View source for Discussion: The Current Economic Situation April 7 2023


On Friday, April 7th, 2023, there was a live-streamed panel discussion between several different political groups including the [[Center for Political Innovation]], [[LaRouche Organization|The LaRouche Organization]] (LaRouche), and the [[Libertarian Party]].<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/live/0rfOsyYUzfI?feature=share https://www.youtube.com/live/0rfOsyYUzfI]</ref> This odd coalition of counter-hegemonic groups were all in attendance of the [[Rage Against the War Machine Rally]].

The positions represented on this panel were as follows:

* Center for Political Innovation representing the Communist, Marxist-Leninist position 
* The LaRouche Organization representing the LaRouche position 
* The Libertarian Party representing the Austrian School of Economics position 

==LaRouche People Remarks==
*[[Christopher Sare]]
**notes that war and economic collapse are intertwined
**[[BRICS|BRICS+]] nations are resisting this cannibalistic system by creating a productive economy
**Chris mentions LaRouche's Four Laws: (1) immediate restoration of Glass–Steagall policies (2) Hamiltonian National Bank (3) creation of a federal credit system through the national bank (4) adopt a [[Fusion Energy]]<nowiki/>industrial policy
*[[Cade Levinson]]
**recommends that we build [[Special Economic Zone|Special Economic Zones]] like in China.
**According to Tim Cook, Apple isn't in China because of cheap labor, they're there because of the incredibly high levels of skill of the workers.<ref>"The number one reason why we like to be in China is the people. China has extraordinary skills. And the part that's the most unknown is there's almost two million application developers in China that write apps for the iOS App Store. These are some of the most innovative mobile apps in the world, and the entrepreneurs that run them are some of the most inspiring and entrepreneurial in the world. Those are sold not only here but exported around the world." – Tim Cook</ref>
**Mentions General Welfare as a means of finding common-sense policies
==Libertarian Remarks==
*[[Jorge Besada]]
**Discussion of how information is evolutionary, advocates for economic competition
**Speaks against the creation of money through the [[Federal Reserve|Fed]]'s infinite money printer which is [[Currency Debasement|debasing our currency]]
**Speaks against the evils of war, especially in that it's a [[degrowth]] agenda of crushing economic productivity.
*[[Mike ter Maat]] - Austrian school of economics 
**Argues that [[China]] and [[Russia]] are examples of "governments backing off and allowing their economies to grow"<ref>"We have observed over the last several decades that as governments back off and allow their economies to grow and develop, they have exploded in terms of growth, that includes China and Russia" [https://www.youtube.com/live/0rfOsyYUzfI?feature=share&t=2485 41:25]</ref>
**Raises the point of [[United States Federal Government|Federal Government]] insolvency risk. (Sovereign defaults tend to result in [[Currency collapse|currency collapses]])
**The American public is ready for a serious anti-war message
**Speaks against Central Banking, advocates for hard money, not necessarily the gold system
**Doesn't believe the USD is at risk of being replaced within the next decade. ''(see: [[Dedollarization]])''
**Advocates for the reduction of government bureaucracy
**Decentralize power to local communities
==Communist Remarks==
These will be given by two members of the [[Center for Political Innovation]].
*[[Caleb Maupin]]
**S/o to all the Abrahamic folks in the audience (Today is Good Friday, etc.)
**In a way, Communists are indeed Libertarian (From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs)
**Scarcity is what stands in the way of this libertarian utopian future.
**Humanity is always trying to raise the productive forces, reaching higher [[Mode of production|modes of production]].
**Capitalism (in its modern form of monopoly imperialism) produces poverty amidst plenty, crisis of overproduction
**Technological leaps tend to create crises, because the relations of production are out of sync with the mode of production
**[[Tendency of the rate of profit to fall]]
**Lists the [[Success of socialism|successes of socialist states]]<ref>Need to import these<nowiki/>https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Achievements_of_socialism</ref>
**Mentions the CPI's Four Point Plan.
*[[Sam Bismuth]] will participate in the response section
==Responses==
LaRouche
*Mentions [[Agape|Agapic love]] which is the basis of civilization
*Government of, by, and for the people — a Republic
*The United States unfortunately lacks a mission during this period of global collapse
*The financial economy is collapsing and the physical economy is going down with it
*Money and credit are expressions of intention
*America no longer produces anything, we must return to this, we need to [[Reindustrialization of the United States|reindustrailize the United States]]
Libertarian 
*Mike claims that the Chinese market reforms were not carried out by the Chinese government, perhaps this statement sounds so silly because invisible hands are, by definition, invisible!
*Mike rejects Caleb's claim that Communists are Libertarians
Communist 
*[[Sam Bismuth]] argues that any rational approach can arrive at a correct orientation towards reality, calls for unity of action despite disagreement
*Sam dispels some myths about communists, for example "communists don't want to get rid of competition" (mentions [[Socialist emulation]])
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==Q&A Period==
*Q: Who created the the current state of affairs in the United States?
*A: Jorge argues that this is a collective failure whereby the public believes falls for fake economics
*Jorge incorrectly accuses Caleb of "wanting to abolish technological progress"
*Caleb is given the chance to directly respond
*Chris argues that the USA has lost its way and modeled itself after the British Empire
*Chris says the answers to our problems lie in the [[American System]]
*Special guest question: Irene (the co-founder of [[Liberty Speaks]]) Speak to specific policy areas where the most changes are necessary
**First: Communists: Sam argues the biggest area of policy is foreign policy, we need to stop the endless drive for war and death
*Chris argues that we need to get away from zero sum games (and negative sum games!) we need to move towards positive sum games
*Mike wants to clarify that he's not a supporter of China
*Mike accuses China and Russia of imperialism
*Diane Sare asks "can we abolish poverty without violating individual country's sovereignty?" 
**Chris mentions John Quincy Adams' "Community of Principle" between Sovereign Nations
**Mike argues that the only way to eradicate poverty is to move towards a Westphalian peace
**Mike argues that the Belt and Road Initiative is a "step backwards"
==Closing remarks==
*Caleb 
**the only socialism we'll have will be [[Socialism with American Characteristics|uniquely American]], we need to study our own traditions of struggle
*Mike 
**Argues that FDR and Lincoln were bad presidents from an economic perspective (lol! citation needed)
*Jorge agrees that FDR and Lincoln were bad presidents, finishes with a Hayek quote
*Cade
**A new system must be in harmony with the interests of the commoners

== Editor's note ==
These are additional remarks by the founder of [[InfraWiki]]: Perhaps some common ground between the Communist and LaRouche and Libertarian positions could be found in the thoughts of [[Deng Xiaoping]] such as his emphasis on raising the [[Productive forces]] and [[Huey Long]] who put forth the motto: [[Every Man a King|"Every Man a King"]]

==References==
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