Why American capitalism is so rotten, Part 1

From Robert Reich, an excellent primer on how things actually work here in the U.S.:

… Power has been leached out of conventional discussions about what is occurring. … But you cannot understand American capitalism today without confronting power head on. It is the most important subterranean force.

Power is exercised through institutions — big Wall Street banks, global corporations, the executive and legislative branches of government, the Federal Reserve and the Supreme Court, the military, elite universities, and the media (including social media as organized by Big Tech).

But these institutions don’t wield power on their own. Particular people have outsized influence over them. As Greta Thunberg observes, “If everyone is guilty, then no one is to blame. And someone is to blame. Some people — some companies and some decision-makers in particular — have known exactly what priceless values they are sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money.” ….

…. Seeing the system for what it is will empower you to join with others to change it for the better.

Next week, we’ll take on the biggest mythology underlying American capitalism, which has prevented us from seeing the whole. 

Take a few minutes to read the whole article!
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/beyond-trump-why-american-capitalism/