Rendering Unto Caesar: Winding Up in Limbaugh
Q: Why don't conservatives go to Hell after they die?
A: They wind up in Limbaugh.
In a recent broadcast response to the current pope, Rush Limbaugh waved his banner of capitalist cheer-leading. He gave the example of disaster relief as a positive aspect of his personal religion of greed, hate and delusion. What Limbaugh failed to grasp is that sincere disaster relief does not conform to the strict tenets of pure capitalism.
Capitalists practice charity as a means to an end. The classic example of capitalist charity works somewhat like a loss leader. "Here is some good stuff for free." When the consumer becomes accustomed to the stuff, it is no longer free. Disaster relief from a capitalist perspective is a way to open up a new market for business expansion. It has nothing to do with helping out someone in distress except a distressed business in need of expansion.
Limbaugh claims that the US would not have the resources for disaster relief overseas were it not for the "virtuous" system of capital accumulation. What he omits is the way that the process of accumulation of assets into the hands of a few already wealthy investors tends to drain resources away from other parts of the globe rendering them susceptible to natural calamities. Nations impoverished by Anglo-American global domination have a reduced capacity to help their own people in a time of crisis. There is also the "ideological" barrier of opposition to a social safety net as imposed by capitalist domination. People will not work for marginal wages in a society with a social safety net. The absence of a safety net aggravates the effects of a natural disaster.
A more telling example of a capitalist response to a natural disaster is the way oil companies jacked up the price of gas after hurricane Katrina hit the American gulf coast. Sure, this conformed to the law of supply and demand. After all the supply of oil was reduced by the loss of Louisiana supplies and the demand was increased by the fact that residents fled by vehicle and remained on the road. Employees of capital know how to exploit a situation and would be fired if they failed to do so.
Another blind spot in the Limbaugh religion is the denial of the effects of capital accumulation on the global climate. Melting ice caps and increased storm severity have no human contribution. They would have occurred without the mad rush to profit from fossil fuel consumption. The greenhouse effect is the bogey man of weak-kneed liberals who cannot appreciate the fine bouquet on a glass of anti-freeze enhanced ground water.
What is your take on disaster relief with respect to the global political economy? And, do you accept Rush Limbaugh into your heart as your lord and savior?
Links: Rush Limbaugh on pope Frank.
A: They wind up in Limbaugh.
In a recent broadcast response to the current pope, Rush Limbaugh waved his banner of capitalist cheer-leading. He gave the example of disaster relief as a positive aspect of his personal religion of greed, hate and delusion. What Limbaugh failed to grasp is that sincere disaster relief does not conform to the strict tenets of pure capitalism.
Capitalists practice charity as a means to an end. The classic example of capitalist charity works somewhat like a loss leader. "Here is some good stuff for free." When the consumer becomes accustomed to the stuff, it is no longer free. Disaster relief from a capitalist perspective is a way to open up a new market for business expansion. It has nothing to do with helping out someone in distress except a distressed business in need of expansion.
Limbaugh claims that the US would not have the resources for disaster relief overseas were it not for the "virtuous" system of capital accumulation. What he omits is the way that the process of accumulation of assets into the hands of a few already wealthy investors tends to drain resources away from other parts of the globe rendering them susceptible to natural calamities. Nations impoverished by Anglo-American global domination have a reduced capacity to help their own people in a time of crisis. There is also the "ideological" barrier of opposition to a social safety net as imposed by capitalist domination. People will not work for marginal wages in a society with a social safety net. The absence of a safety net aggravates the effects of a natural disaster.
A more telling example of a capitalist response to a natural disaster is the way oil companies jacked up the price of gas after hurricane Katrina hit the American gulf coast. Sure, this conformed to the law of supply and demand. After all the supply of oil was reduced by the loss of Louisiana supplies and the demand was increased by the fact that residents fled by vehicle and remained on the road. Employees of capital know how to exploit a situation and would be fired if they failed to do so.
Another blind spot in the Limbaugh religion is the denial of the effects of capital accumulation on the global climate. Melting ice caps and increased storm severity have no human contribution. They would have occurred without the mad rush to profit from fossil fuel consumption. The greenhouse effect is the bogey man of weak-kneed liberals who cannot appreciate the fine bouquet on a glass of anti-freeze enhanced ground water.
What is your take on disaster relief with respect to the global political economy? And, do you accept Rush Limbaugh into your heart as your lord and savior?
Links: Rush Limbaugh on pope Frank.