Capitalism at the Guillotine

[Donnachaidh]

http://counterpunch.org/hunziker08052011.html

Hard times always bring to surface questions about the sanctity and the viability of an economic system. The Ancien Régime, established in France from the 15th through the 18th centuries, failed when hard times hit because too many people felt the economic system’s sanctity and viability were skewed in favor of too few people. Queen Marie Antoinette may not have actually said, “Let them eat cake,” but this historical bit of triviality did not stop Henri Sanson from taking off her head before a crowd numbering tens of thousands; on the scaffold she accidentally stepped on his foot, and her last words were: “Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose.”

On June 21, 1791 the king, queen, and their attendants fled their Paris residences, whisked away in carriages, as masses of hungry protestors roamed the streets. The forewarnings were there years beforehand. On August 20, 1986, Finance Minister Calonne informed Louis that the royal finances were insolvent. Hard times hit. Six months later the First Assembly of Notables met, demonstrating resistance to imposition of taxes and fiscal reforms. It was nearly three years later April 27th, 1789 when the Reveillon Riot in Paris, caused by low wages and food shortages, led to about 25 deaths by troops. The Storming of the Bastille occurred July 14th and on July 17 the beginning of the Great Fear took command of the streets as the peasantry revolted against the economic system of the day. Amid a number of urban disturbances and revolts, members of the aristocracy, holding onto their heads, fled Paris to become émigrés.

History shows it does not matter whether an economic system is based upon feudalism or capitalism or socialism, or any ism. When it fails to accommodate the masses, the masses force change. Is capitalism the answer to, or the cause of, economic failure today? Stalwarts of capitalism like the United States, the UK, Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal have already had their turn at providing the answers and more questions than answers have now arisen. Are the tenets of capitalism, i.e., private property, competition, market-based, economic freedom, consumer sovereignty, and laissez faire today’s equivalent of the Ancien Régime circa 18th century? The answer is: There are ominous signs the masses are once again seeking change; after all, the president of the United States was recently elected on an amorphous promise of “change.” People are searching for it, and the operative question is: Why, if not for a failed economic system?

There should be little doubt that the 2008 financial meltdown influenced voters to vote for change in November 2008. The citizenry witnessed, live on the news and on Wall Street and in home ownership, the withering of capitalism, and as of today, every American knows the name Goldman Sachs, the catchword for failed policies for the republic at large but the savior of the aristocratic few. The question remains: Are the masses taking to the streets and where and why and how does capitalism play a role?

More at the link ---

[ewagner]

1. My new business plan...

I'm opening a Guillotine manufacturing business...I'll sell Guillotine's retail and eliminate the wholesalers...I'll call my business Lafarge Guillotines....when the teanderthals finally turn on the corporate plutocrats, I'll make millions...MILLIONS I tells ya!

[Buns_of_Fire]

3. We at "Pitchforks 'R' Us" would like to talk to you about distribution rights.

I know you prefer to do in-house retailing, but have you considered a partnership arrangement? Our stores already have sections set up for pitchforks, torches, and slow-cookers and barbecues (including our exclusive brand of rubs, marinades, and sauces). We can easily set up a new section for guillotines, and would be proud to include the Lafarge brand exclusively.

Think about it. We're talking some BIG BUCKS here!:evilgrin:

[ewagner]

4. Interesting proposal....

we may be willing to consider a protected territory if we can come to terms.

[Amonester]

5. If I may suggest you guys plant a demo-boutique tent on the corner of

E St. NW and 14th St. NW ASAP... ( http://october2011.org/freedomplaza )

Although it is meant to be a peaceful movement, but hey, ya nevah no! :rofl:

[malaise]

2. Excellent post

Maybe the real revolution will begin when the masses in America wake up. The fundamental difference between the US and France is that the US had an anti-colonial revolution and not a fundamental overthrow of the rich.

[fivepennies]

6. August 20, 1986

is obviously a typo.

But what I've always wanted to know is who had been financing France's royalty and Calonne prior to 1787, where had the government been getting its funding, who downgraded them and why did they shut off the money supply? Did that group of financiers want a revolution?

Its kind of funny that when people get mad, they always want the heads of state to roll because they're visible and available, but the masses can't ever seem to get to the guys behind the curtain who really control the economy and therefore the actions of the kings/queens that inevitably cause the peasants to go hungry.

And the successors to the now headless heads of state never seem to learn the lesson either until its too late.

Even Napoleon said: The hand that gives is above the hand that takes. Money has no motherland; financiers are without patriotism and without decency; their sole object is gain.