The American Dream is Over. This is the Age of the European Dream.

One might not agree with the entire premise of the above article, but I think there is something to the point being made that we wrongly think markets/capitalism is the solution to every problem in our country. In fact, one can make the argument that capitalism is the root of much that is wrong in our country.

For example, the reality is capitalism (read revenue and profits) is the true reason why the NRA agressively opposes any gun control; the NRA’s corporate supporters make a lot of money off the sale of guns and ammunition and logically do not want any of that money to be at risk. Just like capitalism drove the tobacco industry to ignore studies showing smoking causes cancer.

For a long time I have been saying that we tend to confuse capitalism with democracy. I think this is reflected most prominently by the Citizens United SCOTUS ruling that says corporate spending on politics is a form of free speech, and thus corporations have a right to free speech.

Corporations are a construct of capitalism, they are not in themselves men or women of any race. In otherwords, corporations are not citizens.

Citizens United may be the worst SCOTUS ruling of my lifetime. Worse, it is reflects a flawed understanding that frankly skews society in favor of corporations and the oligarchs that profit from them.