November 29, 2001

5:05 AM

Walk for Capitalismis scheduled for this weekend (Sunday, December 2nd) in over 100 cities around the world. One of the few rallies actually for something, and certainly first global campaign for capitalism in history. Will you stand up for the principles set forth in their position statement?
posted by dagny (34 comments total)

Can I pay someone else to walk in my place?
posted by rcade at 5:38 AM on November 29, 2001

Route:
1. Car to bank (laughing portion)
2. Bank to car (the ten-yard gloat)
posted by pracowity at 5:40 AM on November 29, 2001

So why is it a .org (especially considering they've gone to the effort of registering the .com)?

Objectivism, capitalism and lateral thinking. Any Australian members care to enlighten us on who this Prodos guy is?
posted by dlewis at 5:49 AM on November 29, 2001

"We proudly uphold: Free trade, globalization, liberty, profit, free speech, technology, universal individual rights, intellectual and material prosperity, private property, rule of law, innovation, creativity, human dignity and happiness."

Sounds good. But gee whiz. I just don't know.

Ooh it's so hard to choose! One could Walk for Diabetes or Walk For Breastfeeding. One could Walk for Ghosts, but they're not there. It makes sense to Walk For A Better Body. Oh gee. There's so much to WALK for!

I could Walk for Freedom, but it's been done.

Personally I'd rather just Walk for Peace. But I probably won't. Maybe a Walk for Laziness is more my speed. Some people Walk for Hope. Some Walk for Hearts. Others Walk by Faith which of course brings up the first documented Walk for Faith where a bunch of people followed some guy named Moses out of Egypt and got lost for forty years. Of course before that in prerecorded history I'm sure there must have been cavemen who convinced their cavemates to Walk For Dinosaurs.

The real problem is, if I wanted to participate in this walk for capitalism, I'd have to drive from Dallas down to Austin, Houston or El Paso. Seems like too much gas to spend just to walk around aimlessly for awhile. Besides it's a little too cold to go out and do anything, much less walk. In this weather? I might break a hip.

I'm such an indecisive person. Maybe I'll just wait until someone comes up with a Stare Into The Sky At Nothing Day. I tried but I couldn't find a link for that
posted by ZachsMind at 6:03 AM on November 29, 2001

"Walk? Not bloody likely. I am going in a taxi."

Will you stand up for the principles set forth in their position statement?

Only if you pay me.
posted by holgate at 6:05 AM on November 29, 2001

Surely walk is a bit too militant for capitalism. They really should check their focus groups first. I mean, surely their key demographics would like something like ...

Stroll for capitalism!

or even...

Dawdle for capitalism!
posted by DaRiLo at 6:18 AM on November 29, 2001

"Buy things for Capitalism" sounds like it'd pass a focus group.
posted by ZachsMind at 6:21 AM on November 29, 2001

Zach, here's something close to what you were looking for, although it was more like Stare Into The Sky At Almost Nothing Week.

And dagny, I don't know where you were, but where I live there was a recent massive "global campaign for capitalism." It ran from the early nineties until some point this year, and most of the major news organizations pitched in and got involved. I'm not even sure if it's over yet.
posted by BT at 6:26 AM on November 29, 2001

In the words of Hal David with music by Burt Bacharach and nicely sung by Dionne Warwick:

"Walk on by..."
posted by mmarcos at 6:35 AM on November 29, 2001

Mmarcos

In the words of Hal David with music by Burt Bacharach and nicely sung by Dionne Warwick:

"Walk on by..."

Although some (myself included) preferred Ike's take... :-)
posted by bifter at 6:41 AM on November 29, 2001

If this thread is any indication, the first priority of the walk should obviously be: Enlighten people as to what Capitalism is (and isn't). Its opponents sure do waste a lot of time arguing against a strawman.
posted by mw at 6:41 AM on November 29, 2001

Thank the Lord Jesus Christ that *someone* is doing something about the erosion of Capitalism in this country. The other day I was at my local MegaMall. I had just stopped at the Sam Goody to purchase a Tool CD when I got the munchies. So I stopped at the Gap, paid for my 505's and headed off to the Taco Bell for some Chalupas and Mountain Dew. I asked for some extra sour cream and was told "no". I could smell communism from a mile away. So I AM putting on my walking shoes dammit!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 6:43 AM on November 29, 2001

KevinSkomsvold: Obviously as the entire western capitalist system is about to fall, I hope those are specially adapted Nike walking shoes? Or are you some kind of fifth columnist?
posted by DaRiLo at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2001

An obligatory strawman.
posted by davehat at 7:13 AM on November 29, 2001

I don't want to walk. Can I just drive my Ford Excursion on the sidewalk instead?

Sounds like a fun family outing. And much safer than the Walk for Anarchy.
posted by groundhog at 7:14 AM on November 29, 2001

bifter, thanks for pointing that one out! Unbeknownst to me.
posted by mmarcos at 7:16 AM on November 29, 2001

If capitalism is not your thing exactly, December second is also Whirl-Mart day.

"The ritual consists of interested humans arriving at a predetermined Wal-Mart at 12 noon on the first Sunday of every month and proceeding to push empty shopping carts slowly and silently through the aisles. Eventually, all of the participants locate one another and form a single-file chain of anti-shoppers which weaves, wanders, and whirls throughout the different departments of the store for about an hour..... It is a symbolic display of the will to resist the capitalist ideology. And, it is a living, breathing, moving, evolving sculpture."

I'm not saying it's the world's most genius idea, but hey it's December and this walk is indoors.
posted by jessamyn at 7:18 AM on November 29, 2001

mw, I'm sorry Ayn Rand died.
posted by holgate at 7:28 AM on November 29, 2001

Did anyone go to their front page? They're asking for donations. Capitalism indeed!

If I was running that magazine I would also be exploiting the top down message of "spend for the good of america" to promote my mag too. I wouldn't feel good about it, but the timing seems a little suspicious with all the unchecked nationalism abound.

But the non capitalist nations - the fascist, socialist, military or theocratic dictatorships - enslave their own citizens and subsist in abysmal squalor.

Nothing like mixing political systems with economic systems. What would stop a fascist or theocratic capitalist state?
posted by skallas at 7:47 AM on November 29, 2001

The ritual consists of interested humans
Speciesism!
posted by darukaru at 7:54 AM on November 29, 2001

skallas: look here and here
posted by dagny at 8:52 AM on November 29, 2001

dagny, Humanism, reason, and enlightenmight philosophy does not equal capitalism and capitalism sure as hell didn't cause those ideals to appear.
posted by skallas at 9:10 AM on November 29, 2001

Capitalism is the social implementation of those exact ideals.
posted by dagny at 9:31 AM on November 29, 2001

Dagny, I always thought democracy was the implementation of those ideals- that capitalism was an enlightenment offshoot, the reaction to the centralized economic institutions of King or aristocracy at the time. Is the replacement of a king-based centralized economy with a handful- of- corporate centralized economy really progress- or for that matter capitalism?
posted by hincandenza at 10:05 AM on November 29, 2001

CAPITALISM: "An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market."

That's all "capitalism" is. No social ideals, no political system, no philosophy.
posted by Carol Anne at 10:12 AM on November 29, 2001

Democracy is only a means, not a goal. As such, it is only valuable as long as it leads to liberty (and thus capitalism), not if it leads to coercion and oppression. That's why laissez-faire capitalists support constitutionally limited democracies, not unlimited ones. (It doesn't , for instance, become right to kill a person simply because 6 out of 10 people want to. Unlimited democracy, however, would have no problems with such an arrangement, provided the population consisted of only 10 people, and 6 thus was the majority).

As for the subject of big business; often the reason companies grow big is that they get grants, subsidies and import tariff assistance from a big government. As capitalists (yes, as capitalists) we are opposed to all government intrusions in the economy, also when the intrusions help certain big corporations.

We want a complete separation of state and economy, just as we want a complete separation of state and church.
posted by dagny at 10:15 AM on November 29, 2001

Democracy is only a means, not a goal. As such, it is only valuable as long as it leads to liberty (and thus capitalism), not if it leads to coercion and oppression.

Exactly what I believe the arch conservatives believe, and now that we have hyper capitalism confidently in control, we can get rid of this pesky democracy.
posted by chrismc at 10:41 AM on November 29, 2001

I'd participate if it was a collective yawn for capitalism. And, as a side note, what's up with the upper developed muscles on this guy?
posted by ed at 10:47 AM on November 29, 2001

Seperation of state and economy not no.1 on bush's to-do list shock!

$212 BILLION in tax benefits over the next THREE YEARS. More than half (50%) will go to the wealthiest 1%.
Around 6% will go to the bottom three-fifths of the population.
Following the success of the reagan era 'trickle down effect', most of the tax breaks will go to the corporations. So there's something to look forward to.
Lump-sum corporate tax breaks, as opposed to the reduction of marginal tax rates, do little to stimulate the economy, and anyway the problem with the US (and the world) economy is a deficit in demand, not supply.

Liberally nicked from: Julian Borger, Washington Diary 08/11/01
could find no links to original text on google(!)
posted by asok at 10:54 AM on November 29, 2001

Let's stand up for the overdog.
posted by rodii at 11:35 AM on November 29, 2001

How much in taxes do the wealthiest 1% pay?

That's the question I always ask when I see people complain that they're getting the biggest breaks -- if they pay the most, you'd expect them to get the biggest breaks, if the breaks are ladled around by percentage and not per capita...
posted by dwivian at 12:48 PM on November 29, 2001

I never acquitted giving something the was mine back to me as a benefit
posted by Mick at 1:04 PM on November 29, 2001

How about Drive An SUV For Capitalism?

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)
posted by zeb vance at 5:26 PM on November 29, 2001

The National Post notes the Walk today.
posted by mw at 6:57 AM on November 30, 2001