The Bigger they are, the Farther the Fall

In the 1970’s heads of trans-state corporations like Standard Oil, Nestles, and Monsanto concluded that the regulatory systems established by states’ governments were far too restrictive…preventing what these few CEOs from achieving the unlimited growth they believed business needs.  These titans of business attempted, but failed to establish an “extra territorial” financial system that couldn’t be regulated by governments.  Their efforts collapsed in failure.

When US President Ronald Reagan and UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher rose to power immediate steps to strip the powers of government regulating business–economic liberalization–came into vogue.  This governmental retreat opened the door for thirty years of laissez faire economics on a grand, global scale. The global “financial services” industry that actually served only the interests of corporations was born, but more importantly an industry unregulated and independent of local state economy constraints was established.

The World Trade Organization that eventually came into being in the 1990s became the corporate mechanism for restraining state’s governments. The reversal of roles became fully realized and corporations became free to creaate wealth from nothing except the mathmatical certainty of business administration graduates.

Biggness became celebrated above quality, creativity, and the ability of individuals and small enterprises to serve their customers.  Now we are told that businesses that have grown hugely from this process are “too big to fail.” States (citizens who have not benefited from corporate wealth creation) are now called upon to save the huge corporations that have produced virtually nothing for people, but vast wealth and power for a few corporates heads.

This view is not just some kind of populist commentary. No, I suggest that corporations that were originally licensed by “the people” through their governments have now transformed themselves into super states competing with the various states.  They have no territory. They have no citizens. They have no capacity to produce anything. They are simply an institution that has “gone viral.” Like irradiated bacteria or virus let out of the laboratory, corporations have grown into monstors that must be controlled to prevent them from creating havoc damaging to human beings and the environment.

Breaking up corporations is essential now. While banks, investment firms, communications companies, oil companies and auto companies argue that they must grow for ever to “compete” with their counterparts elsewhere in the world must be broken up.  In all countries, corporations must be put back in their cage under the control of the people’s governments. Failure to do so will allow corporations to reconstitute themselves only to grow even larger than they are now underminding human societies all over the world.

trans-state corporations, biggness, laissez faire

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Bigger is not Better

No other country in the world so celebrates things that are Big as does the United States. Big corporations, big automobiles, the biggest corporation and the biggest building. This attitude drives other countries to compete in an effort to equal or better the United States. While this behavior is probably based in biology and psychology, it is perfectly silly, and yes, even stupid.

This week the so-called “financial sector,” the core of the capitalist engine collapsed.  The system that produced nothing but money with little or no risk violated all of the principals of the capitalist ideology, and now the United States government is dealing with the collapse of capitalism with socialism–nationalization of the corporate titans of Wall Street.  How completely ironic it is that the long condemned system of communitarianism is now the sole means by which American International Group, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Merill Lynch will be prevented from failure.

The business leaders who claimed to be bullet proof couldn’t manage their way out of a paper bag. They used businesses as if they were private piggy banks with no obligation to serve the public good. Now the system on which the so called financial sector based its rationale as essentially collapsed.

Big business can get too big and should never be allowed to exceed the grasp of managers. Business can get too big and should be broken up and never allowed to control the lives of people.  The lesson people must learn again…live within your means and act to serve life.  The commons is literally all around us and we all most share.   Businesses got too large and they were used as if this basic truth did not apply.

This is My Word a chronicle of my thoughts on the social, economic, political and cultural affairs of our lives.

My Mother, Ruth A. Gilham-Ryser always encouraged debate at the kitchen table. The events of the day, the politics of our country and the lives of our neighbors in the small town of 150 souls were among the subjects of our discussions. Adults and children alike had the right to an opinion, to information and to argument. When ever she expressed exasperation at some silly, stupid or unfortunate event that would become a topic of our kitchen table discussions my Mother would simply raise her voice a little and say “My Word!”  Mother. This is a conversation, a discussion of another kind that you would especially like. We will have plent of opportunity to say “My Word!”