Brkic Sulejman 10/12/07
A few weeks ago I attended a discussion about the working poor here in Japan and around the world. Many of the participants were not from that class. An hour or so into the discussion, a woman in her 40s (a journalist, writer, translator according to her business card) said that she didn’t think capitalism was bad, that there was nothing wrong with capitalism. A few jaws dropped, including mine.
Now that, according to the capitalist West (including Japan), communism and socialism are “dead”, the only economic system left in charge of the well-being of our world, our planet is capitalism (and its twin neo-liberalism). So, communism and socialism cannot be blamed anymore for the misery surrounding us. So, who is or what is to blame for the, say, between 25 000 and 30 000 children (under the age of 5) who die daily (mainly in the Third World) of hunger in the 21st century, or the close to 50 million people without any health insurance in the U.S.A, or another 45 million or so illiterate in the U.S.A, or the 37 million who live bellow the poverty line in the U.S.A? In the 21st century! In the U.S.A?! The leading capitalist country. The world superpower!
IN 1981 THE UNITED NATIONS TRIED TO PASS A RESOLUTION THAT:
“Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development are human rights.” THE U.S. VETOED THIS U.N. RESOLUTION.
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_whyusa03.html
Saying that there is nothing really wrong with capitalism, that it’s not that bad, when even some capitalists, neo-liberals themselves are starting to recognize its excesses, is just stupid and mean!
“Former chief economist of the World Bank Joseph Stiglitz in his book ‘ Making Globalisation Work’ admits that globalization (capitalism) makes some people poorer and that Africa has gotten poorer since the 1980s…” The Observer,2006 (G.A.C.)
Although I’ve already enumerated a few facts to describe the humane side of capitalism in another piece under a different title
(http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12257.htm),
here are some other facts, and, as you’ll see, all they show is that capitalism is about…….MONEY, MONEY, MONEY…..MORE MONEY……..AND MORE MONEY …….AT ANY COST!
“Capitalism is the system under which we all live, which is
failing so miserably to meet the needs of the vast majority
of the world’s population. Under capitalism, a small minority
of people are in control of the money and resources of the planet.
They accumulate wealth and power and move their money and
factories at will to keep their profits high and wages low.
PROFIT COMES BEFORE PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT”
(http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/death/?p=1)
Here are some interesting global priorities to help the reader to better imagine and feel the generosity of the capitalist West (including Japan):
1. Consider the global priorities in spending in 1998
Global Priority $U.S. Billions
Cosmetics in the United States 8
Ice cream in Europe 11
Perfumes in Europe and the United States 12
Pet foods in Europe and the United States 17
Business entertainment in Japan 35
Cigarettes in Europe 50
Alcoholic drinks in Europe 105
Narcotics drugs in the world 400
Military spending in the world 780
2. And compare that to what was estimated as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:
Global Priority $U.S. Billions
Basic education for all 6
Water and sanitation for all 9
Reproductive health for all women 12
Basic health and nutrition 13
(http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/death/?p=1)
It just reeks of generosity!
The leading capitalist countries are the G7 countries.
“The basic law in capitalism is you OR I,
NOT both you AND I.”
Karl Liebknecht
1) 6 million children under the age of 5 die every year because of hunger.(G.A.C)
2) For the first time in human history the number of overweight people rivals the number of underweight people.(G.A.C)
3) A child dies of starvation every 7seconds according to the World Food Program. 80% of the world’s hungry children live in countries with food surpluses. (G.A.C)
4) The space shuttle costs $400 million per flight. NASA’s overall budget is $15 billion a year. (G.A.C)
5) Half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day. (G.A.C)
6) For $12 you can buy “SPRAY ON MUD” for your SUV. According to the company’s website, SPRAY ON MUD can give the impression “you’ve just come back from a day’s shooting, fishing, or visiting friends on a farm instead of dropping the kids off at the mall on your way to yoga class. The creator of SPRAY ON MUD reassures us that “people may want to look like they’ve been off road, but they certainly don’t want any chips or scratches on paint work.” (G.A.C)
7) 1/3 of the world’s population is without electricity. If present trends continue, this figure will grow by 25% in the next 20 years. (G.A.C)
8) 20 million people in the world who need a wheelchair for basic mobility do not have 1. (G.A.C)
9) In 2003, British people spent more than $2 billion on candy.(G.A.C)
10) Of the 4.4 billion people in developing countries:
3/5 lack basic sanitation,
1/3 have no safe drinking water,
1/4 have inadequate housing,
1/5 are undernourished,
1/5 have no modern health services. (G.A.C)
11) The U.S. “defence” budget in 2005 was over $ 1 billion a day. (G.A.C)
12) 113 million children in developing countries are without access to basic education. 60% are girls. (G.A.C)
13) Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s wedding cost between $2 and 3$ million. (G.A.C)
14) The richest countries are home to 20% of the world’s population who consume 86% of all resources. (G.A.C)
“THE INHERENT VICE OF CAPITALISM IS THE UNEQUAL
SHARING OF BLESSINGS” Winston Churchill
15) 75% of the world’s pollution comes from 25% of the world’s population. (G.A.C)
16) Globally the number 1 occupation for disabled people is begging. (G.A.C)
17) Goodie bags for Oscar presenters at the Academy Awards are worth $100,000. (G.A.C)
18) 1.1 billion (1/6 of the world’s population) do not have clean water. 2.4 billion do not have adequate sanitation. 1 child dies every 15 seconds from water related disease, which amounts to nearly 6,000 deaths a day or the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing.
The $8 billion spent on cosmetics in the U.S. each year would provide clean water for the developing world. (G.A.C)
19) It takes 11,000 liters of water to create 1 quarter-pounder hamburger. (G.A.C)
20) The amount of money spent on PET FOOD in the U.S. and Europe each year equals the additional amount needed to provide BASIC FOOD AND HEALTH CARE for ALL the people in poor countries, with a sizeable amount left over. (G.A.C)
21) The amount of money spent on ICE CREAM in Europe each year would be enough to ensure reproductive health for all women in developing countries per year. (G.A.C)
22) In 1982 the United Nations tried to pass a resolution that
“Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development, etc are human rights.” The U.S. vetoed this U.N. resolution.
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_whyusa03.html
23) The U.S. has the highest rate of child poverty among the industrialized countries, with 1 in every 5 children growing up in poverty. (G.A.C)
24) $500,000: Amount the Iraq war costs per minute, according to a new analysis by a Nobel Prize winning economist at Harvard, who noted that the amount spent on the war each day could pay for health care for 423,529 children. (Time magazine, October 2007)
25) About 650,000 Iraqi civilians (many of them women and children) have died (killed for OIL) since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (for OIL) according to the Lancet medical journal. (G.A.C)
26) When U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney was CEO of oil field supply company Halliburton, he did almost $24 million in business with Saddam Hussein. (G.A.C)
“CAPITALISM IS THE LEGITIMATE RACKET OF
THE RULING CLASS.” Al Capone
27) In 2005, 37 million Americans lived in poverty, 25.3% American Indians and Alaska Natives, 24.9% were blacks, 21.8% were Hispanics, 11.1% were Asians, and 8.3% were Whites. (G.A.C)
28) The production costs of an hour of “reality” TV programming is about $800,000. (G.A.C)
29) The 225 richest people in the world have a combined wealth of more than $1 trillion, equal to the annual income of the poorest 47% of the Earth’s population, some 2.5 billion people. (G.A.C)
30) $13 billion a year would satisfy the world’s sanitation and food needs (about as much as the people of the U.S. and European Union spend each year on PERFUME). (G.A.C)
31) In the world, every 8 seconds a person dies of a tobacco-related disease. (G.A.C) Why is it still being sold?! Moneeeeeeey!
32) 2.3 million people died of AIDS in 2004 and 25.4 million were HIV-positive.(G.A.C)
33) The United Nations estimates the cost of combating AIDS to be $10 billion a year. U.N. member countries contributed $3 billion in 2002. (G.A.C)
34) The United Nations budget is less than the yearly cost of the Tokyo fire department. (G.A.C)
35) OXFAM estimates that to meet the health, education, and sanitation target of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals would require $48 billion more in aid a year. Annual global military spending is $953 billion. (G.A.C)
36) Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney, makes $9,783 an hour compared with a Haitian worker who stitches Disney products for 28 cents an hour.
CAPITALISTS: “PEOPLE WHO JUST SEE PROFIT AS IMPORTANT.
MONEY, MONEY AND MORE MONEY.” Dalai Lama (G.A.C)
37) Over their lifetime, 1 child born in the West will consume and pollute more than
would 30 children born in developing countries. (G.A.C)
38) 1/6 of the world’s population lives in squalid unhealthy areas mostly without water,
sanitation, public services or legal security. (G.A.C)
39) A birthday party for former Tyco chief executive Dennis Kozlowski’s wife Karen, cost $2.2 million. It included an ice sculpture of Michelangelo’s David that urinated Vodka. (G.A.C)
40) In the entire world, those living in extreme poverty ( on less than $1 a day) rose from 271 million in 1996 to 313 million in 2002. That is an increase of 42 million in 6 years.(G.A.C)
IN 1983 THE UNITED NATIONS TRIED TO PASS A RESOLUTION THAT:
“Declares that education, work, health care, proper nourishment, national development are human rights.” THE U.S. VETOED THIS U.N. RESOLUTION.
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_whyusa03.html
41) The military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the U.S. $ 400 billion in 3 years. (G.A.C)
42) Every 4 days the world spends more than $7 billion on the military. The U.N. estimates that this amount would be enough to provide poor countries with primary education for a year. (G.A.C)
43) Daily DEATHS around the world: 24,000 from hunger
6,000 children from diarrhea
2,700 children from measles
1,400 women in child birth
550 children from war
201 from drought (G.A.C)
“WORLD WIDE CAPITALISM KILLS MORE PEOPLE EVERYDAY
THAN HITLER DID. AND HE WAS CRAZY.” Ken Livingstone
44) For many of the world’s poorest countries, living standards are lower than what
they were 30 years ago. (G.A.C)
45) The gap between the incomes of the richest and poorest countries was about:
3 to 1 in 1820,
35 to 1 in 1950,
44 to 1 in 1973,
and 72 to 1 in 1992. (G.A.C)
“THE FORCES IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY, IF LEFT UNCHECKED, TEND
TO MAKE THE RICH RICHER AND THE POOR POORER.”
Jawaharlal Nehru
46) The 3 richest people in the world have assets that exceed the combined gross
domestic product of the 48 least-developed countries. (G.A.C)
47) It would cost between $7 and 8 billion a year to provide primary education for everyone in the developing world. This amount represents 4 days of global military spending, and 50% of what the U.S. spends annually on children’s TOYS. (G.A.C)
48) The amount of money that the richest 1% of the world’s population makes each year equals what the poorest 57% make. (G.A.C)
49) Global production of hazardous waste has reached more than 300 million tons a year. (G.A.C)
50) The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries warned that almost 2/3 of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. (G.A.C)
51) The world’s most profitable corporation, EXXONMOBIL has sales that amount to more than $1 billion a day. The company has used some of this money to contribute to 124 organizations that deny climate change. (G.A.C)
52) 100 million children in the world are estimated to be living or working on the streets and 1.2 million women and girls under 18 are trafficked for prostitution each year. (G.A.C)
“LIBERAL CAPITALISM IS NOT AT ALL THE GOOD OF HUMANITY.
QUITE THE CONTRARY; IT IS THE VEHICLE OF SAVAGE, DESTRUCTIVE NIHILISM” Alain Badiou
53) 1 million children in Canada live bellow the poverty line. (G.A.C)
54) A former student of mine, here in Tokyo, has 3 Louis Vuitton shoulder bags at the price of between 300,000 and 500,000 yen each. (Brkic Sulejman)
“I KEEP ON UNDERESTIMATING CAPITALISM. I REGARD IT AS THE WORLD’S EVIL, AND I STILL CONTINUE TO UNDERESTIMATE IT…”
Stephen Lewis, United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, 2006
(G.A.C)
“THE BASIC LAW OF CAPITALISM IS
you OR i,
NOT BOTH you AND i.”
Karl Liebknecht
P.S. According to Texas-based Android World, Inc., Valerie, an attractive female-shaped
robot can be purchased for $59,000. Valerie is expected to do all the owner’s ironing and cleaning. (G.A.C)
G.A.C.= “The Gruesome Acts Of Capitalism” by David Lester
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