By Usvatte-aratchi
‘The executive of the modern state is nothing but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie.’ The Communist Manifesto (1848)
‘… where political and business elites are intertwined in corrupt dealings, each reliant on the other’s power for survival… the downfall of one party can drag the other down with it.’ Precarious Ties, …. Meg Rithmire (2023).
‘For Japan issuing public debt … colonial government bonds.’ In defence of public debt’, Barry Eichengreen and others (2023), p.75.
Meg Rithmire teaches at Harvard Business School. Her recent book, read in light of Marx’s deep insights in 1848, enables a clearer understanding of the volatile political situation in our country and several others. It is far superior to concepts like ‘crony capitalism’ and ‘state capture’ in understanding major political developments in some societies. Rithmire examines relations between political elites and business elites in Indonesia during the Suharto dispensation, in Malaysia during the Barisan Nasional Coalition, and in China in a recent period of growth. I am not equipped to comment on her work, as from where I live, access to the literature and discussions on the subject are entirely sparse. So far as reading is concerned, I live in a bit of a hellhole. I would rather make use of her conceptual models she builds to understand political alignments in our country. Furthemore, I am more than a bit uncomfortable using terms like elites and class, I guess, mainly because I am poorly read in those subjects. For the moment, let’s blunder along.
There is not much argument that our society smells foul with corruption, beyond high heavens, if they exist. There is ‘petty’ corruption perpetrated by those in lower levels of employment: policemen will overlook an offence when paid a …read more
Source:: The Island