[lbo-talk] Compassionate Capitalism

Peter Fay peterrfay at gmail.com
Thu Mar 10 08:19:58 PST 2011


My most treasured paean to the altruism of the bourgeoisie is the case of billionaire Silvio Berlusconi having payed €7,000 for the services of a certain 17-year-old belly-dancer, 'Ruby the Heartbreaker'. The girl insisted that it was not payment for prostitution, and Berlusconi only gave her money after one of his many "bunga-bunga" parties at his mansion as an "act of charity" because he felt sorry for her. So, in fact, this again proves that the ruling class in their heart of hearts are driven by compassion for the less fortunate.

On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 11:03 PM, michael perelman < michael.perelman3 at gmail.com> wrote:


> One must admire the extent of compassion expressed by the captains of
> capitalism. Some people unfairly snickered when George Bush declared himself
> a compassionate conservative, but is a passionate advocate of business his
> description may have been accurate.
>
> Despite all the talk about greed being the fuel that drives capitalism,
> profits are virtually irrelevant. As an act of philanthropy, corporations
> scatter much of their profits in less developed areas, such as the Grand
> Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
>
> As further evidence, I read today that the Bank of America is reluctant to
> lower the value of its own loans out of compassion for the people who stayed
> up-to-date with their payments. After all, one of the motives for subprime
> loans was to meet the desires for people who wanted enjoy homeownership.
>
> Similarly, business opposes minimum wages of compassion for workers who
> might lose their jobs. For the same reason, business reluctantly accepts tax
> breaks only because it allows them to help unfortunate workers who might
> find themselves without a boss. The same motives explain why business fights
> so heroically against regulation.
>
> more at
>
>
> http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1915&action=edit&message=6
>
> --
> Michael Perelman
> Economics Department
> California State University
> Chico, CA
> 95929
>
> mperelman at csuchico.edu
>
> 530 898 5321
> fax 530 898 5901
> http://michaelperelman.wordpress.com
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>

-- Peter Fay http://theclearview.wordpress.com



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