Another day, another topic. Today I'm ranting about capitalism. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a communist, but I do lean left. And even as I'm leaning I like to make a buck as much as the next little capitalist (I was even a Junior Achiever!), but I do see a fatal flaw in our beloved system. There is no cap to growth. We are all on a never-ending journey to raise the GNP and the TSX to new and greater heights. With no cap to growth, we never have "enough". Have you ever imagined a group of CEO's getting together and saying,"Well, George, we've made enough this quarter. How about you?" Never gonna happen. Must make more - must cut costs - must increase productivity - must produce bigger, better dividends for shareholders.
That mentality eventually filters down to us - you remember us, the proletariat? (Ooops, inadvertently inserted communist reference...). Well, guess what? We're never satisfied either! We're always aspiring to something that we don't have. They even have a term for it - "aspirational living". How absolutely horrible. That means we'll never have enough. Always on the look out for the next house (or the additional vacation property); the next car (or the additional sportscar); the new couch; the better refrigerator. Where will it end?
Didn't Mick Jagger once say, "I can't get no satisfaction"? Sounds like a great capitalist mantra to me.
That mentality eventually filters down to us - you remember us, the proletariat? (Ooops, inadvertently inserted communist reference...). Well, guess what? We're never satisfied either! We're always aspiring to something that we don't have. They even have a term for it - "aspirational living". How absolutely horrible. That means we'll never have enough. Always on the look out for the next house (or the additional vacation property); the next car (or the additional sportscar); the new couch; the better refrigerator. Where will it end?
Didn't Mick Jagger once say, "I can't get no satisfaction"? Sounds like a great capitalist mantra to me.
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