Chris Hedges

[don]

Chris Hedges on the decline of empire

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Chris Hedges

I'm pretty sure this was posted before. Not finding it right now.

I happen to love Chris Hedges, so I'm willing to give this a pass, but is this news?
It is an interview from January.

[don]

Re: Chris Hedges

Didn't realize it was that old. Recently posted on another site. My gaff. Great presentation for those who missed it the first time.

[don]

Re: Chris Hedges

Tim Noah: The Great Divergence


I think what interests me most about this growing economic inequality in the States, worse than at any time since the Great Depression, is the phenomenon of 'alienation.'

People forget that a nominally free society is based to a great part on voluntary association and the conforming of behaviour and resources for a system and the greater good.

That is, a democratic republic is a government of, by, and for the people.

But if the structural makeup of society becomes a rigged game, where the outcome does not matter because most if not all of the gains will go to the top, and most of the work and pain will be sent rolling downhill, people become alienated from that system once they realize its a no win game.

It reminds me of a striking insight that a normally bright eyed quant had one day, some twenty years ago. Speaking of the massive corporation for which we both worked he said, "This place has become all stick and no carrot."

And he was right. The management of this corporation was so intent on serving itself that it no longer cared about the people who worked for it. They only spoke with themselves, rewarded themselves (handsomely I should add), and made increasingly self-serving decisions for the company to benefit not the company itself but themselves.

Perhaps I will write more on this some day, but suffice to say the 'brain drain' out of that company became a torrent, and within five years the accumulated bad decisions of management over the years drove it into bankruptcy, made palatable only by a takeover by another firm that allowed it to save face.


Jesse's Cafe Americain

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Chris Hedges

]Tim Noah: The Great Divergence


Jesse's Cafe Americain

You know I think Jesse would make a great interview for the site.

[don]

Re: Chris Hedges

Agreed.

[Woodsman]

Re: Chris Hedges

Second that!

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Chris Hedges

... The management of this corporation ... made increasingly self-serving decisions ... to benefit not the company itself but themselves.

I believe that the diffuse ownership of most large public companies is the root cause of this.
In every practical sense there is no owner, so management feathers its own nest.


No single entity owns 5% of Exxon. The biggest shareholder of Exxon is Rex W. Tillerson, who controls 1.74 million shares, worth about $150,000,000. That is a tiny fraction of 1% of Exxon.

From Yahoo!:

xxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) -NYSE

86.21 0.00(0.00%) 4:00PM EDT|After Hours: 86.24 0.03 (0.03%) 4:42PM EDT - Nasdaq Real Time Price

Major Holders Get Major Holders for:

% of Shares Held by All Insider and 5% Owners: 0% % of Shares Held by Institutional & Mutual Fund Owners: 49% % of Float Held by Institutional & Mutual Fund Owners: 49% Number of Institutions Holding Shares: 1823