them to look at all your pieces and use them in their curated collections.
Second, get a free LinkedIn account and post the pieces you want to have greater circulation as articles. In a sense, Linkedin is the same as Medium.com without a paywall. Both platforms enter your articles into Google where they show up in user searches. But it's only free for most users to read your pieces on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn emails you each week how many views and readers you had.
Beware of LinkedIn groups. Most are antique and defunct. Check their feed of recent posts. Only post to groups with any recent posts.
That's about all you can do which is both cheap and easy. gave up on posting to Facebook. I'm still unable to see if any reads-likes any thing I post there.
It is really correct that it is no longer Left against Right. It is the rich and powerful against the poor and powerless.
FDR was a great Statesman. Not only did he have the right ideas, his heart was in the right place and with the big mandate he got, he could actually make huge reforms that benefitted the People.
Another thing that helped him, and perhaps we are not quite there yet, is the very deep misery that the People were enduring, caused by the Dust Bowl and the foolish 20s with its show off of wealth and corruption and corrupt speculators that preceded the crash.
Well, hopefully, the dry years of the Dust Bowl do not repeat, but we are seeing the new speculators: The $Trump coins, bitcoins cryptocurrency... That is all speculation, as these instruments are not worth the money they are printed on. They do not correspond to tangibles. They are more akin to collectors items: Having no intrinsic value, except to another collector.
So the makings of the new crash are there: Corruption and speculators.
Batten down the hatches, make victory gardens, help your poorer neighbors when you can: It's going to hurt.
Cecile, I like this VERY MUCH. Love your endorsement of "hope for the best AND prepare for the worst." Have you had any luck locally finding others like you with whom you are like-minded? Mutual aid, mutual support is a big part of what's coming.
Moral support is essential if we are to keep ourselves from being bullied.
"L'union fait la force", as we say in French. Or, as on the Great Seal: "E Pluribus Unum".
Out of many, One.
I'm in Wisconsin Rapids, a pretty red area. We protest every Friday and Saturday. Sometimes as few as a dozen, sometimes 100.
The group is loose and yet very cohesive. I found that Progressives messages, centering around Unions and Freedoms work best. Anti-corruption messages resonate too , but not as well.
Do you have a group that is like-minded too?
I've been following this guy since he launched AmericasUndoing...
His lucid reasoning cuts through the BS mainstream media regurgitates to defend their corporate patrons...
You wanna understand how America was built and operates to this day...
Read or stream the Book Ghost Forest by Greg King, footnoted, citatations, facts about how Americas Robber barrons fleece Americans...
I don't know where its going, or how it ends, but I'm not going down on my knees!
I think its gonna take a working class backlash to big to stop, to shift this 50 Yr slide...
literally millions of working class American's angry at the Investor class instead of picking on each other...
decentralized across America in groups of thousands, requiring such a dispersion of police assets that there's not enough of them to go around.
The Unemployed, the Under/employed, people loosing, civil servants, teachers, nurses, Vets in the streets...
Enough strikes, enough people boycotting corporate businesses and shopping locally instead, to bring corporate profit's to a standstill, and wall street to their knees, and re-unionizing!
Call it what you will, civil disobedience...
Thats what it's gonna take cause nobody's coming to save us!
I admire your fire, David. I also invite and encourage you to imagine how things could work out for the best. Here's my vision:
In 2025, as has been happening, younger, fresher Dems winning most or every seat they contest. This suggests, as many predict, a huge Blue Wave in Nov. 2026. This will rob MAGA of its majority in House or Senate--or both.
Then in 2028, AOC will be old enuf to run for President or be vice-President. I like Bernie for Pres and AOC for VP. If elected this team with likely have a senate and house majority. Then in their first 100 Days--hold onto your hat!
Comments, expansions invited. Everyone, post your own positive vision here also.
Corbin, I again shared your post on social media and to John Nichols of the Nation and with Dan Froomkin of Press Watch. I again said you are the closest wriuter we have now to Thomas Paine. Be sure to inform us of any new candidates running for office you like so we can vote for them.
Well that’s insanely high praise.thank you for the kind words.
It’s important to remember that Hitler’s initial support came from the wealthiest German industrialists (who share his antisemitism). There are a parallels here to the Tech bros. Just slightly different targets.
Also, in order to enact this, public spending is needed which, under the current system is funded by debt. The majority of this debt is purchased by the biggest investors, which exacerbates money being siphoned to the top as they collect their interest.
Teri--maybe. How much do you know about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)? Prof. Stephanie Kelton is by far the most visible proponent. I'm not sure she hits the nail on the head. Here's my attempt to explain MMT in 800 words,
Revised June 2025
MMT: Economics isn't linear equations. It's “four body problem” thinking
842 word summary of Stephanie Kelton.
To understand HOW Economics is evolving, we have to recognize how weak and simplistic cold economic math was. It was easily manipulated by elites. MMT shows how new economic math is many times more complex and cannot be manipulated by elites. Dive in. https://link.medium.com/ClmKtUK0YIb
MMT is Changing Economics from linear equations to “four-body-problems”
842 word summary of Stephanie Kelton
To paraphrase several Modern Monetary Theory thinkers I follow, mainstream economics is evolving.
Old Economic Math treats all economics based on family-household finances:
- You can only spend as much as you take in, in income,
- You can’t spend more than your income,
- If you owe money, you have to work to pay it back,
- Budgets not only matter, they are crucial and carry weight.
Notice in the above, these are all linear equations:
- Income = how much you can spend,
- Monthly bills = how much you have to pay immediately
- Debt = how much you have to pay out over a longer term.
The problem with Old Economic Math is it does not apply--has nothing to do with--to nation-states who print their own sovereign currency.
1) If a country measures its income and outlays in money it prints itself, then this state is the same as the Post Office and the stamps it sells. The Post Office can’t run out of stamps. When the PO needs more stamps, it simply prints more stamps.
2) The analogy of family-household finance never did, never will, apply to sovereign nation states who print their own money.
- A family cannot legally print its own dollars.
- A family suffers consequences if they do not pay their taxes and monthly bills.
A sovereign nation state has neither of these consequences.
Rishi Sunak and 2024 Tory Party in England, I’m looking at you. Stop lying to the UK public.
Sovereign state economic math as juggling
How sovereign states manage economies into health
When sovereign nation states produce economic peace and prosperity for their citizens, this is what they are doing:
- They juggle how much to spend on projects against the dangers of inflation,
- They juggle who and how much to tax against the dangers of recession and depression,
- They juggle starting new “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects against existing unemployment,
- They juggle tariffs and incentives to build new productive factories against a desired level of national GNP,
- They juggle interest rates against unemployment, housing shortages and incentives to build new factories.
Please notice NONE of the above are simple linear equations. They are all juggling problems.
We learn linear math equations in elementary school. Success at juggling takes more initiative, attention and practice than simple linear equations.
To be good at economics at the national level requires being good at juggling multiple priorities. If I change how I juggle this one ball, how does it affect all the other balls I am juggling?
Rishi Sunak and his untrustworthy Tory friends are proclaiming they are stuck at elementary school math; and, have yet to graduate to the kind of thinking capable of managing a nation-state economy.
Sovereign state economic math as a “four-body problem”
In this analogy which four balls have to be kept circulating to maintain a healthy economy? They are:
- Government spending (money creation),
- Taxation (money canceling, reducing purchasing power),
- Employment-unemployment, and
- Building new factories to replace old factories no longer adequately productive.
Guess what? Changing the size or weight of any one ball immediately affects how the other three other balls must be handled.
The above is meant to support and clarify what Stephanie Kelton and other MMT people have taught me.
Old, simple two-body problem thinking (tax vs. spend) has to die. More complex four-body problem thinking (balancing employment, inflation, productive capacity) has to be taught and practiced.
Q: Is there any other appropriate metaphor for MMT?
A: Yes, the juggling of four balls in the air can be analogized to a hologram. In a hologram, a change in any one node, affects every other node. This is how the human immune system and metabolism works.
Q: Was there ever any benefit to analogizing sovereign nation state economy to household spending?
A: Yes. In the USA, before a college education was the norm for the vast majority of citizens, between the 1800s and 1930s, analogizing nation state economy to household budgets made more sense--than nothing at all!
'Juggling four balls" would have been incomprehensible to citizens with rarely more than a sixth-grade education.
I hope the above encourages MMT to STOP trying to explain MMT as a linear-logical math. MMT does not exist on a two- dimensional plane. It only comes alive and workable conceived in a three-dimensional space. All economists and politicians resistant to MMT, or confused by it, are missing this shift from grade school household economy math (add, subtract), to more intuitive-holistic-ecological problem solving.
If you see a way to expand on my article, go for it. May be possible to use it as part of a booklet you can monetize. Or we can collaborate if useful. My article not copyrighted. No restrictions.
We also need a new title. MMT is no longer a theory. The MMT name is holding the movement back.
References
https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-modern-monetary-theory-72095
That wasn’t supposed to send yet… where was I … yes, relative to supply of goods kind of the definition of inflation? Also, where did the idea come from that taxes “take money out of the economy?” The government immediately spends it. Often not on the most productive things, but it’s not like the money vanishes, just because it gets spent on, say, highway maintenance or social services rather than some billionaires’15th summer home.
Hi Teri, there is no answer to your question about soverign nation spending when you couch it in terms of a household budget. You have unknowingly, put your finger on the biggest problem political economy thinking now faces. Congrats!
I
May be tuck in the old paradigm, but aren’t an increase in the money supply (
Well, MMT kind of sounds like money is an imaginary thing that can simply be expanded to fulfill every wish. As a former bank teller, I realize that paper and coins are simply markers of value, but there’s something I’m missing about this theory. I think the part that makes no sense to me is the idea that money is CREATED by Congress authorizing spending.
Wow you actually believe in capitalism. That’s sad funny odd. Like the New Deal you want to save it once again? I think the situation is much more dire this time and the possibilities and solutions are much more utopian. Messy utopia or oblivion- pick one.
Brzuno, you find my above article on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) educational :)
Good analysis of economic capitalisms inevitable descent into feudalism. But no mention of who ultimately runs the federal reserve, the financial system, the entertainment/media system, the foreign policy of the usa, the churches in the usa, every member of congress and presidents?
MakeTheWorld... you aren't wrong. Were you hoping Corbin would cover and address every possible aspect of positive change? Were you hoping for a magic pill which would solve all the problems you list? I wonder what level of challenge you face in your own life today; and, what positive solutions you apply to them?
Whotf are you? hasbara, a fed? Corbin's a big boy. He hot played by the best careerists in dc who pretended to be a revolutionaries for big bucks. How's the democratic party doing?