Lost in all the media chatter about whether health care reform is anti-capitalist is the reality that conservative politicians are for the most part anti-capitalist themselves. Of course most of them don't know it--American politicians have never had a reputation for smarts. Most so-called conservative politicians in Congress don't know where they're at ideologically and they don't really care. All they need for personal achievement is a mechanism for accepting corporate anti-regulation or stasis lobbyist cash--all else is a footnote. Take the cash while keeping the mantra going: no big government, low taxes, no social change, no regulation, nada, nada, nada.
So how are conservative politicians anti-capitalist?
Consider this: The leisure class craves stability--political, social, and economic stasis, no change at all in anything that affects their condition.
This is not new. It existed already in the leisure class of ancient Egypt. Who wants change when you have a full plate in a world of nearly empty plates? Who wants change when you live the life of a prince or princess when everyone else grovels in the dust?
The leisure class wants no change at all.
But what about capitalism?
Capitalism thrives on innovation and creativity--which routinely produce new technology that causes change in political, social, and economic conditions. Without innovation and creativity, capitalism stagnates, becomes a dead capitalism, and eventually provokes revolutions. People outside the leisure class like entrepreneurial capitalism, a living capitalism--the opportunity for personal change. Without that opportunity, the mob sooner or later revolts.
Conservative politicians, most of whom represent the leisure class and corporations that favor stasis, are essentially opposed to political, social, and economic change--opposed in essence to the spirit of a living capitalism.
The difference between living and dead capitalism has international ramifications: If America is to remain a dominant center of capitalist innovation and creativity, we need to recognize the handicaps of conservative politics.
The major strength of China is its pragmatic attitude and willingness to innovate. The Chinese are not handicapped by anything comparable to American conservative ideology.
It's an irony that at this moment in American history the greatest enemy of capitalism is a capitalist named Rupert Murdoch--a conservative media tycoon whose hack media continually purvey the idea that stasis is better than change--which means that dead capitalism is better than living capitalism.
Does Murdoch know what he's doing? It's not clear. But his media make sense only if his interest is not protecting capitalism but protecting the leisure class.
Is that the game?
Meanwhile, those in the entrepreneurial business community should be wary of American conservative politicians who are essentially anti-capitalist. They do want you dead.
And the public at large? The old adage tells it all: Looking backward while trying to move forward results in a high probability of breaking your neck.