[Reader-list] 10 Myths of Capitalism

[A. Mani]

Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=30084

TEN MYTHS ABOUT CAPITALISM

by Guilherme Alves Coelho

	
Pravda.Ru - 2012-02-15

Capitalism in the neoliberal version has exhausted itself. Financial
sharks do not want to lose profits, and shift the main burden of debt
to the retirees and the poor. A ghost of the "European Spring" is
haunting the Old World and the opponents of capitalism explain people
how their lives are being destroyed. This is the topic of the article
of a Portuguese economist Guilherme Alves Coelho.


There is a well-known expression that every nation has the government
it deserves. This is not entirely true. People can be fooled by
aggressive propaganda that shapes thought patterns, and then are
easily manipulated. Lies and manipulations are a contemporary weapon
of mass destruction and oppression of peoples. It is as effective as
the traditional means of warfare. In many cases, they complement each
other. Both methods are used to achieve victory in the election and
destroy unruly countries.

There are many ways to handle public opinion, in which the ideology of
capitalism has been grounded and brought to the level of myths. It is
combination of false truths that are being repeated a million times,
over the generations, and therefore become indisputable for many. They
were designed to represent capitalism as credible and enlist the
support and confidence of the masses. These myths are distributed and
promoted via media tools, educational institutions, family traditions,
church memberships, etc. Here are the most common of these myths.

Myth 1. Under capitalism, anyone who works hard can become rich

The capitalist system will automatically provide wealth to
hard-working individuals. Workers unconsciously formed an illusory
hope, but if it does not come to fruition, they will be blaming
themselves only. In fact, under capitalism, the probability of
success, regardless how much you may have worked, is the same as in a
lottery. Wealth, with rare exceptions, is not created by hard work,
but is a result of fraud and lack of remorse for those who have
greater influence and power. It is a myth that success is the result
of hard work and, combined with luck and a good dose of faith, depends
on the ability to engage in entrepreneurial activity and level of
competitiveness. This myth creates the followers of the system who
support it. Religion, especially Protestant, works to support this
myth as well.

Myth 2. Capitalism creates wealth and prosperity for all

Wealth, accumulated in the hands of a minority, sooner or later will
be redistributed among all. The goal is to enable the employer to
accumulate wealth without asking questions. At the same time the hope
is maintained that sooner or later workers will be rewarded for their
work and dedication. In fact, even Marx concluded that the ultimate
goal of capitalism is not the distribution of wealth but its
accumulation and concentration. The widening gap between the rich and
the poor in recent decades, especially after the establishment of the
rule of neo-liberalism, has proven the opposite. This myth has been
one of the most common during the phase of "social welfare" of the
postwar period, and its main task was the destruction of the socialist
countries.

Myth 3. We are all in the same boat

Capitalist society has no classes, therefore the responsibility for
the failures and crises also lies on all and everyone has to pay. The
goal is to create a guilt complex for workers, allowing capitalists to
increase revenues and pass expenditures onto the people. In fact, the
responsibility lies entirely on the elite consisting of billionaires
who support the government and are supported by it, and have always
enjoyed great privileges in taxation, tenders, financial speculation,
offshore, nepotism, etc. This myth is implanted by the elites to avoid
responsibility for the plight of the people and oblige them to pay for
the elite's mistakes.

Myth 4. Capitalism means freedom

True freedom is only achieved under capitalism with the help of the
so-called "market self-regulation." The goal is to create something
similar to a religion of capitalism, where everything is taken as is,
and deny people the right to participate in making macroeconomic
decisions. Indeed, the freedom in decision-making is the ultimate
freedom, but it is only enjoyed by a narrow circle of powerful
individuals, not the people, and not even the government agencies.
During summits and forums, in the narrow circles behind closed doors,
the heads of large companies, banks and multinational corporations
make major financial and economic decisions of strategic nature. The
markets, therefore, are not self-regulating, they are being
manipulated. This myth has been used to justify interference in the
internal affairs of non-capitalist countries, based on the assumption
that they have no freedom, but have rules.

Myth 5. Capitalism means democracy

Democracy can only exist under capitalism. This myth, which smoothly
follows from the previous one, was created in order to prevent the
discussion of other models of social order. It is argued that they are
all dictatorships. Capitalism is assigned such concepts as freedom and
democracy, while their meaning is distorted. In fact, society is
divided into classes and the rich, being ultra-minority, dominate over
all others. This capitalist "democracy" is nothing but a disguised
dictatorship, and "democratic reforms" are processes opposite to
progress. As the previous myth, this one also serves as an excuse to
criticize and attack non-capitalist countries.

Myth 6. Election is a synonym of democracy

Election is synonymous with democracy. The goal is to denigrate or
demonize other systems and prevent a discussion of political and
electoral systems where leaders are determined through non-bourgeois
elections, for example, on the virtue of age, experience, or
popularity of candidates. In fact, it is the capitalist system that
manipulates and bribes, where a vote is a conditional term, and
election is only a formal act. The mere fact that the elections are
always won by representatives of the bourgeois minority makes them
unrepresentative. The myth that bourgeois elections guarantee presence
of democracy is one of the most entrenched, and even some left-wing
parties and forces believe it.

Myth 7. Alternating parties in office is the same as having an alternative

Bourgeois parties that periodically alternate in power have
alternative platforms. The goal is to perpetuate the capitalist system
within the dominant class, feeding the myth that democracy is reduced
to the election. In fact, it is obvious that two-party or multiparty
parliamentary system is a one-party system. These are two or more
factions of one political force, they alternate, mimicking the party
with an alternative policy. People always choose an agent of the
system, being sure that this is not what they are doing. The myth that
bourgeois parties have different platforms and are even oppositional,
is one of the most important, it is constantly discussed to make the
capitalist system work.

Myth 8. The elected politician represents the people and can therefore
decide for them

The politician was granted authority by the people, and can rule at
will. The purpose of this myth is to feed the people with empty
promises and hide the real measures that will be implemented in
practice. In fact, the elected leader does not fulfill that promise,
or, worse, starts to implement undeclared measures, often conflicting
and even contradicting the original Constitution. Often such
politicians elected by an active minority in the middle of the mandate
reach their minimum popularity. In these cases, the loss of
representation does not lead to a change of the politician through
constitutional means, but by contrast, leads to the degeneration of
capitalist democracy in the real or disguised dictatorship. The
systematic practice of falsification of democracy under capitalism is
one of the reasons for the increasing number of people who do not go
to the elections.

Myth 9. There is no alternative to capitalism

Capitalism is not perfect, but it is the only possible economic and
political system, and therefore the most appropriate one. The goal is
to eliminate the study and promotion of other systems and eliminate
competition using all possible means, including force. In reality,
there are other political and economic systems, and the most known is
scientific socialism. Even within the framework of capitalism, there
are versions of the South American "democratic socialism" or European
"socialist capitalism". This myth is intended to intimidate people, to
prevent the discussion of alternatives to capitalism and ensure
unanimity.

Myth 10. Savings generate wealth

The economic crisis is caused by the excess of employee benefits. If
they are removed, the government will save and the country will become
rich. The goal is to shift the liability for capitalist debt payment
onto the public sector, including the retirees. Another goal is to
make people accept poverty, arguing that it is temporary. It is also
intended to facilitate the privatization of the public sector. People
are being convinced that savings are the "salvation" without
mentioning that it achieved through the privatization of the most
profitable sectors whose future earnings will be lost. This policy
leads to a decrease in state revenue and reduction of benefits,
pensions and benefits.


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