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It's true that financial capitalism doesn't work for most people. A consequence of globalization has been, to coin a phrase, "rising inequality." Financial cap

It's true that financial capitalism doesn't work for most people. A consequence of globalization has been, to coin a phrase, "rising inequality." Financial capitalism puts the developed economies on the same track toward inequality as the underdeveloped extractive economies. For example, Tim Cook's Apple has a huge hoard of cash. But their powerful investors (Icahn, for example) won't let them spend it on developing new products, training workers, building new factories, paying taxes to help develop infrastructure, or even raising wages much. So it just accumulates. It serves as collateral so Apple can borrow money to buy back stock. So the wall street boys can have bigger megayachts. There's no way to vote against financial capitalism. So people vote for proxies. The Brexit vote, and the strength of the movements behind Bernie Sanders and the casino developer from New Jersey are those proxies. I wonder whether the developed world's political leadership can figure out how to unwind financial capitalism without the help of a global pandemic, famine, or great war. It's seeming less and less likely. As for "the end of history," I'll have some of whatever Fukuyama was smoking when that vision flitted across his consciousness.

stcredzero 10y ago
Financial capitalism puts the developed economies on the same track toward inequality as the underdeveloped extractive economies. Not quite the same track. The poor in the developed economies are far better off. The feeling of injustice is equally strong, however, due to the way human psychology works. That is a real problem societies need to address.
- RobertoG 10y ago
  "The poor in the developed economies are far better off" The grandparent said "the same track". People are not revolting because they had bad times they are revolting because they don't see the end of it. They see a trend. So, who say that they (we) are not going to finish like the poor in the not developed world? For instance, in Europe there was a de facto 'social contract', the welfare state, that is being dismantled using as excuse the need for 'austerity'.
  - stcredzero 10y ago
    It wouldn't be the same track. It would be a parallel one.
  - nickik 10y ago
    How to we know it? Many reasons, studying the problem, creating models and and ways of thinking. The reality is that asia comming online in the global market is fantastic. Even the people whos income has gone down, they profit from cheap products and more importantly further development in technology. Their is zero evidence that we will be dragged down by this. The hole "austerity" thing is simple false. Very few countries have done any meaningful change. Most of them still have massive deficit that are growing and the government budget is generaly always growing as well.
rcthompson 10y ago
I liked one report that characterized the Brexit vote as people voting for "none of the above", which I think fits with your statement that there's no way to vote against financial capitalism.
- RobertoG 10y ago
  Well, Brexit is a pretty good way of voting against finance. The most scared about Brexit were in the City. (Not that I think that Brexit was a good solution but they have a point).
  - smsm42 10y ago
    Financials are scared of any uncertainty, and Brexit is a huge chunk of uncertainty. But what would be the real effect once the panic subsides is far from obvious.
cjarrett 10y ago
For Fukuyama, you might be pleased to read some of his more recent stuff from foreign affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-06-13/american-political-decay-or-renewal https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-0... https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2014-08-18/america-decay https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2014-0...
rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
> I wonder whether the developed world's political leadership can figure out how to unwind financial capitalism without the help of a global pandemic, famine, or great war. It's seeming less and less likely. In theory it's obvious. In practice, much harder: tax the wealthy and techno-upper-class sufficiently to provide safety nets for the general population and to invest in opportunities that the free market would shun on its own like solar power, enact meaningful regulation to protect workers, consumers, and the environment, and remember that all people are people with hopes and dreams and strengths and fears. Like I said, it is hard to implement, but for the problems you describe, that is the solution.
tim333 10y ago
I don't think Apple's cash accumulation was down to the likes of Icahn. Steve Jobs was pretty committed to the policy long before. Powerful investors usually would rather the cash paid out to themselves than sit in the company.
smsm42 10y ago
Voting for billionaire real estate developer who literally spent all his working life dealing with investment banks and financing and made (or lost, depending on your source) tons of money on it is a very strange way of protesting capitalism. I can get voting for an American Chavez in the person of Sanders to protest capitalism but Trump? I'd look for better explanations than that.

stcredzero 10y ago

Financial capitalism puts the developed economies on the same track toward inequality as the underdeveloped extractive economies. Not quite the same track. The poor in the developed economies are far better off. The feeling of injustice is equally strong, however, due to the way human psychology works. That is a real problem societies need to address.

RobertoG 10y ago
"The poor in the developed economies are far better off" The grandparent said "the same track". People are not revolting because they had bad times they are revolting because they don't see the end of it. They see a trend. So, who say that they (we) are not going to finish like the poor in the not developed world? For instance, in Europe there was a de facto 'social contract', the welfare state, that is being dismantled using as excuse the need for 'austerity'.
- stcredzero 10y ago
  It wouldn't be the same track. It would be a parallel one.
- nickik 10y ago
  How to we know it? Many reasons, studying the problem, creating models and and ways of thinking. The reality is that asia comming online in the global market is fantastic. Even the people whos income has gone down, they profit from cheap products and more importantly further development in technology. Their is zero evidence that we will be dragged down by this. The hole "austerity" thing is simple false. Very few countries have done any meaningful change. Most of them still have massive deficit that are growing and the government budget is generaly always growing as well.

rcthompson 10y ago

I liked one report that characterized the Brexit vote as people voting for "none of the above", which I think fits with your statement that there's no way to vote against financial capitalism.

RobertoG 10y ago
Well, Brexit is a pretty good way of voting against finance. The most scared about Brexit were in the City. (Not that I think that Brexit was a good solution but they have a point).
- smsm42 10y ago
  Financials are scared of any uncertainty, and Brexit is a huge chunk of uncertainty. But what would be the real effect once the panic subsides is far from obvious.

cjarrett 10y ago

For Fukuyama, you might be pleased to read some of his more recent stuff from foreign affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-06-13/american-political-decay-or-renewal https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2016-0... https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2014-08-18/america-decay https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2014-0...

rm_-rf_slash 10y ago

> I wonder whether the developed world's political leadership can figure out how to unwind financial capitalism without the help of a global pandemic, famine, or great war. It's seeming less and less likely. In theory it's obvious. In practice, much harder: tax the wealthy and techno-upper-class sufficiently to provide safety nets for the general population and to invest in opportunities that the free market would shun on its own like solar power, enact meaningful regulation to protect workers, consumers, and the environment, and remember that all people are people with hopes and dreams and strengths and fears. Like I said, it is hard to implement, but for the problems you describe, that is the solution.

tim333 10y ago

I don't think Apple's cash accumulation was down to the likes of Icahn. Steve Jobs was pretty committed to the policy long before. Powerful investors usually would rather the cash paid out to themselves than sit in the company.

smsm42 10y ago

Voting for billionaire real estate developer who literally spent all his working life dealing with investment banks and financing and made (or lost, depending on your source) tons of money on it is a very strange way of protesting capitalism. I can get voting for an American Chavez in the person of Sanders to protest capitalism but Trump? I'd look for better explanations than that.