Probably 99%. We live in a world where the total profits are maximized by a climate of competition. Right now we (except me) are all stuck venerating thic paradigm of competition (and exclusion, scarcity, disparity, envy, exhaustion, depletion) to the point of it being a religion. That the world is simply not functioning (ehh “sustainable”) stares us in the face but we won’t abandon the underlying premise – the competition based paradigm remains sacrosanct. Even if you spell it out for the shills, they shake their heads vehemently – ‘free markets are necesary to maintain our standards of living’.

Are they?

For some to win, many must lose. I’d replace that with – the only thing left to 95% of humanity is hope. But we are in a crisis now, and the positive thing is that people who are in a crisis are sometimes forced in to self-reflection. The inevitable conclusion for many is – we don’t get even, we don’t get ahead, we don’t win. An worse, in a climate of resource constraints and collapsing infrastructures and natural resources and well, literally a collapsing climate we end up with those who already have, feeling empowered to rake in even more. And that literally means less for anyone else.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59OJ17raqWw&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Let me spell it out for you – everyone wants to live the good life. Everyone (at least those who can, and still have aspirations) will have some sort of ambitions. Many will even have realistic ambitions, or expectations. To this end they enter a deal with those in power, and work hard. Most people who work hard can have a comfortable life – not all mind you.

But this isn’t happening right now. So – is this system we live in the best possible arrangement we could have? Or is it just a historical artefact?