[lbo-talk] European cities hit by anti-austerity protests (correction)

[c b]

Somebody Somebody
It's pathetic that Americans only see government as an active agent. A
bad economy is like the weather to most people here, a natural event
entirely beyond human control. If you go to a pub or a diner and hear
folks talk about the economy, those are terms it's described in. It's
not even just that Americans don't get angry at Wall Street bankers
and profit-hoarding corporations. It's worse than that. It's that it
doesn't even *occur* to them that they could possibly be blamed. Only
the politicians can be faulted. The corporations, if they're thought
of at all, which is unusual, are simply looking after their
self-interest, and are hence blameless.

^^^^^
CB: Truly. The fundamental irrationality in this general American way
of thinking is that on the one hand the economy is a natural event
entirely beyond human control, yet they blame the government (made up
of humans) for its failures.  If any human are controlling it , it is
the corporations, who should therefore be blamed for crises. This is
one of those irrationalities that are immune to logical refutation,
which is a sort of secular superstition or prejudice ( cue Ted
Winslow)