Philosopher and father of Marxism, Karl Marx: There are a few

things about working capitalism he seems to have overlooked.

Frankfurter Rundschau, Germany

Wall Street Pummels Marx

"How do we introduce morality and decency into the market economy? … What German courts were unable to achieve and even the Pope would have failed to accomplish, has now been done by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

By Klaus Kocks

Translated By Ulf Behncke

May 1, 2008

Germany - Frankfurter Rundschau - Original Article (German)

The mess at Siemens will soon be cleaned up [The 'mess' at Siemens is being called perhaps history's biggest bribery scandal ]. Hopes for a third way have always been there. Between capitalism's turbo-charged devastation of all against all, and the kind of state-socialism that shattered the dream of East Germany, there must be another way. Where, the visionaries have asked, does the rosy future between black and red lie? [In Germany, black is right-wing and red is left-wing]. How do we introduce morality and decency into the market economy?

Jürgen Rüttgers  is the last surviving black [right-winger] who wants to give capitalism a social face. Within the Christian Democratic Union , he is admittedly a minority of one. Meanwhile, the socialists are battling with the rest of the left about what the guiding principles should be of a truly social market economy. But red plus red creates as few blooming flowers as black plus green [conservatives and environmentalists]. This is just a masquerade by the old political class. Change only happens when capitalists take matters into their own hands. It's a topsy-turvy world.

Is the economy getting straightened out because Wall Street wants it that way? If that's the case, what did I bother reading three volumes of Karl Marx' Das Kapital [Capital ]? Can this be for real? What German courts were unable to achieve and even the Pope would have failed to accomplish, has now been done by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Corruption as a business principle is faltering. Even the giants of capitalism like the Siemens' of the world are staggering: all of a sudden enterprises here and abroad are operating according to the rules. Chancellor Merkel has abandoned the "almost-president" Heinrich von Pierer (former CEO of Siemens, the only civilian to speak at meetings of Germany's Security Council ). Klaus Zumwinkel [from Lichtenstein, the former CEO of Deutsche Post, who resigned under suspicion of tax fraud ], successful in overriding bargaining autonomy, hasn't been heard from for quite some time. [Bargaining autonomy enables trade unions and employers' associations to negotiate working and income conditions with almost no state intervention ]. And "Victory-Ackermann" (Switzerland) [Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann ] is now a do-gooder who supports the Goethe Institut , that stronghold of German national culture abroad.

Christian people don't expect justice on earth. That has been promised to them in eternity, once the villains have faced the Last Judgment . This rule also applies to Catholics. In Mediterranean cultures, when it comes to tolerating villains within the economy or underworld politicians, one finds a high tolerance for suffering. See: Italy and Berlusconi.

The Christian community is divided among Protestants who rallied around Martin Luther and John Calvin of Geneva. They believed in divine justice in the here and now. [That you were born as one of the 'elect' or one of the 'damned' - and there was nothing you could do to change it ]. The rich already enjoyed God's blessing on earth. The expenditure of capital was regarded as a fruit of their labor, and as such, as the Lord's special grace. This is capitalism's deepest secret: it could only blossom when the Pietists  declared capital markets to be the hub of economic activity. And the worst of these hard-working Pietists emigrated to America, where the most sanctimonious of them all - the born again Christians - have been entrusted with the running of the country. 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

[Editor's Note: The Pietists were a movement within the Lutheran Church from which the Pilgrims that first settled in the United States also emerged. The Pietists emphasized individual piety and a vigorous Christian life - and according to the author of this article, Klaus Kocks - they believed in the concept of the capital markets, which is a way for enterprises to raise money and why - he infers - America has been so wildly successful].

Capitalism as a global power defines the rules - its own rules. That's the secret of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The capitalists themselves insist that the train of greed remain on the tracks - its tracks. They want their money protected from petty thieves. Rather than guerilla-style tactics, the orderly troops of the global economy insist on compliance with strict military-style regulations. This is an issue of justice when one believes that global power is proof of God's grace. And these guys from God's own country [America] believe just that, and so my socialist belief in capitalism remains intact. What a relief!

*Professor Klaus Kocks is a pollster.

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 2, 2:31am]