Musings Report #48 11-26-16 My New Book "Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege" (and a 25% Discount)
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For those who are new to the Musings reports: they are basically a glimpse into my notebook, the unfiltered swamp where I organize future themes, sort through the dozens of stories and links submitted by readers, refine my own research and start connecting dots which appear later in the blog or in my books. As always, I hope the Musings spark new appraisals and insights. Thank you for supporting the site and for inviting me into your circle of correspondents.
Welcome to November's MUS (Margins of the Unfiltered Swamp)
The last Musings of the month is a free-form exploration of the reaches of the fecund swamp that is the source of the blog, Musings and my books.
My New Book "Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege" (and a 25% Discount)
I am please to announce the release of my new book Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege, which I am offering to patrons and subscribers at a 25% discount for the Kindle ebook edition: $2.99 through this Sunday November 27, after which it reverts to list price of $3.95.
The print edition is $8.95. The book is 28,900 words, about 75 pages. For what it's worth, my copy editor reckons this is my best book.
Here is the book's introduction:
No matter where we live, we’re hearing more and more about inequality and privilege. Inequality appears to be rising globally, and we sense that rising inequality is inherently destabilizing, both politically and socially. It thus seems self-evident that if we are to achieve a stable society with widespread prosperity, we must identify the source of this rising inequality and do whatever is necessary to reverse it.
The first question we must ask is: why is the gulf between the wealthy and everyone else widening so dramatically? There is no one simple answer, and the causal factors are intertwined: monetary policies, globalization, technology and so on. But rather than immediately enter this thicket of complexity, let’s start with the basic framework of any economy.
Broadly speaking, an economy extracts energy and natural resources and applies labor and capital to these resources to generate a surplus of goods and services that are distributed to the populace. This system can be organized to benefit the few at the expense of the many, or it can distribute the surplus more evenly.
Every economy operates within a social and political system. The social and political rules define how the economy works and how its surpluses are distributed.
In hierarchical societies dominated by elites, these social and political rules boil down to one dynamic: privilege. And privilege generates inequality, which eventually destabilizes the status quo.
What is Privilege?
So just what is privilege? There are many types of privilege, but they all share the following characteristic: privilege delivers benefits, wealth and power that are unearned.
Structurally, privilege is a specific arrangement of power, opportunity, responsibility and risk (PORR; pronounced 'poor'): the privileged transfer the responsibility for outcomes and the risks of loss to the unprivileged while maintaining a grip on opportunity, power and wealth.
In a privileged society and economic system, the primary function of the status quo (i.e. the people in control) is to protect the privileged and enforce this specific arrangement of power, opportunity, responsibility and risk that maintains their unearned wealth and power.
• Politically speaking, privilege is functionally equivalent to autocracy: the system’s wealth and power are held by the privileged, while the responsibility and risk are pushed onto the powerless.
• Economically speaking, privilege is functionally equivalent to monopoly: the owners of a monopoly set the price above what a competitive market would charge and skim the unearned profit as rentier fees.
Stripped to its essence, privilege is nothing more than institutionalized racketeering.
* * *
From Left Field
The Energy Problem behind Trump’s Election
Inequality, Market Chaos and Angry Voters: A Turning Point for Globalization
Trump: on the way to "Scenario 3" and the end of globalization
Trump’s rise is not a surprise to me, and it is not an enigma. It is the logical of economic neoliberalism, the final and most brutal form of capitalism, in living, albeit orange-tinted, color.
"What If Market Consensus Is Wrong" - A Hedge Fund Ponders The Alternative
Global Wealth Update: 0.7% Of Adults Control $116.6 Trillion In Wealth
Here’s What People Buy With Food Stamps (via John F.)
Trump and the Decline of American Liberalism
Neoliberalism: the deep story that lies beneath Donald Trump’s triumph
How Taxes Were Shifted Off the Donald Trumps of the World and Onto Homeowners
It’s Not About NAFTA
The 10 lies about Black Friday's consumerist circle of hell
"Do what nature now requires. Set thyself in motion, if it is in thy power, and do not look about thee to see if any one will observe it; but be content if the smallest thing goes on well, and consider such an event to be no small matter." Marcus Aurelius
Thanks for reading--
charles |
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