Warring Fictions by Chris Clarke

Author:Chris Clarke [Clarke, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781786612915
Google: aTyhyAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 51236532
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield International
Published: 2019-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

11

The Case Against the Puppet Master Continued (Society)

Let’s continue to focus on the weaknesses of the Puppet Master, looking at the realities of social change.

Self-perpetuation (the Matthew Effect)

The third thing the Puppet Master fails to account for is the Matthew Effect. Otherwise known as ‘accumulated advantage’ or self-perpetuation, this describes the process where the rich get richer and the poor poorer. It’s attributed to the Gospel of Matthew (25:29): “For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance, but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”

Self-perpetuation features in the small, everyday ways we exercise choice: buying an album by a band we’re familiar with; hiring the better-qualified applicant for a job; choosing to live near friends; allowing ourselves a trivial act of nepotism. It applies to bigger things too: inheritance being passed down the generations, or the disproportionate purchasing power of larger companies. These things repeat themselves, replicating and amplifying inequalities that already exist – especially if multiplied many times over, as others make the same choices.1

This is the main problem with unfettered capitalism: all things being equal, things become less equal. Most types of economy are subject to some level of accumulated advantage, of course. But the less planning or intervention there is, the more unfairness capitalism breeds. Over time, small differences become big ones; success breeds success and failure breeds failure. A place like London evolves, over a generation, into a mega-city – creating a gap with ‘the rest’ that feels insurmountable.2 The people doing well find it easier to continue doing well, by making the same mundane, vaguely selfish choices we all make. Property and poverty are handed down; wealth and deprivation repeat themselves; sand shifts along the riverbank, sweeping money into already deep pockets, exaggerating meanders, creating ox-bow lakes.3

Globalisation magnifies the scale of this. Existing advantages are given a transnational dimension, reducing the potential for regulation and increasing the size of audiences. A modern tech entrepreneur accumulates and hoards advantage quicker than innovators of the past. A corporation can choose where they base themselves and sell to more markets. A house in London gains value at unparalleled speed, as the city becomes globally sought after.

These problems with capitalism are set against its ability to generate wealth from which everyone can benefit, and to raise living standards significantly. So, the goal for social democrats is to keep a degree of capitalism, but to intervene regularly enough that inequalities are stymied.

But the key point is that self-perpetuation is emphatically not a case of an ugly watch in a beautiful field. It’s organic. Capitalism at its worst doesn’t impose rules from above; it removes them.

What’s strange about the Puppet Master diagnosis is it delegitimises this sophisticated, structural critique of accumulated advantage, and instead imagines capitalism as an authored process. Thus, many on the populist left miss the most powerful argument against the system they oppose – namely that it’s chaotic, untameable and amoral.

Of course, there’s no question that a few wealthy people try and use the influence money brings to secure their position.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.