This is Bulls**t: Our Economy

WARNING: Bad Language.

Capitalism, as we know it, is dying.

The people behind the American economy have been cheating it now long enough to have corrupted the system irretrievably.

This is not a diatribe against free markets, Democrats, Republicans, or bankers. To be sure, they can mostly go fuck off, especially those who pay themselves entrepreneur’s rates for doing a broker’s work. With tax dollars

But what did we expect? When you bake a shit cake, you shouldn’t complain about the assholes who show up to gorge themselves.

And let’s be clear: we all had a hand in the baking. Ignorant, strong-arming unions; self-preservationist managers; “competitively” paid executives slash compensation for the people who actually get the work done.

We all love to hate the other guy… just as long as we protect our right to jam our fists into the till as far as are arms can reach.

The Covet Economy

George Carlin used to do a bit about the 10 commandments, during which he’d pay passing homage to the importance of “covet” to our modern economy. He didn’t go far enough.

Sign up for a marketing class at a business school and you’ll learn about “creating a need.” Literally, you’ll learn the science of making people feel so inferior or incomplete without your product that they stop thinking of your product as something they “want” and start thinking of it as something they “need.”

Now look up the definition of covet.

Whatever your feelings about religion in general, it’s hard to argue against the ancient wisdom of eschewing feelings of jealousy or need. Imagine an economy built on a foundation of murder, unfaithfulness, or theft. Tough to do, right?

So what’s going through your brain right now? Are you trying to rationalize how “covet” isn’t really as serious a commandment as the other nine?

Don’t bother. Covet is so bad ass it also made it onto the list of 7 deadly sins.

Results So Far

While you lie to yourself that brands=quality, let’s review: our covet economy has left us with a communist nation as our largest financial backer; a legal system that rewards tearing down others rather than building ourselves up; a mediocre educational system as compared to 30 other industrialized nations; outdated infrastructure; blind acceptance of the industrial military complex (We need more safety, dammit!), and a  press that has abdicated its responsibility for fear mongering (FOX), partisan pandering (MSNBC), YouTube highlights (CNN), or whatever else drives ad revenues.

Are we still the #1 economy? Yep. Barely. And the future doesn’t look too bright.

What Can I Do About It?

So easy:

1. Conserve. No resources, no future. Period.
2. Educate. No workforce, no future. Period.
3. STFU. If your opinion on a topic comes from an email your friend sent and a TV news special report, and especially if you don’t know your factor analysis from your t-test, just shut it.
4. Vote with your dollars. Make off brands the new hot brands.
5. Vote. Elect an unknown who’s not yet in anyone’s pocket.
6. Re-ready the defibrillators… that last trillion dollar jolt may not have been enough.

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.