Wakeful Video Weekend 2021-06-06 (15 videos)

Summary: Main issues: Capitalism’s dreadful faults, socialism just an improved derivative, and were our founding fathers fans of capitalism or socialism? And how we, the people, can change our cruel world. Furthermore: various news.

Stars and channels: Democracy At Work (Richard Wolff), Sustainable Human, Re/Culture Films, The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, Economic Update with Richard Wolff, The Gravel Institute, RT America, The Jimmy Dore Show, The Real News Network, The People’s Party, Ron Placone, …

Topics:

I. Best Videos

Capitalism vs. Socialism among the Founding Fathers (a good one for the coming 4th of July) ***
How Big Wealth Makes People Bad (by Paul Piff) **
The Brutal Rule of Money **
Anti-Poverty Program (SSI Must be Improved) **
U.S. Propaganda, Political Terminology, and the Forgotten Left GOP Origin **
Does Capitalism Mean Freedom? **
Our Weird Economy Perception Culture **

II. Good Videos

The Trickle Up Economy
Criminal Corporations Example: Uber
DC Attorney General (Finally) Sues Amazon
No Border Change under Biden and Harris
Defective Justice Systems This Day and Age
Waking Up Politically (Separating Fakers from Real Strategies) *
Workers Buy Coffee Shop From Owner, Make It A Worker Co-Op
Mutual Aid & Direct Action – Bypassing the Restrictive Money Aristocracy *

Best subscribe and share with others, so the efforts I make can serve enough people. (I lack time for social media) Thanks. 🙂

I. Best Videos:

1. Capitalism vs. Socialism among the Founding Fathers (a good one for the coming 4th of July) ***

Left out is the probable division among the founding fathers. Many of the “fathers” we hear about were at the top of the wealth pyramid of the time (especially as slave masters). Most of the foot soldiers whom we should conceivably also honor as our founding fathers since they were the ones risking their lives in the battles with British armies were not, and I suspect that if they were still alive, their vast majority would pick socialism over capitalism. Even the famous top “fathers”, I suspect would have a significant number of taking that pick for improved justice and domestic tranquility. Think of George Washington’s struggle with his inherited slave mastery and the nation’s slavery, for example (a deeper look into which reveals our current system of wage slavery built into our current capitalism). What should also be mulled over is the question if either capitalism or socialism could exist in a world without money. A thought leading to the reasonable conclusion that socialism isn’t really a capitalism-opposite but rather a derivative (an evolved version) of capitalism with the goal to remove the flaws of original or further corrupted capitalism and replace them with better structures that would lead towards the common good demanded for example as “general Welfare” in the Preamble to the United States Constitution (September, 1787).

Ask Prof Wolff: Founding Fathers, Capitalism vs. Socialism ~ Democracy At Work (Jun 4, 2021)

In connection with these thoughts, it makes sense to watch again this video I shared over a month ago:

2. How Big Wealth Makes People Bad (by Paul Piff) **

Richness pushes a button in the human mind to bring evil selfishness and ruthlessness to the top, even though the pieces of a healthy human mind may still exist below and be ready to be brought back up again, empathy returning, compassion returning, mutual cooperation returning. Another reason, I’d say, why extreme wealth must be brought to an end alongside ending poverty (a financially ideal restructuring of our economies).

How Wealth Changes People | Paul Piff ~ Sustainable Human (Nov 8, 2020)

And the role of money:

3. The Brutal Rule of Money **

SACRED ECONOMICS with Charles Eisenstein (2019 Remix) ~ Re/Culture Films (Feb 26, 2019)

Note: For me quite a reminder that the discrimination I suffer from money blocks me from simply publicizing and further developing the educational online game I built and would really like to develop further and serve with all students and teachers of the world without fear of poverty on my end, nor fear from complicated taxation and Internet rules bureaucracies. *sigh*

4. Anti-Poverty Program (SSI Must be Improved) **

Of course, a UBI would be even better. Interesting to know, though, that the SSI exists (as a kind of Social Security bottom for those not lucky enough to have gotten enough paid employment) and the many horrible faults built into it.

Rebecca Vallas on The Anti-Poverty Program We Need to “Build Back Better” ~ The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow (Jun 1, 2021)

Links and actions to take:

Call your congress members.
#DemolishDisabledPoverty
maybe https://resist.bot/petitions/PXEXQL
Rebecca Vallas’ podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/off-kilter-with-rebecca-vallas/id994153765

5. U.S. Propaganda, Political Terminology, and the Forgotten Left GOP Origin **

An important snippet from a prior Noam Chomsky interview that makes a lot of sense to hear again (and again):

Noam Chomsky on the Future of Marxism & Anarchism – Economic Update with Richard Wolff (May 31, 2021)

6. Does Capitalism Mean Freedom? **

Does Capitalism Mean Freedom? (with Zephyr Teachout) ~ The Gravel Institute (Oct 6, 2020)

7. Our Weird Economy Perception Culture **

A phony scapegoating of government for the damages done to our lives by the money lords in our capitalist system. (of course, we can blame our politicians and bureaucrats for playing along with it; but that’s not the same as falsely believing it’s the government that fires us from our jobs, denies us homes, and so on; yes it has been corrupted by our corrupt politicians and they have been corrupted by our corrupt money lords; and we may even consider that the money lords have been corrupted by an idiotic money culture that we should throw out of the window ASAP; life is not about money; it should never be forced to be)

Ask Prof Wolff: Blaming Government for Capitalism’s Ills ~ Democracy At Work (Jun 3, 2021)

II. Good Videos:

8. The Trickle Up Economy

The Economy Is In Trouble: Savers vs Spenders (w/ Prof. Richard Wolff) ~ Thom Hartmann Program (May 27, 2021)

9. Criminal Corporations Example: Uber

How Uber Is SCAMMING You ~ The Gravel Institute (May 28, 2021)

10. DC Attorney General (Finally) Sues Amazon

… over price-fixing & antitrust violations: part 1. In the second half some talk about lotteries used to motivate vaccinations.

AG’s Sue Amazon Over Price-Fixing & Antitrust Violations ~ RT America (Jun 4, 2021)

11. No Border Change under Biden and Harris

Kamala Harris Abandons Helping Border Immigrants ~ The Jimmy Dore Show (Jun 4, 2021)

12. Defective Justice Systems This Day and Age

… U.S., Canada, France… extradition acts… for example boosted by Islam fears… police and courts scapegoating innocent people:

Hassan Diab is accused of a deadly explosion. Supporters say his continued persecution isn’t justice ~ The Real News Network (Jun 2, 2021)

Side note: Scapegoating also happens regularly in the labor market including public institutions like schools (for example replacing huge percentages of newly hired teachers to use the kicked out ones as scapegoats for principals having to explain common school failures in our messed up education system – something I have been hoping to find time to write about some time; *sigh* if only I had more time aside from my own survival struggle). Both scapegoating and exploitation/oppression are among the worst of human immorality. We can do better. Where intelligence is lacking or pushed aside by a daily grind, compassion can come in.

13. Waking Up Politically (Separating Fakers from Real Strategies)

Eynelys Talks Medicare For All w/Laura Fielding of Whole Washington & Red Berets M4All ~ The People’s Party (Jun 1, 2021)

14. Workers Buy Coffee Shop From Owner, Make It A Worker Co-Op

Surprise for me: made possible by GoFundMe. (perhaps I should find out how to go-fund-me my educational online game development I’d like to keep working on instead of wasting the rest of my life on job or client searches)

Workers Buy Coffee Shop From Owner, Make It A Worker Co-Op ~ Ron Placone (Jun 1, 2021)

15. Mutual Aid & Direct Action – Bypassing the Restrictive Money Aristocracy

What Does Mutual Aid And Direct Action Mean? w/ Eleanor Goldfield ~ Ron Placone (Jun 5, 2021)

An article to read: Capitalism Is A Misanthropic, Dystopian Religion
And don’t forget to regularly look into The Revolution Continues.

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