When it comes to accessing the mainstream media discourse, academic discourse, or any similar prominent discourse that reflects on justice and politics, poor people face a double-bind that ensures their voices are permanently erased. If you grow up poor and you remain poor, your access to any of these discussions is basically nonexistent. If you… Continue reading Class and the Discourse
Author: Matt Bruenig
Ferdinand Lassalle on the Wages of Abstinence
In his 1864 book “Capital and Labor,” Ferdinand Lassalle wrote on the description of capital income as “wages of abstinence,” i.e. payment for abstaining from consumption. What he had to say is one of the funniest things ever written on the topic: The profit of capital is the ‘wage of abstinence.’ Happy, even priceless expression!… Continue reading Ferdinand Lassalle on the Wages of Abstinence
Real Life Capitalism Whack-A-Mole
A couple of years ago, I introduced the concept of Capitalism Whack-A-Mole. Capitalism Whack-A-Mole is an argumentative habit of libertarians where they shift between various mutually incompatible philosophical frameworks in order to deal with successful critiques of capitalism. I taped a TV segment today with the Ayn Rand Institute’s Don Watkins about his book “Equal… Continue reading Real Life Capitalism Whack-A-Mole
The Meidner Plan for Socialism
Rudolf Meidner was the Swedish economist most responsible for Sweden’s economic model in the 1950s to 1970s. Near the end of his reign and the golden era of Swedish social democracy, he put forward a proposal that became known as the Meidner Plan. If followed, the Meidner Plan would have gradually transferred ownership of Swedish… Continue reading The Meidner Plan for Socialism
Meritocrats and Egalitarians
When it comes to discussions about economic and social fairness among liberals and leftists, there seems to be a great deal of people talking past one another. This is because a lot of liberals think that they are egalitarians even though they are really just meritocrats. Liberal meritocrats believe they are a different breed from… Continue reading Meritocrats and Egalitarians