Monday 4 March 2013

The American Dream Turned Nightmare


The USA sells itself, literally, as the paragon of capitalist opportunity. Its homespun myth is that with enough effort and a bit of savvy, anyone can make it big. And on this basis, its has not only eschewed socialism, but even legislated against it and banned those who advocate it periodically, tainting them as pathologically unAmerican (ironically simply inverting the old Soviet method of stigmatising dissidents as mentally ill).

What little regulation tempered US capitalism after its collapse in the 1930s Depression was largely done away with by Reagan and his successors and, in spite of Republicans' vituperative demonising of Barak Obama as some communistic demon, the growth of inequality in the USA has now reached breathtaking proportions: for example, the average worker has to work for a month to earn what the average Chief Executive earns in one hour; and the average Chief Executive is still miles off the levels of wealth enjoyed by the richest one per cent.

The video below speaks for itself. Now, it is up to the rest of us throughout the world to speak up for ourselves and for real change to a more equal society. Look and listen and behold the lie that is the American, and the Capitalist, Dream....

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