Unbridled Capitalism Continues to Kill
When is enough finally enough?
Here in the US, our quality of life continues to spiral down into a dark chasm; a place where faceless corporations call the shots, and ordinary folks suffer the consequences.
The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed in Baltimore, Maryland after being struck by a cargo ship. Six construction workers were killed. This was no freak accident, but more like an accident waiting to happen.
The Lever has provided encompassing coverage of the bridge collapse, explaining how whistleblowers were silenced when they tried to warn of faulty systems on some huge cargo ships, and how the ex-Governor of Maryland (now a candidate for a US Senate seat) encouraged a proliferation of these large cargo ships to the port of Baltimore, despite being warned of the dangers.
Days after a massive cargo ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan called for the federal government to foot the bill for the bridge’s reconstruction. Hogan’s demand follows his efforts as Maryland’s governor to attract such outsized cargo vessels to Baltimore’s port in the first place — despite safety warnings from an insurance giant and transportation experts.
Six people died. Six construction workers filling potholes at Midnight, making lane repairs on an old bridge that was never retrofitted to allow for the safe passage of large cargo ships beneath it.
The Hogan administration’s 2018 port-expansion application included implementing safety requirements for dredging the channel, widening the space needed for these boats’ turning radius, and fortifying the wharf structure, among other considerations. But it did not make any adjustments or designate protections for the nearby Key Bridge, which the ultra-large crafts would be traveling under.
Six people died. The death toll would have been much higher had the accident not occurred at Midnight, and had crew members on the cargo ship not issued a mayday call that allowed the police to stop cars from crossing the bridge just before the ship collided with the structure.
The construction workers never learned of the mayday call, according to a co-worker, who was asked if the men filling the potholes received any warning.
No, no they did not. I am of the understanding that they were on their half hour break given during the shift. They were in the trucks, 4 or 5 that were in that location. They were supposedly in the trucks.
The title of this article mentions “capitalism.” Capitalism has a number of definitions (see Merriam-Webster, Britannica, IMF), but I prefer Richard D. Wolff’s definition:
Capitalism is one particular way of organizing the interpersonal relationships of people in their work activities. Capitalism divides the persons engaged in work – producing the goods and services upon which life depends – into two basic groups: employers and employees. In capitalism, the former buy the labor power of the latter. Employers hire employees in two distinct groups. One group (production workers, blue-collar workers etc.) is set to work with tools, equipment and workspaces to transform raw materials into finished products, both goods and services. The other group (enablers, white-collar workers etc.) is set to work doing the necessary clerical, supervisory, security and managerial tasks that support the first group to produce those finished products.
Employers make all key production decisions – what to produce, how and where – with little or no input from employees. Employers likewise make all the key decisions about what to do with the enterprise’s profit or surplus. Employees again have little or no power over the disposition of the profits their work achieves.
Most of us who have grown up with capitalism, don’t realize just how anti-Democratic this system is. A small group of people (employers) have control over the lives of a large group of people (employees).
But isn’t that just the way life is? We have been conditioned to believe that, after all, it is employers who take the risk of setting up a business, and that they should reap the rewards of taking that risk.
Hmmm. Did the employers risk their lives in the bridge collapse? Who ended up dead? The employees. Who could have prevented the accident in the first place? The employers. Who is really taking the risk in a capitalist system?
If a company moves its factories to a place where it can make more profits, who carries the risk? The risk was actually that of the employees, all along. They accepted work for a wage, and they faithfully worked, and now that wage is gone. They may have to relocate. Their children may have to change schools. They may have spent years faithfully working for a company, only for that company to “reward” them by erasing their jobs because, after all, a bigger profit is available for the employer somewhere else.
So, who takes the biggest risk — the employer or the employees?
Capitalism tells the employees that they are free — they are not slaves or serfs. They get paid a wage. Yet, it is the employer who determines that wage, and who sends lobbyists to Congress to make sure that the minimum wage remains low, and that corporate taxes are cut, and that corporations are people with certain rights.
Again, Richard Wolff describes the capitalist system:
It's a dominant-subordinate. Small group at the top. Large group at the bottom. Small group has all the power, large group takes it all. The masters control the slaves. The lords control the serfs. And guess what? The capitalists control the working class.
The collapse of the bridge is yet another example of employers’ profits outweighing any concern for human lives. Other examples: the arms manufacturers who profit from endless wars. The railway owners that profit at the expense of the health of entire communities. The insurance giants who lobby to keep profits high and accessibility low in the healthcare industries.
While capitalism helped to improve the standard of living for many during the 20th century, it no longer makes sense in the 21st century. There is no room on this planet for its requisite, yet unsustainable, growth. Even the conservative Forbes warns that “Unless it changes, capitalism will starve humanity by 2050.”
When will enough be enough? There are other alternatives. Democracy at Work.