Consumerism

by Kevin Thomas

In today's society, capitalism is the underlying structure of how America works. It can be argued that because of capitalism, America became the most powerful country in the history of the world. So, capitalism definitely has its positives, but there is a blaring (often misunderstood) negative that I want to speak of today in regard to a country that runs off of capitalism for an extended period of time. This concern is not about capitalism, which means a country whose economy and political system is governed by wealth. This negativity is also not directed at the capitalist him/herself. By definition a capitalist is a person who owns and/or controls wealth. Nor is this about capital in and of itself, which means wealth. This is about the 90% of Americans who do not own or control Capital (wealth if you will).

If you were to take a step back and take a hard sober look at the American society, you will see quite easily the strange relationship that the citizens of America have with the plutocrats (the wealthy who runs society). Just by me using the term plutocrats tells it all. The issue is America is run by the wealthy class. The citizens of America are like the bewildered herd, and the wealthy are the sheep herders. They (being the wealthy) make all the rules for us, and we never get to come to the table to make rules for ourselves, much less make rules for the elite. This is a strange relationship. Because if you do not know, ALL wealth is created off the backs of labor (us). We actually do not need the wealthy, but the wealthy cannot exist without us. I am not saying anything is wrong with wealth. Not at all. I am just pointing out a fact that the average man and woman can have a functional society without wealthy/powerful people. They do not really have a proven use for the average man. I am sure they would disagree with this statement (smile).

I said all that to say this. As I said before, all wealth is made off the backs of labor. All wealth today is maintained by three ways (in my opinion).
The plutocrats have access to real knowledge while the masses have public education. This removes any competition to their wealth and power.
The plutocrats thru education and media propaganda have conditioned us that the system they created (plutocracy) is best for everyone, when history has proven it only works for them. This removes any possibility of ever having a republic again. Notice I did not say democracy. Because that is their system.
The plutocrats trained us from cradle to grave to consume the products and services they create. This removes any chance of them losing their place in power.
Because we live in a plutocracy, our job as citizens (non-capitalist) is to be consumers. All they want from us is to consume their products and services. There is nothing else they want us to do but consume—then die. That is cold, but a minor investigation will prove my statement to be true. Remember in 2001 when America was in a hell of a mess with 911? As the twin towers were destroyed and 2763 innocent Americans died (according to Google), what Did George Bush Jr. tell the Americans to do?