[p2p-research] Neoliberalism As Water Balloon on Vimeo

[Paul D. Fernhout]

An informative and humorous video:
   "Neoliberalism As Water Balloon" by Tim McCaskell
   http://vimeo.com/6803752
"A 12 minute video about class and the economy. With simple materials found 
around the house, you too can conduct an experiment to see what has happened 
to the economy. "

Great section at the beginning on the structure of our society (triangle vs. 
lying-down oval).

So, P2P makes society more oval shaped? :-)

So, this is a great example of a video about social change, and, it is being 
shared in a p2p way.

And the video explains economic problems, including with similarities along 
the lines of here:
   http://www.capitalismhitsthefan.com/
"With breathtaking clarity, renowned University of Massachusetts Economics 
Professor Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic 
crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects 
seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. 
Wolff traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s, when wages 
began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional 
spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage 
meltdown. By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic 
frame, Wolff argues convincingly that the proposed government “bailouts,” 
stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be 
enough to address the real causes of the crisis - in the end suggesting that 
far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes. 
Richly illustrated with motion graphics and charts, this is a superb 
introduction designed to help ordinary citizens understand, and react to, 
the unraveling economic crisis."

Relates also to:

   "The Mythology of Wealth"
   http://www.conceptualguerilla.com/?q=node/402
"""
Justifications for elites and social hierarchy goes all the way back to the 
pharaohs. For 6000 years, society has organized itself into social classes. 
The people who do the work are always in the lower classes. The harder and 
nastier the work, the lower down in the social order you sink. The people 
who don’t do this work must justify their position. They do it by 
establishing their “worthiness”, and a variety of cultural devices have been 
concocted over the millennia to accomplish this. The pharaohs, you may 
recall, weren’t people at all. They were gods. Roman emperors likewise had 
themselves deified, and before that Roman Senators justified their position 
as “patricians”. Basically, “my great great granddaddy was a big shot, 
therefore I should be too.” ...
   Old habits die hard. In fact, we still have a “leisure class”. As 
capitalism has grown so has the wealth and privilege of our leisure class. 
The old mythologies – gods, the “great chain of being” etc. – are no longer 
available to justify the existence and perpetuation of our leisure class, 
something our elites are definitely interested in perpetuating. What was 
needed was a new “rational” world-view that justified the existence of 
privileged elites.
   That rationalization came in the form of a brand new science known as 
economics, which included a brand new mythology. ...
"""

And also, while it does not discuss this, it relates indirectly to this:

   "The Wrath of the Millionaire Wannabe's"
   http://www.conceptualguerilla.com/?q=node/47
"""
Of course eventually, these guys realize that not only are they not 
millionaires, they’re not making much progress toward that noble goal. 
That’s when they get ugly. You see, they see themselves as capable, 
intelligent, hard working people - and they are for the most part - who 
“have what it takes” to “make it”. They believe that the difference between 
those who “make it” and those who don’t is being “capable, intelligent and 
hardworking”. Things like “having rich parents”, “getting just plain lucky” 
or “being a crook” don’t factor into the equation anywhere. No, American 
society is a natural hierarchy where the most capable are “rich beyond their 
wildest dreams”, and the non-rich are chumps that just don’t measure up. ... 
It can’t be the rich to blame. That’s what they wannabe. And it can’t be 
them, they work hard, they’re smart. They’re playing the game “by the rules” 
- and they aren’t getting anywhere. Something must be holding them back. It 
must be all of those taxes they pay. You know, taxes for “social programs” 
for “minorities”. Not one of them has ever looked at the federal budget to 
see just how much of their taxes goes for “social programs”. We’re talking 
maybe five cents on the dollar. They don’t realize that 20 cents of every 
income tax dollar goes for interest payments to rich bond holders. They 
don’t realize that stealth fighters, nuclear powered aircraft carriers, and 
the guys to maintain and operate all of that Frankenstein military hardware 
cost a lot of money. To the tune of another 25 cents out of every tax 
dollar. They never go into the part of town where the “minorities” live and 
ask where that five cents on the dollar is going. ...
"""

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/