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Capitalism is not about free competitive choices among people who are reasonably equal in their buying and selling of economic power, it is about concentrating capital, concentrating economic power in very few hands using that power to trash everyone who gets in their way.

David Korten
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There are actually very few US politicians who have integrity and vision.
David Korten
In the US, most progressives start to see the differences between internationalism and economic globalization.
David Korten
Money is a mechanism for control.
David Korten
If you look internationally over the last 50 years there have been improvements in the third world, but in the last 20 years the reverse has happened, with debt crises and increased poverty.
David Korten
It is interesting to note that the 200 richest people have more assets than the 2 billion poorest.
David Korten
In a world of increasing inequality, the legitimacy of institutions that give precedence to the property rights of "the Haves" over the human rights of "the Have Nots" is inevitably called into serious question.
David Korten
More humane societies are usually smaller, like the Scandinavian countries and Holland, where it is much easier to reach consensus and cooperation.
David Korten
Moreover, statistics can be deceiving: the growth of jobs in the US in the 90s was due to many part-time jobs, with no benefits and generally low pay.
David Korten
The professional study of economics has become ideological brainwashing. It is a defense of the excesses of the capitalist system.
David Korten
More and more surveys in the US are indicating a change in values taking place among consumers, who become more concerned about quality of life, food, health and the environment.
David Korten
My own experience in the third world was that even if people started to make more money, the cost of living and housing increased often faster than the wages.
David Korten
Global competition is about winners and losers.
David Korten
It will take some time before a politician will capture the imagination of the American people and have the vision and understanding to do what is necessary for a better future for the people of America and the world.
David Korten
If you look at the US economy over the last 15-20 years wages have been stagnating or even declining.
David Korten
Not exclusively, but the bulk of our local economy should be covered by local currencies, which is more efficient than having global currencies which lose connection with reality in the markets, shops and communities of the people.
David Korten
Wall Street sees a social fabric or social contract as inefficiencies, which need to be removed.
David Korten
Money flows into the US, and inflates US assets, and allows the US to have a monstrous trade deficit. That means we are consuming more than we are producing.
David Korten
There is a huge shift taking place in the global awareness in the last 5 years with strong views about globalization and the power structures of major corporations.
David Korten
Europeans say they are proud of their social fabric, of strong rights for workers and the weak in society.
David Korten
As long as you have a system that is based on the rational that if you are making money you are thereby making a contribution to society, these financial rogue practices will continue.
David Korten
My claim is that we do not have a market economy, but a capitalist economy.
David Korten
We should be moving toward local currencies not global or European currencies.
David Korten
Capitalism is not about free competitive choices among people who are reasonably equal in their buying and selling of economic power, it is about concentrating capital, concentrating economic power in very few hands using that power to trash everyone who gets in their way.
David Korten
The first principle of the market economy is that it is comprised of many small buyers and sellers, which implies a substantial degree of equity. Another fundamental market principle is that costs are internalized in the producer's price.
David Korten
And each of these perspectives comes to the same conclusion, which is that our global economy is out of control and performing contrary to basic principles of market economics.
David Korten
But in the past, US companies have been able to increase their profits through downsizing in the US, through colonizing other people's resources, and through the increase of globalization.
David Korten
There is no visible sign that the current politicians in the US are willing to see the need for change.
David Korten
But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is providing everybody with a decent means of living.
David Korten
So, there is enormous instability in the global economy with a shift of winners and losers.
David Korten
Money is not wealth. Money is a claim on wealth.
David Korten
If I would need to make a prediction I still believe Kaplan's scenario is very plausible.
David Korten
Capitalism and the market are presented as synonymous, but they are not. Capitalism is both the enemy of the market and democracy.
David Korten
The EU will face problems similar to the US: an increasing gap between the citizens and decision makers in Brussels and a perceived or even real lack of democracy.
David Korten
In a world of increasing inequality, the legitimacy of institutions that give precedence to the property rights of 'the Haves' over the human rights of 'the Have Nots' is inevitably called into serious question.
David Korten
Capitalism has defeated communism. It is now well on its way to defeating democracy.
David Korten
Our global economy is out of control and performing contrary to basic principles of market economics.
David Korten
I ended up buying a restaurant. Already we had invested in a gas station and a metal products plant.
Esther Williams
Whether I'm doing music or I'm walking down the street or I'm in a record store buying a record or I walk into a comic store and I'm buying comics or having a drink with my friends, it's the same me.
Glenn Danzig
But the real focus should be on people who are buying today because the base is so big it will take a long time for any change materialize on an overall basis.
Sanjay Kumar
A book worth reading is worth buying.
John Ruskin
A surprising number of government committees will make important decisions on fundamental matters with less attention than each individual would give to buying a suit.
Herman Kahn
I think the big force is going to be consumer buying power.
Roy Romer
Programmers and marketing people know how to get into your subconscious - they spend millions of dollars researching colors, shapes, designs, symbols, that affect your preferences, and they can make you feel warm, trusting, like buying. They can manipulate you.
Richard Hatch
Anyway, in the mid 80's I was spending a fortune buying old Golden Age books from the late 30's and 40's and I was making personal appearances at a lot of sci fi and comic book conventions all around the country here so that I could find books for my collection.
Bill Mumy
We're constantly buying airplane tickets; we travel on the Concorde.
Eva Herzigova
Why are people unemployed? Because there is no work. Why is there no work? Because people are not buying products and services. Why are people not buying products and services? Because they have no money. Why do people have no money? Because they are unemployed.
Craig Bruce
Here is my general approach to the energy companies. You have already charged the utilities a 50 percent credit penalty for the power they were buying from you. You're charging us a penalty. You're not going to get two bites of the apple here.
Gray Davis
Recently I've been collecting Star Wars figures again. When I was a kid I couldn't afford them. Now I can so I've been buying them and keeping them in their box for a later date when they'll be worth a lot of money.
Mackenzie Crook