6 April

There have been debates for years between people who believe in ‘socialism’ (i.e. government-led life), and those who believe in ‘capitalism’ (a life led by individuals in markets). And me? I don’t think either -ism even exists. They’re fantasies, ideologies. All societies operate the same way, through status. What they call their status hierarchies, what names they give them, differs. But it’s all just status. The UK is in deep trouble, as a society. For most of the past half-century, it’s tried to be a market-based society. The results have been a disaster, have a read. That doesn’t mean socialism would be better, and that capitalism has failed, because what’s happened there hasn’t been capitalism either. It’s just uncontrolled status games. Status allowed to operate at will. That’s what a ‘free market’ does, allows everybody to fight for top dog position in status hierarchies, by stripping away the existing hierarchies under the fiction of a market operating. There was never a market, humans never operate in the way markets say. They form groups, through imitation, who then fight within themselves and against other groups, for status. You can see the shift happening in Oz too, how basics like education, health care and energy were ‘privatised’ i.e turned into status objects. People now fight for status in education, health and energy, rather than get an education or healing or cheap energy. It’s not capitalism, it’s uncontrolled status competition.