Beyond Decadence

by Stephen Fleischman

The story of Bernie Madoff is the perfect paradigm for morality in the era of monopoly capitalism.

As an investment broker with a “black box”, Madoff managed to swindle $50 billion, yes, billion—before being caught. Madoff targeted his own people in the Jewish community and even ripped off charitable organizations that were supporting humanitarian projects in Israel. He used the oldest of the old scams, the Ponzi or pyramid scheme—paying off old investors with exorbitant fictitious interest, money from new investors, while investing nothing.

According to Wikipedia, the Internet encyclopedia, the original schemer was Sarah Howe, who in 1880 opened up a “Ladies Deposit” in Boston promising eight percent interest, although she had no method of making profits. This unique scheme was billed as “for women only.” Howe was arrested on October 18, 1880 by New York City Police and sentenced to three years in prison. There have been a myriad of schemers through the decades since then, with stakes getting higher as capitalist greed developed. Wall Street, itself, is a kind of gambling casino where, apparently, pyramid schemers can operate.

What makes it possible?

Greed and negligence.

Greed on the part of the schemer and the public. Negligence on the part of the government and the regulators whose job it is to see to it that our financial markets operate on the up and up—primarily the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Greed is defined as an excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially wealth.

As the expression goes, “We all have a little larceny in our hearts”.

Does that describe Bernie Madoff, or does that describe his host of victims?

Well, both.

Capitalism brings out the worst in people. People are not monolithic, they are multifaceted.

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes “Seven Virtues” which correspond inversely to each of the seven deadly sins—Chastity for Lust, Temperance for Gluttony, Charity for Greed, Diligence for Sloth, Patience for Wrath, Kindness for Envy and Humility for Pride.

Why can’t we be more charitable, less greedy?

We can be if we change the material conditions of our lives—the economic system under which we live—the profit system.

Karl Marx made an astounding discovery that stands with Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and Sigmund Freud’s discovery of the Id, the Ego and the Super-ego.

Marx discovered that “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. His monumental analysis of capitalism, “Das Kapital”, the first of three volumes published in 1867, described the new mercantile world of capitalism growing out of feudalism, and how the system is based on the exploitation of one class by another (the proletariat or working class by the bourgeoisie or capitalist class) and that “profits” are derived from the surplus value created by labor in the process of production. Capitalism is based on the theft of labor power from the workers by the owners of the means of production.

The main drive of the capitalist is to maximize profits, always trying to squeeze more surplus value out of his workers by cutting wages, increasing hours of work for the same pay, denying benefits and other handy techniques.

The workers’ main weapon for fighting back is the strike. But that takes solidarity and unionization, of which there is little around, lately.

The only outstanding recent example is the successful sit-down strike by the workers at the Republic Windows and Doors plant in Chicago. In 1937, there were 733 such sit-in strikes, growing out of the example set by the General Motors workers in Flint, Michigan who closed down 3 GM plants.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) was formed, despite GM’s vow to prevent it.

The US developed a strong industrial labor movement with such leaders as John L. Louis, of the United Mine Workers and a leader in the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) There were many others to follow. A strong union movement, winning higher wages and benefits and a better distribution of wealth, contributed to America’s development of a broad middle class.

That was then, this is now.

The onslaught on the labor movement in this country began with the Reagan Administration’s attack on the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) in 1981.

Twelve thousand air traffic controllers went out on strike for higher wages and better working conditions, setting off a chain of events that would redefine labor relations in America.

On August 3, 1981, President Reagan gave the PATCO strikers 48 hours to return to work. Two days later, when the strikers refused, Reagan carried out his threat. He fired 12,000 controllers and banned them from federal service for three years.

This was a tip-off to employers in the private sector. The government was on their side. The onslaught continued in the intervening years and capital effectively broke the back of the labor movement in this country.

Is there a lesson here, for today—as we head into another great depression?

The lesson may be that we’ll have to wait for the crash to come before the working class of America can get organized again.

Meanwhile, greed is the order of the day.

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