Corporations Versus Individuals: The End of the Left/Right Paradigm

Posted by Good German on March 3, 2011

Nolan chart. Source: Camilo Sanchez (CC)

Looks like the New World Order isn’t going to be a global Big Socialist Government (unless, perhaps, you count corporate socialism). Barry Ritholtz wrote in September of last year:

Every generation or so, a major secular shift takes place that shakes up the existing paradigm. It happens in industry, finance, literature, sports, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, travel, communication, etc.

I would like to discuss the paradigm shift that is occurring in politics.

For a long time, American politics has been defined by a Left/Right dynamic. It was Liberals versus Conservatives on a variety of issues. Pro-Life versus Pro-Choice, Tax Cuts vs. More Spending, Pro-War vs Peaceniks, Environmental Protections vs. Economic Growth, Pro-Union vs. Union-Free, Gay Marriage vs. Family Values, School Choice vs. Public Schools, Regulation vs. Free Markets.

The new dynamic, however, has moved past the old Left Right paradigm. We now live in an era defined by increasing Corporate influence and authority over the individual. These two “interest groups” – I can barely suppress snorting derisively over that phrase – have been on a headlong collision course for decades, which came to a head with the financial collapse and bailouts. Where there is massive concentrations of wealth and influence, there will be abuse of power. The Individual has been supplanted in the political process nearly entirely by corporate money, legislative influence, campaign contributions, even free speech rights.

This may not be a brilliant insight, but it is surely an overlooked one. It is now an Individual vs. Corporate debate – and the Humans are losing.

Consider:

• Many of the regulations that govern energy and banking sector were written by Corporations;

• The biggest influence on legislative votes is often Corporate Lobbying;

• Corporate ability to extend copyright far beyond what original protections amounts to a taking of public works for private corporate usage;

• PAC and campaign finance by Corporations has supplanted individual donations to elections;

• The individuals’ right to seek redress in court has been under attack for decades, limiting their options.

• DRM and content protection undercuts the individual’s ability to use purchased content as they see fit;

• Patent protections are continually weakened. Deep pocketed corporations can usurp inventions almost at will;

• The Supreme Court has ruled that Corporations have Free Speech rights equivalent to people; (So much for original intent!)

None of these are Democrat/Republican conflicts, but rather, are corporate vs. individual issues.

For those of you who are stuck in the old Left/Right debate, you are missing the bigger picture. Consider this about the Bailouts: It was a right-winger who bailed out all of the big banks, Fannie Mae, and AIG in the first place; then his left winger successor continued to pour more money into the fire pit.

Read more here. Bunglaow Bill wrote regarding Ritholtz’s article:

It didn’t take long for the light bulb to go off in my head once I got to the third paragraph to see truth in his article. The first and obvious is the recent bailouts, which included the bailouts to General Motors and Chrysler. The American people were sold on the bailouts being essential to save American jobs; perhaps there is some truth to that. However, it wasn’t long after the bailouts when GM began the talk of closing down American factories and building factories in China, Mexico, and Korea.

Left vs. Right became in government terms corporations vs. individuals. There was no guarantees in the bailouts, nothing that forced automakers to invest in our country. It was just easy money thrown their way at the expense of the taxpayer to make up for their bad corporate decisions.

We see it in the biotech business. I hate to say this, but I see the same thing developing thanks to a bad decision by our Supreme Court that allows corporations to patent life. This has led to Monsanto and other corporations taking over the nation’s food supply by forcing farmers to use genetically modified seeds thanks to pollen that contaminates farmers fields who worked hard to provide a healthy alternative to GMO foods. Innocent farmers are being taken down the river because surrounding farmers planted Monsanto seeds and the wind blew the pollen in their direction. Once the pollen mixes with a pure field, Monsanto sends it’s lawyers ready to make honest family farmers pay up for patent infringement.

Monsanto sends their Monsanto police teams onto private property spraying Round Up in non-Monstanto fields to see if the corn dies or not. If it doesn’t die, Monsanto then accuses farmers of the unauthorized use of their seeds. The problem, like I said, may revolved around the wind cross pollinating with a Monsanto GMO field.

Farmers are losing everything they have worked for all their lives over this practice. I think it’s wrong.

From 2001 on, it seems like Republicans became moderate liberal Democrats–ready to spend money and grow government. While Americans are angry at Democrats for threatening more Constitutional rights, it’s hard not to point out the Republicans set all of this up with the Patriot Act. We have known for more than a year, Obama wants to increase the power the Patriot Act gave the government to track people.

Posted in: Alternatives, Corporations, Ideology, Law, Left-Wing, Political Party, Politics, Right-Wing, Society

Artemis

Uh, the article does not refute the provided chart, so, now who’s not reading the article?
Xlsyor

The problem is, good sir, the situation could go either way. Who would have the authority, since few truly take upon themselves the ultimate of personal responisibility, of determining who does what and to whom?
Google “Georgia Guidestones” and read the lovely, poetic, highly ambiguous claptrap that appears in eight languages on this foreboding monument. It really strikes me, as does your proposal, in its essence, as nothing more than the living conditions extant in “Zardoz”, where getting through the day made the middle ages seem like a free ride at Disney World.
I’m all for a world in peace. But the majority of humanity just can’t seem to get out of the rut of bending the knee to some form of royalty. Witness the Milgram experiment and others like it.
Control. That’s the problem. As a species, we are control fiends. And OCD doesn’t even begin to cover the subtleties of our ritualistic regimentation. Try reading “Escape from Evil”, or the companion book, “Denial of Death”, by Ernest Becker, for a truly humbling glimpse of what we are up against.
Xlsyor

The problem is, good sir, the situation could go either way. Who would have the authority, since few truly take upon themselves the ultimate of personal responisibility, of determining who does what and to whom?
Google “Georgia Guidestones” and read the lovely, poetic, highly ambiguous claptrap that appears in eight languages on this foreboding monument. It really strikes me, as does your proposal, in its essence, as nothing more than the living conditions extant in “Zardoz”, where getting through the day made the middle ages seem like a free ride at Disney World.
I’m all for a world in peace. But the majority of humanity just can’t seem to get out of the rut of bending the knee to some form of royalty. Witness the Milgram experiment and others like it.
Control. That’s the problem. As a species, we are control fiends. And OCD doesn’t even begin to cover the subtleties of our ritualistic regimentation. Try reading “Escape from Evil”, or the companion book, “Denial of Death”, by Ernest Becker, for a truly humbling glimpse of what we are up against.
Andrew

Are you kidding me? The articles totally invalidate the chart. I don’t see how you can think they don’t.
http://twitter.com/Mabans_Plays MarceloAbans

You just figured this out?

You have just posted this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeCMSLP3Wy8

Network is a GREAT movie.
Anonymous

If the government didn’t have the power that it did, would corporations be able to take advantage of it? No. It’s us vs. government.
Jay

Watch “Who killed the electric car” and “food Inc” To see a more clear picture of what this post is about
Ps. don’t buy GM cars or tyson or smithfield brand foods
meh

Do you think this is new? This has been going on since at least the turn of the 20th century. It’s never been about politics.
Vivin Paliath

You hit the nail on the head. I’ve been talking about this to my friends for a long time (whenever we have political discussions). I’ve thought of myself to be slightly left of center, but I’m noticing that regardless of whose in power (Reps or Dems), it seems to be corporations that are winning. In that regard, I found myself framing my arguments as the individual vs. the corporations. I thought I was the only one who felt this way.
joe

they put a chart that only vaguely resembles the nolan chart which in fact highlights the fact that left and right wing people are both in some way statists (republicans through violations of social liberties and the left through market interference). Here is a better one. http://www.insteadofablog.com/images/nolanchart.gif
joe

corporations would not have the power they have without the government being will to acquiesce to their demands. if government weren’t so large, corporations would not be so either. the two go hand in hand.
joe

and it appears that the left is no different. just in different ways. they establish regulations to force out competition as well as just give them money through bailouts.
http://www.facebook.com/lorem.ipsum.dolor Ju Li

If the government had no power, maybe the corporations wouldn’t need to take advantage of the government. They’ll be too busy taking advantage of us the people.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4XNN47PG34DUV55SXTO2JCFTDE Lizard

What is a corporation, but individuals who have chosen to act together? Many “corporations” consist of no more than ONE person, actually — anyone who does any kind of business independently will find they have a lot to gain by incorporating. Most corporations have a few dozen to a few hundred employees, at best.

Oh, but those aren’t the “corporations” you mean, right? You mean some OTHER corporations. You know, THOSE corporations. It’s really nice to have a faceless, nameless, enemy you can hate, without realizing that if you say “I hate Exxon!” (or Walmart, or Microsoft, or Bob’s Family Grocery, Inc.) you are saying “I hate the dozens (or hundreds, or thousands, or sometimes hundreds of thousands) of actual individual human beings that FORM that corporation”. “The corporation” doesn’t decide anything or do anything; human beings do, and, for the most part, these human beings are pretty much your neighbors, your family, and probably yourself.

Whenever someone tries to turn real people into something inhuman, when they apply a broad label to tens of millions of individuals and then try to rile up hatred against them… I get deeply, deeply, worried.
http://torpeykin.blogspot.com/ William F. Torpey

The only thing we can do is re-elect President Obama and urge him to appoint progressive justices to the U.S. Supreme Court at every opportunity.
Onceinabluemoon

from here in the UK I don’t see ‘left’ politics in the US, although I believe there is a socialist party. Which of your politicians support the view that those who produce the nation’s wealth, should have the right to control it, and that wealth should be distributed? How can there be any ‘left’ from politics who actively support capitalism (albeit in a warm, friendly sort of way) ? When health and wealth are co-dependent? When workers get paid cents and lazy shareholders make money just by being lazy shareholders? The true ‘Left’ in the US is the people’s only hope – it is the people/individuals themselves realising what is going on (as you have stated) and deciding it has to change…good luck…it’s not much better here in the UK, but we’re waking up…
Onceinabluemoon

actually, the Nazi’s gained popularity on the back of Socialist ideology,that was rising at the time. Once in power, they murdered socialist activists and adopted a fascist ideology, advocating ‘us and them’ in a political hierarchy, thus destroying their socialist position but retaining it by name. It really bugs me that people don’t know what Socialism is. Read some actual Marx, for goodness sake, not biased interpretations of it.
Onceinabluemoon

On my planet, corporations don’t give a damn about the state and will do all they can to avoid paying taxes, and to maximise profit. The state , on the other hand, is a recipient of taxes which it uses to maintain the fundamentals of society (schools, drains, coastguards) and all of which suffer if corporations become the bosom-buddies of politicians. Or vice-versa.
Onceinabluemoon

Well said
WallStreetClassAction

These “financial services groups” a.k.a. fraudsters have financed the repeal of the regulations safeguarding public and taxpayers. They said they were going to “supervise themselves” and then melted down the economy, collected bonuses and now are hard at obstructing justice. Our very government is complicit, it is evident in the way SEC and Justice Department are p us sy-footing around the fat cats. The very fabric of our governance has been destroyed and more, bigger financial disasters await in the wings, unless we see to it that the justice is served.
“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.” – Thomas Jefferson once said. How fitting, how prophetic! How alarming that we failed to accomplish that!
At http://www.WallStreetClassAction.com we organize a class action against the banks, the ratings agencies and other financial institutions involved in staging the colossal securitization fraud and subsequently crashing the economy and resulting in over $5 Trillion in asset losses in the US alone.
We realize that our own government is effectively a captured entity, so no criminal indictments will be forthcoming. But WE THE PEOPLE will hold the fraudsters accountable. United we stand.
Anonymous

I didn’t say NO power, the government should prevent force and fraud through military and courts. Otherwise, it’s your choice to work for or buy from a business.
Anonymous

It’s not talking about the current ‘right’, in fact the current right wing is just about the same as the left just different flavors, it’s literally talking about no government vs. total government. Check out this video and you can see both sides have gone far from what our founders had desired, individual freedom and liberty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7M-7LkvcVw
Paddy

Actually it is the middle class versus the bureaucracy where the real battle lines are drawn.
Anonymous

A corporation that exists completely independent of the state in which it operates is a criminal enterprise. The entities that come to mind are the drug cartels and similar gangs. They pay no tax to the state whatsoever, except in the form of bribes to law enforcement or similar political personnel.

Corporations that exist under the laws of the state ultimately write the rules for themselves, by virtue of buying favors from politicians that write the laws. Most laws are written by corporate lobbyists, a dirty little “secret” that most people don’t know about. This is the major flaw in the system. The most notable result of this is that they have tax advantages favorable to those of the individual. In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, corporations gained the status of a person, as they have to enter into contracts and pay taxes. A legitimate corporation that pays no taxes does so because it is operating at a loss and may soon cease operations.
Andrew

The government is made up of real people, including your neighbors, too.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6EOUMOS55IAEKKMW62FRZ34JSU Terry

Correct. Which is exactly what the article said.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6EOUMOS55IAEKKMW62FRZ34JSU Terry

“A legitimate corporation that pays no taxes does so because it is operating at a loss and may soon cease operations.”

Or perhaps they have moved headquarters/production to another country …or paid off (oh, excuse me – made “campaign contributions”) enough congressmen to skew the tax law in their favor …or etc., etc., etc….
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6EOUMOS55IAEKKMW62FRZ34JSU Terry

President Obama will appoint judges who mirror his own agenda. Unfortunately, his administration seems a continuation of Bush II – especially considering Obama’s inner-circle advisers. Should I have been asleep the past two years, and upon waking shown only the political results of the last two years, I should think that somehow W was still in office.

Mr. Obama is owned lock, stock, and barrel by the corporations …as was his predecessor …as was his predecessor …as was………..
Anonymous

Exactly. The ultimate goal of the profit-motive-based system is to become like the criminal enterprise. Humanity needs to recognize the desire for acquisition of material wealth beyond need as a symptom of greed, which should be recognized as pathological.
curmudgeonman

It is a shame that many corporate officials are not being held accountable for the actions of their corporations. These officials benefit even when their stockholders do not. In the case of the recent control frauds that created the housing bubble, and its subsequent crash, financial corporation officials and their co-conspirators in Con-gress are walking away from any responsibility and any penalties yet keeping the gains from their fraud. Legal entities should not be given all the same rights as real persons until the real persons controlling those legal entities can be held fully and personally liable for their legal entity’s tortious acts. In the case of influencing Con-gress, corporations (including unions) should be allowed to speak their piece, to inform, but never allowed to donate money.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6EOUMOS55IAEKKMW62FRZ34JSU Terry

Believe me, Brian – the astroturfers are here in this forum, and in many others. Hopefully, sharp webmasters will adopt better methods to ferret them out, but for now one must keep in mind that there is VERY good software designed to distort/block freedom of speech by injecting poison into forums. Further, corporations and governments (yes, ours) have thousands employed to “join the discussion.”

Sadly, I cannot provide the links, but within the past week I read of the US Navy (!) leasing a huge office building that was to be filled (or is filled …by now) with nothing but astroturfing agents. Of course, by now we all know of the efforts of the US Chamber of Commerce. Further, a concerted PR effort was started around two months ago by a PR consortium of the TBTF banksters, and that campaign is using advanced astroturfing methods.
Artimusmaxtor

It really is not about Capitalism. It’s more about hiding who owns what. Another words Corporations hiding in other Corporations. Ok. So who cares. No big deal. We as the public have a right to know who owns what. Well we don’t.

However why hide? It may be no one elses business. It’s good to be discret. People get jealous. They want what you have. It may be a good reason to hide things in a corporation.

The thing is the shuffling around of assets. The money being lent. One corporation buying another. Is this advertising. To make one related corporation look like its buying another. Or something to bilk money out of people? See its the bilking and dishonesty that people have a problem with. If it was used soley as a discretionary tactic. That would be one thing. When your stealing thats another.

The Federal Reserve as a private Corporation. Would be one very looming example. People actually think that the Federal Reserve is a Federal entity. It is not of course. Why aren’t the member banks of the Federal Reserve ever disclosed? Who has the controlling votes? Why is not this ever discussed by those newshounds? See we need to know whats bought and paid for. The newshounds don’t care wonder who butters that bread? Not a word. Not much said by our Politicians either. See? Now we have a finiancial nightmare. No ones hauled in to account for it. If they did. They could not get into the maze of Corporations that are involved with this mess. Any politician that accused them or individual would be called crazy. After all they are Corporations. So who knows?

We do know one thing however the Federal Reserve. That privatly held bank. A Corporation made up of member banks holds all the squares on the monopoly board. They mulitply money a will. Someones getting rich here. Please spare us your line that no one benifits from these hiding Corporations. I mean why would they form these things in the first place to begin with. Because the are benovolent? Please. They amass piles of interest. From clever schemes. They are in business in a big way. No sense trying to fool us with Corporation benevolency. If you wanted a bunch of slaves. Why didn’t you just haul everyone away in chains? The dependency you foster with your Corporations. Clever interest schemes. Price fixing and other ways of making convience and getting people into your system is beyond compare.

The U.S. Government needs to take control of the cash in this land. They need to be financially responsible. Instead of giving the ability to make cash to a Corporate held bank. Either that or they need to diaper congressmen. Because either they are to immature to handle money or they are afraid.
JBL71

America is oligarchy.

Corporations have slowly digested congress and whatever part of the government that controls them.
JBL71

America is oligarchy.

Corporations have slowly digested congress and whatever part of the government that controls them.
Freedom7

The government, at least those in government who aren’t in the pockets of big business, is the only defense we, the people have against corporations. Even the Supreme Court is corrupt (Thomas and Scalia). As far as working for or buying from a business, if there aren’t very many jobs available we can’t be choosey who we work for. So the front for corporate America, the Republican/Teabaggers, is telling us that government is the enemy and those who believe that will vote against their own best interests as we’ve seen too many times.
Dik

re: root solution
Did you forget the Democrat turned Republican President that directly precedeeded those you mentioned and the AWFUL mess the country was left in due to trickle down policies? Although he was a man with charm and charisma I believe his domestic policies were the seed sown to bring us to where we are now.
deplume

I agree with his points, but, hate the fact that nobody edits their writing anymore, which makes it often irritating to read and makes the writer appear amateurish. Even professional writers are guilty of this.
Vincenzo Pietracatella

Without the government being empowered by the people to protect us, would would be at the mercy of all sorts of criminal activity. To suggest that the government sould not regulate or police is ludicrous in its implications. No labor laws, no control over the greed of corporations or of banks or of wall street. What good would contract law be without enforcement. If you think business gives a hoot about your welfare or whether you live or die as a result of their actions or inaction you are simply living an illusion.
Anonymous

I wonder a bit about the path a politician must take to get elected. Money seems to be the prime advantage. As for congress, very few non-millionaires go in, none come out. Takes money to make money, who takes the money when a few have all the money? Corporations have the same freedom of speech as an individual. I’m sure they follow their conscience. Money talks, bovine fertilizer walks, but that too will get you elected.

Eat the rich, only reasonable answer.
fedupwithallthiscrap

Is that why Hitler went to war with Russia? What since would that make, if it were true?
Mznmz

Combating corporations in the name of the individual is not complicated, but our society has yet to catch on. Were there to be social unions, easily formed through popular movements, which would call for the boycott of any institution or mutual fund, being the largest shareholders of public corporations, which weren’t activist in choosing corporate boards of directors. Directors could be voted on for nomination just as politicians presently are. They are politicians in a sense, after all.
Anonymous

This is the the left right struggle. Reagan, from the right, made a lot of progress against the people, anded by his vice president, Bush the first, who started the deregulation of banks as his primary assignment for Reagan. The corporations are coming at us from the right, and very few from the left are getting elected. The far right tea party is a wholly owned subsidiary of the far right’s money men. Nothing has suddenly changed, except it has gotten worse.
We need to learn to vote against money. If you voted a straight ticket of those with less money that their opponent, I think this would immediately result in better government.
Anonymous

Brilliant.

Corporations Versus Individuals: The End of the Left/Right Paradigm

more disinformation

more disinformation