Today’s Plantation Economy
Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Dan Quayle, Bob Dole, Jack Kemp, George W Bush, Dick Cheney, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
It’s hard to tar all these people with a single brush. There are some real dumb asses in that list, people who couldn’t think their way out of a wet paper bag, but who compensate with real mouth. There are a few smarter people on there. There are one or two pretty smart and accomplished folks on there, even. But there is one overriding characteristic that marks them all.
Each is/was completely, unutterably, tragically out of touch with reality. Many of them were just too plain stupid to know better: Reagan, Quayle, McCain and Palin spring to mind. The most talented in this crowd, however, bent and twisted logic and facts to make reality conform to theoretical ideologies designed not to improve conditions for all Americans, but rather to play into existing prejudices and pathologies, in order to game an election system rife with opportunities for hacking and hackery, for the furtherment of the plantation economy.
Until the Industrial Revolution, the plantation economy was the economic engine of the United States, even though slavery was limited mainly to the Southern states and some new territories. Even at the start of mass manufacturing, the cotton of the South fed the jennies of Lowell, Mass. American politics, American diplomacy, American growth, American power all revolved around maintaining a favorable trade status for American cash crops. All of that depended on a permanent underclass of cheap labor – in this case, for the price of a few mouthfuls a day, and a few sets of clothes, as well as a few roofs over a few beds. What some might call a “living” wage.
Although supplanted by the factories of the North and shattered by the Civil War, the basic economic model of the United States never changed: cheap labor, mass production of salable commodities and favorable trade conditions. Only this time, the profit margins had to be boosted in order to account for actually paying a “living” wage, but the new masters of the universe, the robber-barons, found many ways around that, didn’t they? (“I owe my soul to the company store.”) And the most marginalized members of society – Catholic immigrants, Mexicans, Chinese and of course the former slaves – seemed to always be the ones being exploited.
The ascendance of the labor movement, since the start of the 20th century, has not-accidentally coincided with the growth of electoral reform, including landmarks like women’s suffrage, the Voting Rights act, and the franchise for 18-year-olds.
In contrast, the growth of the conservative movement has been based on protectionist trade and a laissez-faire capitalism against anything that stands in the way of cheap resources, especially labor, on the ridiculous economic theory that the profit of a few are actually the profit of all, because the business of America is Business. As well as protectionist voting rules, and laissez-faire campaign finance laws.
Against this backdrop, Nominee Trump is just another member of the club. He might not be the candidate they wanted, but he’s both a plutocratic plantation master and a reality-denying dumb ass, so in retrospect he seems somehow inevitable, now, doesn’t he?
Drumpf is everything the Republican party stands for. He just says it loudly and proudly. Hate, hypocrisy, ignorance and fear all rolled up in a wealthy orange (is the newer black) package. They got what they wanted and deserve.
1Add to that the fascist characteristics of the Big Man who is the only one who can save us all, the blaming of Those People Over There for all our woes, and beating the crap out of the opposition. The only surprise is that he’s not wrapped in the flag as tightly as usual, and he’s not carrying a cross.
Speaking of that, I am surprised that Bernie’s gotten as far as he has– he’s criticized for being a socialist, but hardly anyone bothers to mention his lack of “faith.” We’ve had past presidents who were fairly indifferent to religion, or at least noisy Jesus-based religion, but since 1980 it’s been mandatory up until Bernie.
2Protectionist trade has NOT been part of the rite-wing reaction-ary polity- of late. They are the free-wheeling out-sorcerers & Off-shore rebounders. tRump though is an old-fashioned Southern Democrat from the 60’s; I would call him a Dixiecrat. He is bereft of any redeeming social value. Like tedcruz he is obscene, vulgar, profane and likely so sexist to be pornographers.
Do we have to include H.W.Bush in this list?
3And my prediction from 2012 about the next wingnut for Potus was spot on-they will pick the richest,whitest and most clueless candidate they can find.
4Hold up everyone. Primo is messing with us. We need to take a closer look at his list of skunks. Of all the skunks among the snacilbupeR, why did he select that particular list of skunks? There’s an enigma somewhere in that riddle.
Anomalous Propagation, that too. The RW ‘economy’ pols are not protectionist in the American tradition of protectionism. They are all about protecting their income; the rest of us are on our own.
Rhea, like me, Bernie is a secular Jew. We do not count, as in we’re not Kristians. Ergo, the wingers could care less if we are lapsed or practicing. But, I bet it kills them that Bernie is not a Zionist. Watch out Vermont, Bibi is coming for you.
e platypus onion, you won 2012, except that “whitest” part. Then again, with Boehner orange was the new black. So maybe with Donnie Drumpf orange is the new white.
maryelle, Donnie is full on Bull Connor bullhorn. Despite his NY habitat he’d never substitute schwartzer for blah.
5No mystery, PKM, just every snacilbupeR to matriculate at The Electoral College since 1980. Some, unfortunately, even graduated.
6@PKM
Bull Connor indeed! 🙂
7Gotta say Snyder of Michigan should be thrown into that pot. As far as he was concerned, business is the business of the state/country/whatever. He took a crippled town, sent in a “master” to run things according to the Snyder worldview, and voila — sick kids, skin rashes, water so polluted it damn near destroyed the engine blocks at the GM plant, and water testers who swore it was all good! Damn them to the most white hot corner of Hell.
8I’d say this sums the current situation up in a nutshell:
9http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/16/1262446/-Tea-Party-Tim-and-Plutocrat-Pete
Oops. That wasn’t the link I intended to post — though it’s a good one, too. HERE’S the one I meant:
10http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027168758
Primo, extra sneaky; hiding the obvious in plain sight. (>.<)
I was running all over the garage looking for post Nixon hints.
11This is quite long, and the beginning might bore you (skim it if so), but it’s well worth reading:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/america-tyranny-donald-trump.html
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