historycircus

Gwyned,

Thanks for the post - I will look for both films as soon as I find time. The end of the Cuban Revolution is yet to be written. I think U.S. propaganda has done its work. While the mainstream either supports, or remains silently indifferent, to Castro today, his death will become a major symbol. My only fear is that instead of the Cuban people finding their own way in post-Castro world, they will get a swift-moving, U.S. style of invasive Capitalism that leaves them another Guam, or Puerto Rico.

Waterman,

"Markets," by their definition, are INHERENTLY free. "Free" markets, as Zynox pointed to, is what we call a "meme." Markets are free. The phrase "free markets" is a phrase introduced by politicians to get us to associate "markets" with the notion of "freedom." "Freedom" + "Market" gets us to "free market." What most people think when they adopt the phrase, is that one necessitates the other - not true. Places where true, uninhibited markets flourish, there is a great deal of exploitation, unrest and genocide. Darfur, for instance, is a place where the market operates with relatively no restrictions, but is one of the most brutal places on Earth. The United States of America is a highly manipulated and regulated market, but is freer - at least for the moment - than most places on the planet (barring unpopulated wilderness).

The real problem with Capitalism that exists today, in the U.S. and globally, is that the corporations and financeers who make it run have no problem using the words "market" and "community" interchangeably. They are not the same thing, much like the meme above. What we should be shooting for in the coming future is communities, not markets - that is why I started this thread. Should we keep the market system? Profits are natural to this system - what should be done with results that rise above production costs? Should we abandon the market system?

Thanks for the post Waterman - you have brought the focus back, and I'm interested in your responses.