Caitlin Johnstone — On Biology, Brains, And Human Suffering

Evolutionary biology.

Caitlin Johnstone — Rogue Journalist
On Biology, Brains, And Human Suffering
Caitlin Johnstone

Nick Johnson — Standing on the shoulders of giants

Governments of all stripes across the world have, since the turn towards what are often termed ‘neo-liberal’ policies in the late 1970s, cut taxes for the richest individuals in society, ostensibly to encourage them to engage in more entrepreneurial activity and stop them leaving for lower tax nations. There is certainly no doubt that the incomes of the top 1%, and even moreso for the top 0.1%, have increased dramatically more than middle and lower income earners since that time.

But prosperity is not all down to those currently at the top of society. Those of us lucky enough to live in industrialised countries with a high standard of living and the prospects of continuing economic growth in between periodic recessions, are ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’, to coin a phrase. Whether rich or poor, we live in a society with capitalist institutions which, more or less between different countries, encourage continuous technological advancement and productivity growth. But we inherited these institutions which were established in the past and which continue to evolve. Markets, different kinds of business organisation, finance and the state, among others, all have a long history and, to greater or lesser degrees, create an environment in which wealth can be created.

The very highest earners never make their money in a historical or social vacuum. If they had been born in a very poor country without the kinds of institutions mentioned above, they would have found it impossible to earn nearly as much. Even some of the poorest people in rich countries would find that formal employment is absent and the prospects of improving one’s lot to a significant degree would probably be close to nil. The investor Warren Buffet has admitted as much….

The Political Economy of Development

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Nick Johnson