how to think like a politician, part 1: practical corporatism

classic! a lesson in thinking like a politician:

currently, BP's liability for the spill in the gulf is capped by law at $75 million. republicans tend to support that, democrats want to raise it to $10 billion. republicans want to be seen as pro-business by supporting a low limit on the liability of a corporate giant. democrats want to be seen as defenders of "the people" or "the environment", by increasing that liability. that is what's seen. here is what's unseen:

both groups, consistent in the practice of taking opportunities in a crisis, are attempting to help establishment oil companies - including BP. republicans want to help by limiting the amount BP will have to pay out. that, in the short run, will ingratiate them to the sickeningly politically connected monster. this is obvious. obama was the largest recipient of BP's political contributions in the last election and republicans want to get the bulk of that action in the future. they believe this will help those chances.

democrats, on the other hand, have already benefited from BP's contributions and are now acting in BP's interest by raising the cap. but how could raising the liability for BP help? IT LIMITS COMPETITION IN THE INDUSTRY. with such a high cap, it will be extremely difficult for smaller companies or new companies to get the insurance necessary to cover such a cap - effectively forcing out of the market these smaller, leaner, hungrier competitors and further entrenching the established players. by limiting competition, established companies can increase their profit margins. that is why they play the political game.

"corporatism" is the partnership between the state and politically connected companies. corporations help to get politicians into power and politicians help to limit competition in the interest of those companies (among other things). there is nothing wrong with big business, huge business, even - as long as it is voluntary, meaning that it is not the benefactor of violence against others. actions such as the one outlined above do benefit some by forcably pushing competitors away through law and the violence that backs up law. in a voluntary situation, the bigger the business, the better (because businesses must be good at fulfilling the desires of their customers in order to grow)!

i always say that the state isn't what it is by accident. politicians all know that we are trained not to see "the unseen". over the years they have been the ones who designed the system that neglects to teach us such things. it's a self-enforcing system. teach them not to think and then take advantage of that disability. it is the evil beauty of the state system - the greatest criminal scheme of all time.

there are many methods by which the state profits at the expense of the innocent and corporatism is a favorite.

this incident is corporatism in a nutshell. believe in politicians at your own risk!