Eshe Nelson and Dan Kopf — A huge new Stanford and Harvard study proves that US inequality isn’t just about class

For decades, an increasingly loud chorus has claimed that economic inequality is primarily driven by class, with other possible reasons for disparities, such as race, playing a lesser role. They say that it is counterproductive to focus on inequality between races—instead, it is better to consider the inequality between all of America’s poor and its increasingly rich elite. A new study (pdf) by economists at Stanford, Harvard, and the US Census Bureau seems to refute that idea.

The paper, which assesses data on intergenerational economic mobility for 20 million US children and their parents, shows that when it comes to racial inequality, primarily between black and white Americans, class can’t explain the gap....

Cultural and institutional racism it is. Of course, that doesn't imply that class is not also a key factor.

This is another paradox of liberalism. The paragon of liberalism, the American Constitution, originally permitted slavery of non-whites. The US has yet to resolve the consequence of that. It is also affecting the liberal ideal of globalization. The liberal ideal is, however, a Western one, supposedly the crown of Western civilization and values. But this elevation of Western civilization, which is coterminous with white civilization, seeks to impose liberalism on non-whites according to the rules of the whites.

President Obama: "When more than 95 percent of our potential customers live outside our borders, we can’t let countries like China write the rules of the global economy. We should write those rules, opening new markets to American products while setting high standards for protecting workers and preserving our environment."

Quartz
A huge new Stanford and Harvard study proves that US inequality isn’t just about class

Eshe Nelson and Dan Kopf

Levan Vasadze — Challenges of Modern Traditionalism

As professor Dugin rightfully says in many of his lectures and books, the individual subjects or the centers of three mentioned totalitarianisms were each different: liberalism centered on Cartesian individual, which is an artificial concept; Marxism centered on class and Nazism - or fascism - centered on race. The deconstruction of these has happened in the reverse chronology, as we know. Communism dragged down - brought down - and collapsed the idea of supremacy of the race; and then liberalism brought down and collapsed the idea of supremacy of the class; and the oldest one of the three, which was initially invented, has remained as the standing beauty without any alternatives. Now we are entering the era of destroying the liberalism and the supremacy of the individual. I have had the honor and pleasure of discussing on numerous occasions with professor Dugin and the some of you what should be the center of the post liberal paradigm, of the normal society. And we all have different opinions, not necessarily contradictory to each other. For example, professor Dugin tends to gear towards the idea of people - people of the empire if you will - as the carrier and the center of the alternative matrix. I tend to favor more – and again I don’t think we are in contradiction here – the idea of family as the center of the alternative constitution. In Budapest[1] yesterday I said that, in my humble opinion, all 193 constitutions on the planet need to be rewritten. The center of each constitution today is an individual and I am not an individual, I am a component, I am a part – I am a brother, I am a husband, I am a father, I am a son – and when I loose these I become the enemy of humanity. Therefore, it is not the rights of an individual that we should be protecting in these constitutions, it is the obligation of an individual towards the family and the rights of the family that we should be protecting in the constitution.

Geopolitika.ru
Challenges of Modern Traditionalism

Levan Vasadze

Marshall Auerback — It’s Class, Stupid, Not Race

To be sure, Donald Trump did make a strong appeal to racists, homophobes, and misogynists and whilst his GOP colleagues publicly recoiled in horror, there is no question that Trump was merely making explicit what Republicans had been doing for decades – since the days of Nixon in 1968. The dog whistle was merely replaced by a bull horn.

But that alone doesn’t explain Trump’s success. As I wrote in an earlier analysis of the Trump phenomenon, he became the voice for an increasing number of Americans, who counted themselves amongst the biggest losers of globalization and free trade. In most elections, U.S. politicians of both parties pretend to be concerned about their issues, then conveniently ignore them when they reach power and implement policies from the same Washington Consensus that has dominated the past 40 years. That’s why so many Americans have simply stopped voting (and this year was no different, as it looks like a mere 57.9% of the voter eligible population turned out). And perhaps Trump is a faux populist, who is merely deploying bait and switch tactics, but he explicitly addressed his campaign to those who have been marginalized by the neo-liberal policies dominant in both parties.…

The establishment, especially the Democratic Party establishment, keeps enforcing what divides people rather than what unites people by embracing identity politics and ignoring class. Yes, a huge majority of women were offended by Trump’s “locker room talk”, but a large chunk still voted for him, and larger numbers of Hispanics voted for Trump than Romney. Doesn’t that suggest that identity politics has reached some sort of limit? Why not find common ground on the issue of class?…

The real issue is class power and class privilege.  Class power and class privilege arise from social status and the networking based on it that gets amplified and stratified by wealth.

America has become a plutonomous oligarchy that won't change much without campaign finance reform, ending corporate lobbying, and locking the revolving door. This is, take way the tools of class power and privilege that enable government capture.

It is true that this process is likely to be resisted by the donor class and it may well take another financial crisis before their power is fully broken. Voters crave effective action to reverse long term economic decline and runaway economic inequality, but nothing on the scale required will be offered to them by either of America’s money-driven major parties. This is likely only to accelerate the disintegration of the political system and economic system until the elephant in the room – class – is honestly and comprehensively addressed.

Counterpunch
It’s Class, Stupid, Not Race

Marshall Auerback

Ta-Nehisi Coates — The Secret Lives of Inner-City Black Males

Paul Ryan's explanation for urban poverty isn't much different from Barack Obama's. Why did it make liberals so angry?

The Atlantic
The Secret Lives of Inner-City Black Males
Ta-Nehisi Coates

There are two separate issues here. First is the racism endemic to the United States. Secondly, is the use of racism as a political tool by the GOP since Nixon's Southern strategy. Both are despicable but they are different.

There is little more cynical that a politician claiming not to be racist using coded racist strategy and tactics for political advantage. That is why liberals were angry.

With regard to endemic racism that makes such a political strategy not only viable but worth resorting to, ending is a primary national challenge that America has not yet risen to. It's difficult because it has become endemic, but that's no excuse to ignore it, or, worse, blame the victims.

Race to The Bottom Enters the Gun Lap?

And is someone, somewhere preparing for onset of the Drone Wars? (Is Cheney back in his secret location?)

Yen Falls to 6-Month Low as Japan’s Abe Calls for Easing

Abe "called for the central bank to provide unlimited stimulus"

No mention of more fiscal stimulus & lower taxes (=> easiest path to Increased Public Initiative, aka, "fiat deficit" ).

This comes on the heels of people musing that "Japan's politicians and institutions may not be up to the task" of keeping up with the current pace of events.   Name me a country where politicians are up to that task!!

If existing governments don't allow electorates to use their own, sovereign currency (their liquidity tool), those electorates will find alternative, less efficient outlets for public initiative. The bigger deficit, everywhere, is the deficit in situational awareness and hence thinking, and the abysmally slow decision cycles.