Capital is just another tribal domination game. On the surface it relies on a unique narrative and a unique form of accounting, but in fact it's a very old-fashioned kind of empire acting in very old-fashioned ways.
I've been reading for classes, and one of the more interesting ideas that I've encountered recently is the idea that the current international system in some sense represents the global diffusion of the utlitarian value system across the globe.
Now if you are a good utilitarian, you have an indivualist ontology. Which is to say that the value that you place on items is entirely your own, value is no affected by social interaction. Let's call this the income narrative. In this instance, the amount of income that others posses is of no concern to you. So long as the amount of income that you receive increases, the distribution of income is not important.
This defies common sense. Anyone who's been a teenager knows that consumption is largely socially driven. That is to say that value is not internally determined, but instead the origin of preferences lies in socialization into one's peer group. And value isn't indivualized, it's socialized. Wealth becomes a zero-sum game, because the relative distribution of wealth rather than the absolute quantity present in a society is what matters. And individuals will willingly destroy societal wealth (including the portion they own) in order to create a more even distribution of wealth in society. Wealth derives its importance not from the individual utility, but from the social status it grants.
Consider now what this means for the global distribution of wealth, and the prospects for conflict as that changes.......... And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg
That is to say, "if you are a typical, debased utilitarian (simplistic, and blind even to your own values)..." -------------
I prefer to attack bad ideas on their own terms when possible: This bypasses a layer of intellectual armor and concentrates fire on a soft spot. For example:
Genuine "utility" corresponds to what people actually value, which includes a more than just money and what it can buy. Confused utilitarians, out to maximize wealth instead of utility, are simply wrong by their own standards. What people actually value includes their relationships, the well-being of others, and a lot more.
So, no need to attack utilitarianism or self-interest here; we can save that effort for another war. (Hmmm... If people understood the reality of the hedonic treadmill, then what?)
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It's a key element in this Economic Madness that all utility must be measured in monetary terms to the maximum extent possible, and all relationships must be commodified.
Of course this is nuts, and it's at the core of our pathology.
But while that minor detail is sorting itself out in a collision with the real world, we're left with the fact that it's a rare neoliberal who can accept that monetary utility isn't the ultimate measure of everything that matters, and that the magic of the markets creates more utility for everyone.
(Or at least, for everyone who matters.)
