War capitalism or capitalism's wars: a path to sinking the economies
Could oil at $150 a barrel sink the world's economies? An analysis of wars as an engine of crony capitalism and the debate over collapse.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Capitalism and war: headed for economic collapse?
The warning is clear: crude could hit $150 a barrel, and the consequence would be sinking the world's economies. But the underlying question is not the price of oil, but who is driving the war machine and why. In the debate this scenario has sparked, two opposing camps emerge: one that points to capitalism as the engine of armed conflicts, and another that argues the system is no longer capitalism at all, but a form of crony socialism serving large corporations and the state.
The crony capitalism dilemma
One recurring thesis is that wars are not between states, but between corporations seeking profits. The concept of crony capitalism comes up, where political and economic power intertwine to secure market niches, invade countries if necessary, and bail out losses with public money. The counterargument is that true capitalism rests on private property and free markets, something that barely exists anymore. Big companies don't want competition; they want a socialism that guarantees them rents.
The discussion turns philosophical: is war a symptom of capitalism or of its degeneration? Hard data is scarce, but it is noted that US public spending, at $10 trillion a year, is the largest in the world, even per capita ($30,000 per person, compared with France's $27,000). For some, this shows that the public sector is not small, but rather feeds the military-industrial complex.
Public spending: the biggest problem?
Another axis of the debate is the criticism of public spending as a tool of expropriation. The argument goes that the state, by managing resources, perpetuates a system in which the ordinary citizen bears the costs of wars and bailouts. Spain's public debt is approaching two trillion euros, pensions are an unsustainable Ponzi scheme, and housing is unaffordable. Against this, a minority defends the need for a planned economy with solid ideological principles that avoids inequalities.
The conclusion reached is that the current system is unsustainable, but the solutions diverge: some want to tear it down, others to reform it from within. What is clear is that war and capitalism, or what is left of it, seem doomed to get along until the collapse.
Related debates in the forum
The warning is clear: crude could hit $150 a barrel, and the consequence would be sinking the world's economies. But the underlying question is not the price of oil, but who is driving the war machine and why. In the debate this scenario has sparked, two opposing camps emerge: one that points to capitalism as the engine of armed conflicts, and another that argues the system is no longer capitalism at all, but a form of crony socialism serving large corporations and the state.
The crony capitalism dilemma
One recurring thesis is that wars are not between states, but between corporations seeking profits. The concept of crony capitalism comes up, where political and economic power intertwine to secure market niches, invade countries if necessary, and bail out losses with public money. The counterargument is that true capitalism rests on private property and free markets, something that barely exists anymore. Big companies don't want competition; they want a socialism that guarantees them rents.
The discussion turns philosophical: is war a symptom of capitalism or of its degeneration? Hard data is scarce, but it is noted that US public spending, at $10 trillion a year, is the largest in the world, even per capita ($30,000 per person, compared with France's $27,000). For some, this shows that the public sector is not small, but rather feeds the military-industrial complex.
Public spending: the biggest problem?
Another axis of the debate is the criticism of public spending as a tool of expropriation. The argument goes that the state, by managing resources, perpetuates a system in which the ordinary citizen bears the costs of wars and bailouts. Spain's public debt is approaching two trillion euros, pensions are an unsustainable Ponzi scheme, and housing is unaffordable. Against this, a minority defends the need for a planned economy with solid ideological principles that avoids inequalities.
The conclusion reached is that the current system is unsustainable, but the solutions diverge: some want to tear it down, others to reform it from within. What is clear is that war and capitalism, or what is left of it, seem doomed to get along until the collapse.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (42 replies).
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