Episode 133, 'Vulture Capitalism' with Grace Blakeley: Live at Glastonbury Festival

The Panpsycast Philosophy Podcast

Jack Symes | Andrew Horton, Oliver Marley, and Rose de Castellane

Euthanasia, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Existentialism, Marxism, Kant, Ethics, Davidpapineau, Dennett, Marx, Evilgodchallenge, Cosmological, Mind, Consciousness, Courses, Nagasawa, Education, Johnstuartmill, Jeremybentham, Aristotle, Ocr, Camus, Josephfletcher, Conscience, Society & Culture, Kantianethics, Philosophy

4.8 • 604 Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

They say money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy power, freedom, and security. The one per cent – who control nearly half of the world’s wealth – understand this better than anyone. In capitalist democracies, corporations spend billions on political donations and lobbying to influence economic policies in line with their own interests. The trillions spent by governments in propping up the banks following the 2008 financial crash – and the bailing out of the largest corporations through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility – speak volumes: the state and the economy are not separate entities. The goal of the state is clear: “Steady the ship and maintain course.”

Corporations don’t just pose a threat to our economic freedoms, but the future of the natural world. Just a handful of firms are responsible for over seventy per cent of carbon emissions, and despite public pressure, corporate action on the climate crisis has been largely ineffective. We shouldn’t be surprised; after all, industry holds the power, and turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone. This episode is a little bit special. I'm excited to share an interview I recorded with Grace Blakely at this summer's Glastonbury Festival. It was a sunny Friday morning at the Speakers Forum Tent, which was buzzing,
0:22.6	in part due to the fact that the only other event being on was Joe Wix's morning workout.
0:28.9	Grace makes a compelling case for reclaiming control for corporations and financial institutions
0:34.6	through collective ownership of assets. I challenge her on a few of these
0:38.9	key points, like how democratising finance might work and why people seek power, and I'm sure
0:45.4	we'll dive into these issues in more depth for another time. But for now, I encourage you to
0:50.4	reflect on Grace's critique of corporate greed and her proposed solutions.
0:55.3	A quick note, we won't be including our usual Patreon thanks in this episode,
0:59.9	since it's a bit of a one-off, but these will be back next episode when old-school pan-sycast
1:05.1	returns for the philosophy of war. Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoy the show. They say money can't buy
1:27.1	happiness, but it can buy power, freedom and security.
1:31.3	The 1% who control nearly half of the world's wealth understand this better than anyone.
1:36.3	In capitalist democracies, corporations spend billions on political donations and lobbying
1:41.3	to influence economic policy in line with their own interests.
1:45.0	The trillion spent by governments in propping up the banks following the 2008 financial crash
1:51.0	and the bailing out of the largest corporations through the COVID corporate financing facility
1:56.0	speak volumes. The state and the economy are not separate entities. The goal of the state is clear.
2:02.5	Steady the same economic shift and maintain course. Corporations don't just pose a threat to our
2:08.6	economic freedoms, but the future of the natural world. Just a handful of firms are responsible
2:13.9	for over 70% of carbon emissions, and despite public pressure, corporate action
2:19.6	on the climate crisis has been largely ineffective. We shouldn't be surprised. After all,
2:25.6	industry holds the power, and turkeys don't vote for Christmas. So the examples I gave in
	...

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