The Monopolization of America | Robert Reich 

@@yajy4501 angry After they realize the most be sorry It's not by lack of warning they think that way

Flamminio Di Sera like Ocasio-Cortez who was lampooned recently for telling amazon to go Fuck themselves. Their are a few democrats who are actually trying to do the right thing but the “news-media”, as opposed to the entertainment media, despise them.

The left against the right is what our HANDLERS WANT!!!! Our REPRESENTATIVES should be enforcing the law, the SHERMAN-ANTI TRUST ACT. The Bread and Circus and friction against EACH OTHER allows the Central Banks and the rest of our OWNERS to have their way with us. Why can't people see that??? BB

@@bobburnitt5389 What and your solution is Bit coin? Lol

@@peteradaniel I am talking about TRUST BUSTING, I did NOT mention more PHONY Fiat Currency in the form of Crypto-Crap. Never mentioned that. Do you know what TRUST BUSTING IS??? Didn't you study History??

It's a shame that energy companies profit so much while some can barely keep their utilities on.

We need to ask ourselves the question: Why would they lower cost? Companies want to make as much profit as possible so just because they can lower prices doesn't mean they will, they need to have a reason.

It’s the corporate mantra/model: Charge more, provide less, maximize profits/stock dividends.

January 1981, about a half year before I graduated high school, heralded “Mourning In America.”

​@@Luked0g440 Powell Memo

It's funny that now it's exactly 10x that many. 390k

​​@@c0l0jar0It should have been at least 100x by now.

He is probably a communist

he's truly one of the good ones, a voice of TRUTH railing against the amoral jackal-filled corridors of power

Because some people don’t wanna hear the truth, it hurts

If you have ever played a game of monopoly then you know it always ends the same way. One person owns everything and everyone else is bankrupt. Making money with the money previously made causes an accumulation or feedback loop that sucks the wealth right out of every players hands and into the "winners" hand. When the wealth transfer is complete, its game over for everyone.

Karl Rosengrant monopoly is not an accurate economic simulation

That's semantics. You are clearly smart enough to understand his (well-made) point. Or, maybe you're not.

Catobis True, real life is more complex then a game, yet the underlying principal of wealth concentration is true in the real world as well. Wealth has accumulated into the richest 1% in an almost exponential manner. Wealth in the game and in the real world seems to go to the players who were lucky early on and knew how to make money with their money. Eventually fewer and fewer people had any wealth, only debt until only one person pretty much had all the wealth. This is also true of both the game and real world economics. In real life we can see that the same phenomena is playing out on a macro economic scale. When 3 people own and control the capital of more wealth then half the country then one is left asking : How long before almost every body is living in abject poverty while a few families rule the roost? Look at the data that shows wealth distribution over time. The rich get richer nearly exponentially while real wages are dropping when corrected for inflation. Reagan's "Trickle Down" economics turned out to be a gush up of societies wealth into the hands of the luckiest 1% Ive heard the argument that monopoly doesn't apply because the real world is not a zero sum game because more wealth is generated every year as we consume the Earth's resources at an increasing rate. That may have been true when we seemed to be able to grow industry and consumption almost without limits. Now, however, the tide is turning. The abundant resources which used to be available for unlimited economic growth are now getting more dilute and harder and more costly to get. Peak keystone resources will eventually turn the industrial world economy into a negative sum game. In other words there are limits to growth. Without growth there is less and less wealth to go around and eventually the unequal distribution of wealth reaches such an extreme that the government has to financially and materially support those who don't have the wealth to support themselves. Eventually the government goes bankrupt doing this and the currency resets. Wealth gets redistributed as paper assets such as debt based bonds are revalued and the game begins again. It could happen that way.

That's literally the point of the game. "Monopoly" was created in protest of unregulated capitalism. That it got bought by MB and then mass produced is ironic.

Not likely with the supreme Court now.

Fairness doctrine was necessary ONLY because there was no ability for people to freely choose other sources of media. This is completely unnecessary today, the citizenry can.. and does... seek out new sources of media when they become unhappy with their media.

@@cyberpunkspike Well, when some people are consuming only a single source, and that source has fabricated an entirely different reality, then we have an issue. Not sure how to solve it, as I certainly don't want to give the keys to somebody like Trump and let them decide what constitutes "facts."

@@cyberpunkspike this is a crap take. citizens cannot control what is broadcast on the air waives. and radio talk stations are dominated by corporate paid right wing propagandists to the point of a monopoly. it's beyond ridiculous

@@DerPilotMann It makes zero sense in today's climate, unlike the 1940's, you can access a multitude of news sources. ... OK, i think i see where you are having difficulty. You presume that it is a socially legitimate goal to determine what is the truth, and what isn't. However this isn't a legitimate social goal, because consensus is not the truth, and is itself hostile to the pursuit of truth. This is why the scientific method is a method, instead of an election process. This is why the catholic church was wrong, and Galileo was right. Society doesn't form a consensus of what is true through a political process, we collectively accept the truth after those with knowledge of the truth are more powerful than those who refuse it. The knowledge itself being the source of individual power, not institutional or political power. Those who have interests in rejecting the truth, almost everyone in positions of power or influence, we expect them to collude and obfuscate any inconvenient facts about the material world. If you accept a false narrative as the truth, your predictions will not be demonstrated correct. Any new science you develop will only be as powerful as the political and institutions that prop it up. It will lack all the powers of truth, it will only have the powers of religion, and not the powers of science.

Pity the poor lobbyists. If monopoly corporations are broken-up, the lobbyist will need to find multiple clients instead of just one big one. ;~)

@@richardgreen7225 We can be the lobbyist and we must be! Can't remain complacent for 40 more years!

Steve nope watch at least three or more and should have to watch in schools along with "The Big Short" movie, it's insane, and we have got to take back our country vote Bernie Sanders! We have to stay alert to what is going on. Look up the "Paradise Papers" about 70 billion dollars of taxes to the US all in tax havens and loop holes all the while the average pay though the nose and works hard just to stay afloat. Not good news, I saw this going down in the early eighty's and it never stopped or slowed down now look where we are at its crazy. Spread the word people aren't paying attention.

Republicans think it's socialism. 🤣

@@sa-iw4dr Sigh.. as if the human race has another 40 years!

Marcus White - 28 years trying here

Reich has been at it much longer, but most people have no idea about any of this. But keep trying

I had a dad , and a few good teachers in high school .they taught me to pay attention to politicians , politics , history , ask questions , keep reading everything . Books , newspapers, Robert , I would like to tell you what a great teacher , professor, and politician you are . YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER . Please keep teaching .

Hi Enn, Yes, a "Monolith". Marx would have loved it. Instead of the State having to Nationalize hundreds of thousands of businesses, the State would only have to lock down on a handful, and, voila, the State would have an effective Monopoly on the Means of Production. Marx also said that Capitalism will sell the rope used to hang it. God Bless Capitalism... it is so predictable.

the american dream is alive and well. none of this works like this communist imagines it does. equality of outcome ison't a right or american.

Hi Circusboy, In regards to "the American Dream is alive and well", well, yes, the "Dream" seems to still be kicking. We know that because of all the people that insist upon it. However, the REALITY of America as a Land of Plenty and Vast Opportunities is well past its peak. All the Data points to a steady decline. Wages are flat. Most small business fail. More lawyers are specializing in bankruptcies. More retailers are switching to high end goods because there is no longer a dominant middle class consumer class. All the signs and data point to a contracting and shrinking America.

Leo Volont j li t even true. It's still a place where s person can go f et on homeless to $1,000 a day in very short time without a high school education

Hi Circusboy, I am sure that America is not the only place in the World where people can scam and hustle. However, the greater part of Humanity feel it degrading to relate like predators to their fellow man. People would rather simply want to have an economy that works for all, without having to plot, scam, cheat and hustle. Life should encourage our Highest Faculties, not our lowest.

They are bought off by them. You don’t go biting the hand(s) that feeds you.

Backbone and lost spine. Nice.

Small business is not the backbone of the economy they don't have the money to pay for healthcare or pension

One of the things that people often leave out of Adam Smith's ideas about capitalistic economic systems is that if governments incentivize or ally with corporations, there is no "free market". I also view this as a national security issue. If everything is provided through one service, it is really easy to bring down. Also, "too big to fail" has somehow become a thing, which is inherently against the idea of a free market. Many, small providers is more diverse, more secure, more generative of new ideas, and ultimately also provides more jobs.

@@glaciergardner1505 people also forget that Adam Smith detested landlords

I agree. But the basic fact is that competition eliminates competition. Hence the need for robust anti-concentration legislation and strong enforcement. Concentrated wealth will do everything to fight it, including buying politicians, to be sure.

And I also think it's kind of pathetic that the EU has to do the job of the US government.

America is a welfare state for CORPORATIONS. As long as the establishment stands, they'll NEVER be re-established.

Tell that to Socialists.

They do and yet people are seriously considering a pro-monopoly candidate. There is no enough emphasis on this issue.

@@joananthony6323 If we have "Universal Health Care," Socialists will have their monopoly, and cash in.

@@davidlafleche1142 universal healthcare doesnt have to be from a single comapny....

Well.. LOL.. then you’re not absorbing this information. Instead, you’ve chosen “lazy weak peoples’ way of thinking they’re smart”

Wrong. Democrats want to change it and Republicans don't

@@gregj1241 Well, they could have fooled me. They got very close to real change with Bernie Sanders, and the owners of the Dem party did EVERYTHING possible to make sure that change would NEVER happen.

your view is both facile and dangerously wrong

They are too short to be "accurate," but they do contain a lot of information and they are mostly right, and I'm often surprised by how many Republicans seems to be agreeing with him (I'm not a Republican or a Democrat btw)

Don't buy from them on your own. Why do you have to be forced?

Im waiting for Amazons crash! They’re great for consumers because shipping is cheap but it blocks out emerging businesses. You can’t compete.

Including the CIA.

No - not before we break up Walmart.

Abolish private property

Stoney, Ma Bell was heavily regulated.

Stoney Curtis And it was broken up by Reagan using anti-trust legislation. Surprising, eh?

@Stoney Curtis, Remember when a road trip to your college buddy's house was cheaper than a phone call to catch up?

Yes. In the Old Days farmers could hold back grain from the market to use it for Seeding the next years crop. But somehow Monsanto insists that Seed Grain must be bought every year. And Monsanto hires people to run around and audit every field in America to determine whether any Corn or Soy is somehow growing up where there is not also a receipt on record for Seed Grain purchases. Monsanto has taken farmers to court. One farmer had to defend himself in Court because some lose grain from the year before had sprouted up in a field that was being allowed to go fallow -- Monsanto sued them for having a few stalks spring up in an otherwise empty field. So, yes, Monsanto has ENEMIES. Politicians on the Left could easily swing Farmers from Voting Red as a knee-flex reaction. "Vote for Us and we will see that Monsanto gets Screwed" would be a great Campaign Slogan across all of those Fly Over States.

Leo Volont: I know, it's sick how Monsanto operates. In a poli sci course I took, we had a whole section dedicated to how fucked up our industrial food industries are. We learned all about Monsanto and their shady business practices. We can thank the courts for handing them such power, to monopolize genetic sequences and everything downstream from such a genetic sequence (e.g. gmo seeds).

Hi Dudeman, Was Poli Sci your major? What are you doing now?

Hi Frederic, Well, yes, it is undeniable that through intelligent genetic engineering, one can derive a better seed stock (which is what has been being done since Mendel experimented with his peas, and even before that. the biggest tomatoes and the largest grapes always took the Prize, and the remaining farmers would beg, buy or steal the seeds or vines, and so, even without genetic laboratories, crops were progressively getting bigger and better). But the issue today is that Monsanto is Bigger than Monsanto -- the People who sit on Monsanto's Board of Directors sit on other Boards also (a big living can be made by being on a Board of Directors, and for each chair you get, that's another paycheck. You just have to be famous for being the type of guy (yes, male) who gets along (and goes along) with everybody. ) So All of the Big Buyers in the Grain Market SPECIFY that they will ONLY buy Monsanto Crops. So, otherwise good healthy grain that would otherwise do well on the Market is rendered practically worthless. Also, whatever Monsanto did to make their crops "pest resistance" has screwed up the pollen and is killing all the bees, and, probably, any researcher who gets close to proving it gets in a car accident or has a heart attack before their 50th birthday. that is how we know that only 1 out of 500,000 people in America is an Investigative Journalist. The Few do their Best, but generally we are all living in Darkness.

Hi Frederic, So Social Security is a Copyright Protected Monopoly? Well, do you really think that the Social Security Administration would take anybody to Court for giving Checks to people?

The problem is capitalism.

Not if we stop them

Nah, mortgages are working fine for the rich and corporations. If only people would see thru the lie that “home ownership”actually exists

The problem is capitalism.

Under Eisenhower, personal tax rates were much more progressive than they are today - and he was Republican.

First off, outlaw political contributions.

And their government puppets in congress,”the gop”,and lobbyists which should be outlawed.

@@mbluett88 The corporations will claim that that would violate the 1st amendment rights of the corporations aka a made-up entity.

Literally the only way is a war. There is no peaceful, nonviolent way out of corruption. Look at EVERY SINGLE CIVILIZATION IN HISTORY if you think I’m wrong. We need a civil war against the richest people and we need to PHYSICALLY take our country back and actually enforce anti trust law. Corrupt never govern themselves and when the illusion of a “vote for freedom” from literal candidates that all represent the same abusers, they will realize I’m right. Hopefully before it’s impossible to overthrow them.

@@MsLucyJayne Who is going to do the lobbying?

The problem is capitalism.

Bruh, it regulations that crush the small businesses, and helps big ones

@@LolLol-zr9jc monopolies are not small businesses lmao. Anti trust laws affect large corporations like Amazon, Disney, Walmart, not the mom and pop shop down the street.

The government not only creates monopolies with legislative protections...but IS a monopoly itself. Monopolies are bad for consumers. Yet people still support the government, which is a (violently funded) monopoly. No wonder our schools, roads, money supply, police, courts, and jails are totally fucking rotten. At least I won't go to jail for not buying a product from a market monopoly.

@@JM-co6rf So, you're saying that you don't buy car insurance from a private company?

@@garretttedeman ?

+ tbh, I have conducted my own research on this issue: my chocolate milk - some Hungarian company -Nestlé on the back; ketchup Torchin (Торчин), ukrainian one (I live there), never heard right? Nestlé on the back. Mivina (Мівіна) - cheap short spaghetti pieces -poor boiled voter and eat. Junk as shit. Nestlé.

I think the problem is everyone wants to be able to screw everone else when they "get lucky" and make it rich. The problem with the american dream is dreams arent real

Hahahaha! So hilarious

Just proving and demonstrating their 🦛crisy.

+Spirit of Food.com since 1998 Get the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission to increase Sherman Act investigations. The number of mergers has soared, but the number of enforced actions has stayed the same. equitablegrowth.org/innovation-entrepreneurship/presentation-merger-enforcement-statistics/ For example, in 2014, there were 424 corporate mergers and 41 enforcements. In 2016 there were 670 corporate mergers, and 46 enforcements. The key is make enforcements more proportional to merger filings.

The Spirit of Food.com since 1998 not as long as they are rich ass greedy assholes.

The problem is NOT monopolies and the size of corporations. The problem is the OWNERSHIP of corporations. If the ownership of corporations were socialized it would become democratically accountable. That means that the profits could be distributed more equally, workers would get higher wages, it would pay higher taxes and the company would have a social purpose. Since Reich is a liberal progressive to him social ownership is off the table as it is with ALL liberals.

hand out fines as % of net income, you control 100% of a market? you pay double tax and redistribute. if they jack up prices by 20% competitors will have space to grow, if they decrease market share competitors again have space.

In 1956 my dad had a job(draftsman,designer)that paid $5.00 an hour. Today, by the governments own inflation statistics it would take $47.00 an hour to have the same buying power. What happened? The Federal Reserve! The Federal Reserve! The Federal Reserve!

This IS the 2nd gilded age.

Teddy, Franklin - please send help! ... crickets ... Guess we will have to do it ourselves. Support the Elizabeth Warrens whenever they stand up in Congress or run for office.

@Frederic Bastiat wage shifts from the top down

@Frederic Bastiat unions are not monopolies the same way corporations are.

@@SFolkes97 Support the liar Phoahountas Warren! The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior but you guys have always been gullible.

Philip Morris List of BrandsSource: Philip Morris Annual Report 2000Tobacco Marlboro Virginia Slims Merit Parliament Benson &Hedges L&M Chesterfield Lark Cambridge Basic Selected International Brands* Apollo Soyuz Bond Street Caro Diana f6 Kazakstan Klubowe Longbeach Multifilter Muratti Peter Jackson Petra Philip Morris Polyot SG Vatra Tobacco Food Beverages, Desserts and Cereals Beverages Capri Sun � Country Time Crystal Light Kool-Aid Tang Coffee General Foods International Coffees Gevalia Maxim Maxwell House Sanka Starbucks � Yuban Desserts Baker's Balance Bar Calumet Certo Cool Whip Dream Whip Ever-Fresh Handi-Snacks Jell-O Knox Minute Sure-Jell Cereals Alpha-Bits Banana Nut Crunch Blueberry Morning Cranberry Almond Crunch Cream of Wheat Cream of Rice Fruit &Fibre Golden Crisp Grape-Nuts Great Grains Honey Bunches of Oats Honeycomb Oreo O's Pebbles Raisin Bran Shredded Wheat Toasties Waffle Crisp Biscuits, Snacks and Confectionery Cookies & Crackers Better Cheddars Cheese Nips Chips Ahoy! Handi-Snacks Honey Maid Newtons Nilla Nutter Butter Oreo Premium Ritz SnackWell's Stella D'oro Teddy Grahams Triscuit Wheat Thins Snacks Cornnuts Planters Pet Snacks Milk-Bone Confectionery Altoids Callard &Bowser** Creme Savers Farley's Gummi Savers Jet-Puffed LifeSavers Milka L'il Scoops Now and Later Sather's Terry's Tobler Toblerone Trolli

Snacks and Confectionery Aladdin Artic Cerealitas Chips Ahoy! Club Social C�te d'Or Daim Diamante Negro Estrella Express Figaro Freia Guayabita Korona Lacta Laka Lucky Maarud Marbu Marabou Merries Milan Milka Oreo Ouro Branco Pacific Soda Pean�tt Planters Poiana Prince Polo Rhodesia Ritz Royal Shot Sonho de Valsa Suchard Sugus Tapita Terrabusi Terry's Trakinas Toblerone Tita Convenient Meals and Grocery Dairylea Lunchables Fleischmann's Kraft Delissio pizza Kraft Lunchables Kraft ketchup Kraft peanut butter Kraft pourables Magic Moments Miracel Whip Mir�coli Simmenthal Vegemite

Beer Miller Lite Miller Genuine Draft Miller Genuine Draft Light Miller High Life Miller High Life Light Milwaukee's Best Milwaukee's Best Light Icehouse Foster's � Red Dog Southpaw Light Leinenkugel's Henry Weinhard's Henry's Hard Lemonade Hamm's Mickey's Olde English 800 Magnum Presidente Sharp's non-alcohol brew *Not generally available in the U.S. **International products available in some specialty stores and supermarkets. �Licensed trademark.

This document's URL is: www.tobacco.org/Resources/00pmbrands.html

Damn. Ok, I'm putting Corn Nuts, Planter's, all my favorite cereals, and Baker's Chocolate on my no-buy list, along with palm oil products and Wal-Mart. It's like becoming a vegetarian, it's only hard at first. Tyvm for reference!

Yeah it's out the window. Now all they do is very complicated math to confuse kids not teach them anything.

The problem is capitalism.

farmer's market

i they are awesome.

Frederic Bastiat you are correct, one cannot grow those items.

farmer's market means you are still buying from monsanto and other seed giants. even for eggs and poultry it's better to buy hatchlings or eggs from suppliers because they are more productive.

Sadly I can't get everything I need to survive from my local markets... But if you want to hinder their efforts buy unprocessed raw produce/dairy/meats. There's less profits in them.

Neither, thank you.

Or idiocracy. Trump and his supporters are proof of that movie becoming a reality

Mad Max future or star trek future Depends on how strong our government is.

Why can't we have both ?

Well we would first have to have the Mad Max future until it got so bad that the world nearly annihilated itself via nuclear winter before the Star Trek future could come about.

wildtwindad wow. (But if corporations are people too, can't they get the death penalty in Texas? :-/ )

wildtwindad - Do you think that had anything at all to do with what happened in 1913? "December 23, 1913. President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act on December 1913, ... the development of a central bank."

wildtwindad Thank you. I didn't know that. Need to research this topic.

wildtwindad didn't coca-cola start in 1886 how are they still around if they were illegal at the time.

The Bureau of Corporations was created by Congress on February 14, 1903. It was created to identify and break up monopoly corporations - such as it did with the world's first and largest multinational corporation, Standard Oil, in 1911. If corporations were illegal, it would seem a bit silly to establish a bureau for their oversight, wouldn't it?

No politicians will all that! But we the people together can.

All the oil companies are owned by the same shareholders, so technically there is no competition. Try questioning why the US will never allow foreign oil companies from Asia to sell its oil in America? Because that would significantly reduce the cost of oil to consumers and challenge the monopolies in US.

Jacob Flores Yes, Pocahontas would love your face diaper

We do, but the antitrust laws are no longer being enforced. - The DoJ tried to breakup IBM when IBM had over 60% market share. What happened? IBM stonewalled DoJ. Eventually DoJ gave up and the US Attorney General became IBM's chief council. - With the limit on corporation campaign contributions now erased, if an administration goes after a monopoly, the monopoly can fund the administration's opponents in retaliation. Senators will find ways to oppose the antitrust effort.

Brandon Winchester Where have you been? Hiding under a rock?

Same in communism or socialist countries Or worst because they slave you with violence shoot you and only the Stalins and Bolsheviks have money and power not even lawyers can help you. So yes is bad. Only God can help us ...

Yes but don't make it worst. Socialist make it worst. When you were in government you and the presidente gave money to the Rich bankers not the people. So you're a big time very rich Hypocrite. Yes you are part of the problem likewise all your ilk be any political party. Bad boys and girls...

Russia isn't socialism Russia is communism They are not the same thing. USA Is a socialistic country We tax and spend the tax on stuff, like schools, roads, research, military, ect. Pure capatalism has no government. Your corner drug dealer is pure capatalism, his customers and rivals can kill him and he can kill his rivals and customers. That's capatalism in it's purest form. No rules. Just pure greed.

elar akamai You are simply correct! And more like staggered at the scale of this undertaking! So many high-functioning psychopaths, in a knife fight over so much money and power!

If you are interested in other proposals like Alperovitz see my channel

You are talking to a brick wall. He is a liberal progressive. Its their job to thwart and stifle socialism

Hi Learn Socialist Justice, Hmmmmm, I thought "Liberal Progressive" was the New Word for "Socialism" Perhaps you are quibbling over theological fine points, the way the Medieval Scholastics would go to the mat over how many angels could fit on the tip of a pin. The Left has a tendency to subdivide down to grouping so small that it almost guarantees that the Left, as a whole, will remain Powerless. We need to look at how the Right plays their game. The Right is formed up of a Coalition that Contradicts itself every which way, but they recognize that the Most Important Factor is Strength in Numbers. The Left should worry about its own problem in regards to Popular Support and Strength in Numbers.

Yes, Elar. We have the Technology now, and have had the Theory for quite some time now. We can Plan our way to a Universal Sustainable Prosperity (or that is what we could call it in the mean while).

Sky Dravier You need to speak to Cuban Americans. They’ll set you straight real quick

Reich is not a socialist MORON. He is a stupid liberal progressive. You know the idiots who thwart socialism and provide minuscule change

Your channel name is liberal values. You cannot claim to be a liberal, and a socialist. Liberalism by definition is capitalistic and pro free market. Socialism is worker ownership of the means of production, and socialism and liberal capitalism are mutually exclusive. You cannot be both a liberal and socialist at once.

Wrong liberalism is the parent to right libertarianism and liberal progressivism. Also there is libertarian socialism. All liberalism is shit anyway you slice it. The OP is just a confused American probably

LOL the more you talk the more you show how fucking stupid you are. Why dont you just study liberalism and then come back in about a year kid. You are CLUELESS. Start with learning negative and positive rights and liberties. If you want a book i can recommend you one

the name calling is not necessary to get your point across

PMPEducator / I guess you've never heard of D.tube or BitChute or LBRY? Everything is a monopoly if you don't even look around.

Wrong.

So communism and socialism, systems where my entire life and job position and everything about me are basically decided by my government, are better than capitalism?

“Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights. ...I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.” ― Albert Einstein, Why Socialism?, Monthly Review, May 1949 Donald Trump: ‘We should have more people [immigrating to the U.S.] from places like Norway [a Democratic Socialist country with higher prosperity shared among all economic classes rather than concentrated in the hands of a small minority of the super wealthy].” “That Scandinavian life is famous for its sense of well-being. The UN’s World Happiness Report, in fact, now ranks Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden [countries with Democratic Socialist systems] at the top of their happiness list. By contrast, the US -- a country accustomed to being the best in the world at everything, except perhaps humility -- is in a period of happiness slippage, having wilted from third place to 19th in 10 short years. The stated reasons for that drop are “declining social support” and “increased corruption.” - Brent Giannotta, “What Americans Can Learn From Scandinavians, the Happiest People in the World,” Thrillist.com, January 2, 2018 "[The] trickle-down approach to economic policy [is] what an older and less elegant generation called the horse-and-Sparrow theory: If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows. - John Kenneth Galbraith, Economist and advisor to President John F. Kennedy, 1961-1963 We've had trickle down economics in the country and most of us aren't even damp yet. - Molly Ivins "Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which… public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.” It is prevalent in China and Russia, but had not been common in the US or the UK. "I am beginning to worry that we are starting in that direction." - Alan Greenspan, Former US Federal Reserve Chairman "Peak 'crony capitalism' - Donald Trump indulging in corrupt favoritism isn’t surprising - but so much of it so soon?! … Among the millions of people who will get screwed in this new crony-capitalism-on-steroids era are the majority of Trump’s voters, of course. Not just working-class voters in small Rust Belt towns that the media loves to fawn over as living in “Real America,” but also those making over $70,000 a year and living in the suburbs. Anyone, in other words, who is not a crony of Donald Trump. His supporters hoping otherwise will discover this soon enough." - Gary Legum, Salon, November 25, 2016 “Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.” - John Maynard Keynes I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes. - Martin Luther King, Jr. "A basic principle of modern state capitalism is that costs and risks are socialized to the extent possible, while profit is privatized." - Noam Chomsky "Capitalism: Nothing so mean could be right. Greed is the ugliest of the capital sins." - Edward Abbey “[T]he tattering of the American Dream is causing individuals who expected more out of life to self-destruct in record numbers. In my mind, there is a connection between the skyrocketing suicides, drug addiction, and binge drinking we’re seeing across the country and the fact that Americans are struggling so much financially. As the divide between the 'haves' and 'have nots' grows ever wider, one could assume that 99% of the population feel that overcoming economic inequality is insurmountable. Many Americans are hopeless and resigned to the fact that they may never live the American Dream or become part of the 1%. - Christopher Bergland, Psychology Today, May 6, 2016

Hierarchies are fine provided they're fair. The problem with today is that businesses unduly influence politics which in turn gets them to ignore or modify laws in their faovour. If lobbyists and PACs were not allowed to exist the political landscape would be much different.

theres so much in this comment and so much I dont really support so I'll just speak of "scandinavia" as mentioned here. or rather it mentions finland and iceland as well so it's the nordics. anyway not any of these mentioned are socialist. this is very apparent as there exists private property and the workers do not own the means of production. theres also the fact that several top swedish and danish politicians have already outright denied being socialist some years ago when bernie was kind of relevant.. several US or other "international" monopolies have enroached into these countries and are dominating as well. however the well being is generally good enough that it doesnt really matter too much to an average citizen as the standard of living is relatively high. are we to believe that its the country that makes the people and not the other way around? example: Danish prime minister trying to clear up to Sanders www.thelocal.dk/20151101/danish-pm-in-us-denmark-is-not-socialist

I don't think most people realize the where they choose to spend their money can be a huge force for social change.

He explained it.