Patrimonial Capitalism

Patrimonial capitalism is an unfortunately common state of affairs throughout most of capitalism-as-usual’s history. Due to the laws and regulations in the United States, particularly those regarding inheritance, the amount of familial wealth that gets passed down from generation to generation contributes asymmetrically to those who already have it—the haves. In today’s global economy, the haves will always have more since their more will grow … Continue reading Patrimonial Capitalism

Phishing for Phools

Phishing—as defined by George A. Akerlof and Robert J. Shiller in their book Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation and Deception —happens when one economic participant, Party A, knowingly takes economic advantage of another participant, Party B, in a voluntary free market transaction that is specifically harmful to Party B’s financial best interest.   Example: Party A sells cheap knockoffs at inflated prices online. Who … Continue reading Phishing for Phools

Exploit-ees

Let’s cut right to the chase: the reality of being an employee is not actually what it’s made out to seem like. Even the inclusion of the idea itself into any business model is the application of shackles to the company’s accounting and financial reporting, their distribution of earnings, the labor contributions from and benefits given to the employee, and the flexibility of the company … Continue reading Exploit-ees