Thursday, September 14, 2017

's Wonderful


There is a Financial Structure. The financial structure accommodates various persons. The components are the persons in this structure (whether individuals, employees, advisers). A structure: something like a house. Many persons live inside of that. When I say financial structure I limit myself to the upper social class, the upper status sorts of person.

And these persons live inside this structure – the commercial house – and are human and have a cooperative feeling as humans. Capitalism depends on our cooperation, rather than our mathematics. And, no, it is not competition----or any other idea. You can call it “self-interest” if you like – that’s just more language. Economics could not possibly exist without the human element of cooperation. Give it whatever name you like, but every day businessmen cooperate. To do so is necessary; one must undercut the virus of self-interest.

It is difficult to give a definite interpretation of the way this structure was constructed. It was constructed over the course of history, but it is also temporary. It is completely impermanent. It must be understood as being completely impermanent. In the time it has left, it accommodates many, many human beings. To provide jobs is one thing. That's fine, but where is it leading? 

To be sure, there are questions, fascinating ones, about this "house of finance" the upper class has built and which conditions the world we live in. This structure, or house, works in a cooperative way, though, which I have already stated. Since they live as humans, rather than as abstractions or whatever it is that the economists believe, we would hope of them that they could realize that they are merely spinning their wheels waiting for their (and our) house to collapse. 

We shall now review the ideas: capitalism causes a house to be built; what is essential (for the time it exists) is cooperation. It is not self-interest or competition that is key. 

Let's paraphrase Ellington: It don't mean a thing / if it don't got that (cooperation or) "zing." Capitalism needs flava.

Amazing---
how they do all this out of "self-interest"!
It's remarkable!
'S Wonderful!

The Flavor of Capitalism

[written at Starbucks]