‽istis (re)claims sufficientism (weekending February
6th 2021)
‽istis, with considerable
trepidation and perhaps the naïvety of middle-age and theoretical and practical
ignorance and inexperience in the particular field – and thus with apologies -
ponders some of the apparent workings of ‘capitalism’ in a week when we are told that:
·
the ‘real time worth’ of a single individual, the outgoing[i] CEO of a company, is
$195.4billion[ii]
(Forbes 5.2.2021)
·
in the UK apparently 900 consultants have received c. £1,000 a day to
help build a £22billion ‘national public service’[iii]
·
globally, 700 million people, 10 percent of the world’s population live on
less than $1.90 a day (the World Bank’s international line for extreme poverty)
and a third of the entire urban population is living in a slum (unsafe or
unhealthy homes in a crowded city)…
Suspecting that it is unlikely to be this simple, ‽istis nevertheless wonders about perhaps two key elements of ‘capitalism’:
·
making profit: sales over production costs - with
the difference possibly representing exploitation somewhere along the line in
some cases: charge to the buyer linked to demand (need or perceived want)?;
squeeze to the contributors to production (suppliers or workers)?
·
the distribution of profit: re-investment and
development?; to shareholders (reward for financial risk?); to employees (a
small number?) in bonuses above salary?
And ‽istis catches a glimpse of some ideas
amidst the extraordinary numbers and the mysteries of economic theory:
‽ ‘sufficientism’:
where everyone has enough
‽ a
hierarchy of rights: where my right to wealth, leisure, all things ‘extra’
cannot be claimed or demanded or guaranteed until everyone’s fundamental right
to life is assured
‽ and, in a week when ‘vaccine
nationalism’ is discussed (with apparently the UK - population of c. 68 million
souls[iv] - currently having placed
orders for 407m doses of vaccines produced by seven different companies[v]) and the principle in a
connected world that ‘no-one is safe until everyone is safe’ perhaps seems rather
forgotten - a phrase wafts on the breeze: ‘from each according to their ability,
to each according to their need’.
Ridiculous, ridiculous… for surely it is necessary for inequality to
flourish; for competition to thrive and drive the market; for private to profit;
for exploitation to oil the machine? But perhaps, possibly, maybe - just for a
moment - imagine what a world might look like where everyone at least has sufficient…
© Pistis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and
past blog
entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily
indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’:
@Pistis_wonders
[iii] https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/westminster-news/dido-harding-defends-nhs-test-and-trace-costs-6914916
[iv] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/uk-population/
(a favourite source!)
