I narrate key points in my post “A Revolutionary July 4th: Retribution Is Irrationally Rewarding”
Longtime readers know the larger context of all my work is the dynamic balance--or imbalance--of society and the economic forces of finance and markets. The asymmetry of wealth and power I’m describing reflects the structural dominance of finance / markets over the shared interests of society. I address this in my book Investing In Revolution.
What matters in maintaining dynamic stability is the distribution of risk, gains, costs and power. If the risks and costs are dumped on the bottom 90% and the gains and power go to the top 10%, the system is inherently unstable and unsustainable.
It’s also important to understand this in the context of correspondent Simons Chase’s succinct summary of the system: what’s moral is what’s legal, and what’s legal is for sale. So the wealthy and powerful grant themselves the moral high ground because what’s legal is moral, and then they exploit the legal system because it’s for sale.
The powerless understand the asymmetric power of the wealthy and powerful is not moral, and hence their awareness of the system’s inherent unfairness and their desire to settle accounts by any means available.
A Revolutionary July 4th: Retribution Is Irrationally Rewarding
The lesson of the American Revolution is simple: if legitimate redress is effectively blocked, then retribution / revolution becomes the only positive option left.
