[Pen-l] The Final Question

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

From January 12, 2009 “Meet the Press”:

David Gregory: Let me ask a final question here in a conversation that 
will certainly go on. Mark Zandi, on the other end of all this, what’s 
the future of capitalism?

Mark Zandi: Oh, capitalism’s going to be fine. I mean, we’ve got a 
crisis of capitalism. We made a lot of mistakes as capitalists. And 
that’s why we have a government, and that’s why government has to be 
bold and step in the breach, and that’s what they’re doing. And on the 
other side of this, government will figure out a way to step out gracefully.

Paul Gigot: Well, I think capitalism will survive, but I think a good 
question now at this particular juncture is what kind of capitalism? Are 
we moving to a European brand; a, a much larger welfare state, a much 
larger entitlement state with slower growth, higher long-term 
unemployment? Or are we going to stick with what has been for the last 
30 years, more or less, a relatively successful model? We’ve had this 
blowup. If we don’t make mistakes, we can get through this.

How remarkable for the most prestigious and longest running (61 years) 
television show to raise the question of the future of capitalism. 
Moreover, it is a sign of the times that there is a direct reference to 
the system itself rather than the usual euphemisms (free market economy, 
private enterprise, etc.) That is obviously a function of the severity 
of the crisis. In times like this it is difficult to be taken seriously 
when you use bland language to describe a condition that is anything but 
bland.

Since the role of “Meet the Press” is to maintain the ideological 
hegemony of the ruling class cutting across party lines, it is no 
surprise that they would call upon the likes of Zandi and Gigot to 
reassure their audience.

full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/the-final-question/
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l