Reply #69: But capitalism of what sort?

[Alcibiades]

You have to make a distinction between the Fordist model that grew this economy and the corporate model that is destroying it.

Ford himself was a problematic figure, not least because of his labor relations and his antisemitism, but he understood that a mass consumer economy required that workers be paid a living wage, so that there would be mass consumers there to consume the products of mass production. Also, companies of his era had a home address. They were closely-held, with families and individuals in charge.

Today, we have created the era of the transnational corporation that cares about nothing but profit, and stock value. This has led to an emphasis on perverse incentives for executives, who are not owners but managers, and there is no home address. Responsibility is diffuse. If Carnegie Steel did something bad, blame could be laid at the doorstep of one man: today, there is the CEO, but, as we have seen, the CEO can claim ignorance if called to account, as Ken Lay and others have done, and they can also weasel out by claiming that they sought to maximize shareholder value. Also, individuals can be moral, but corporations cannot. A Carnegie or a Bill Gates can leave bequests for charitable works: corporations are immortal and don't worry about the afterlife, so they do no such thing.

There's much to be done, such as eliminating corporate personhood and putting labor on the boards of corporations. But I wouldn't hold my breath.