tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post2925169938902099774..comments2023-12-29T18:13:21.495-06:00Comments on pink scare: Balanced Budgets are BullshitUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-69603929338421085962010-10-02T17:51:32.689-05:002010-10-02T17:51:32.689-05:00what created the deficit?
the Congressional Budge...what created the deficit?<br /><br />the Congressional Budget Office has a useful pie chart<br /><br />don't mean to hawk my blog so much, but you can find it at the bottom of <a href="http://amleft.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html#8289629440831653796" rel="nofollow">this post</a><br /><br />pretty much confirms what you sayRichardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09164564889343805575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-36502357318292060562010-10-02T17:49:01.483-05:002010-10-02T17:49:01.483-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09164564889343805575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-91587561872888436122010-10-02T14:28:29.494-05:002010-10-02T14:28:29.494-05:00Agreed. The argument in this post is a form of int...Agreed. The argument in this post is a form of internal critique. By it's own lights, liberal capitalism can't really consistently claim that balanced budgets are where it's at. I'm inclined to think, however, that if one really identifies with the features of the self-image of liberal capitalism (e.g. take seriously the battle cry of freedom and equality), then the whole thing becomes radically unstable: liberalism cannot deliver on it's promises, because the problems of oppression and exploitation cannot be solved within the framework of capitalism. <br /><br />Happiness is an interesting case as well. If one takes seriously the idea of happiness as an objective phenomenon (i.e. where "happiness" is more akin to eudaimonia: flourishing, excercising one's faculties and capacities in an excellent way, etc.) then one quickly reaches radical conclusions. That is, if we complete abjure all of this completely moronic "research" about measuring happiness (their metric is laughable)... then there is space to talk about a critical and politically subversive conception of happiness... which is constantly eroded and disrupted by capitalism: a system constituted by reified social relations, alienation, etc.thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-15150668307024954942010-10-02T13:59:55.656-05:002010-10-02T13:59:55.656-05:00Right, but capitalism doesn't serve the people...Right, but capitalism doesn't serve the people; it's the other way around. The health of the machine is what matters. Another example is the fetish of "GDP." If our GDP is good, we must be happy. The only thing stupider is these surveys that measure our happiness...dnwnoreply@blogger.com