Toxic Capitalism: The Orgy of Consumerism and Waste: Are We the Last Generation on Earth?

By Gilbert Van Kerckhove

The West is causing depletion of natural resources and environmental destruction with the help of questionable companies, financial institutions and governments. Today, all eyes are on China and its hazardous environment.
Toxic Capitalism, a succinct volume jam-packed with informative but scary data, shows how to fight overconsumption and wastage.

Yes, there is a solution. Only complaining will not guarantee the well-being of future generations.

What you will discover and learn in the book:

The reality of Global Warming How financial institutions and companies fail in their job How governments fail in their duty, vested interests at work How income inequality affects society The role of corruption How inadequate job markets impede better consumption Details on water pollution & scarcity, focus on China What China is doing to combat pollution, to improve the energy mix and promote renewables How China roams the world to buy up and import the much needed resources, including food How much and why we waste (including food and medicine) Air pollution, soil pollution, impact on health Everyday examples of waste, focus on China How we can enforce quality and durability How we can do our part to safeguard the future for our children

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Sep 19, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477219072

Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Gilbert has written the book we all wish we could write. It offers a very concise description of the world’s economic, environmental, social, and governmental problems, but more importantly, it tells us what we can do about them now, before it is too late. The book is jam-packed with interesting data, much of which is from China—the new epicenter of toxic capitalism. Although it can be used as a great reference, it is not merely an academic tome. It has an armchair feel and is a terrific read. Bravo! --Frank T. Gallo, PhD, Chief Leadership Consultant, Aon Hewitt Greater China, and the author of Business Leadership in China Gilbert Van Kerckhove is from Belgium and graduated with master’s in electronic engineering. Since 1980, he has been working with China, where he spent twenty-seven years, mostly in Beijing, but also in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He is the president of a Beijing-based management consulting that provides strategy guidance for foreign and Chinese companies. Since 2000, he has been assisting the Beijing municipality in the areas of economic studies and foreign investment promotion. He has received the highest Chinese awards for his role in the 2008 Olympics, including the Chinese Green Card. He considers Beijing his home. An avid reader of regional and international news, he has built a large database on issues related to the environment, economy, public services, trade, labor markets, and more. Living in China, he became alarmed by the dramatic pollution levels and the impact of toxic capitalism, an unwelcome strain of capitalism that thrives on overconsumption and indiscriminate wastage, promoted by the West with the help of questionable companies, financial institutions and governments. China, as factory of the world, is facing depletion of resources and roams the world to satisfy its voracious appetite for energy, raw materials, and food. How serious is the environmental destruction? How did we come to this madness, and what can we do to preserve the future of our children?

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© 2012 Gilbert Van Kerckhove. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/21/2012

ISBN:      978-1-4772-1907-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

1     Why This Book

2     What We Are Facing

3     Part I Key Challenges, Issues and Solutions

3.1     Maybe I am too old-fashioned?

3.2     The ills of our society

3.3     What we could do

3.4     Why do we need so much?

3.5     Where is morality?

3.6     How can we enforce quality?

4     Part II Our Earth is Getting Sicker and Sicker, and Depleted

4.1     Consumer folly

4.2     The denial of global warming

4.3     China does not wait to act

4.4     China: examples of waste and pollution

4.5     Water in the world

4.6     China water, air and land – overview

4.7     Water in China – details

4.8     Water pollution in China

4.9     Pollution and waste around the world

4.10     The blame for pollution

4.11     Greenhouse gas emissions

4.12     China can’t play Superman

4.13     GDP, Salaries, and PPP

4.14     The dramatic levels of pollution in China

4.14.1     Air pollution in Beijing and compared to other cities

4.14.2     Garbage, and lots of it

4.14.3     The recycling industry in China

4.14.4     E-waste

4.14.5     Contaminated soil

4.15     The quest for oil, gas, and other resources

4.16     The increasing risk of confrontation

4.17     Rare earths and other commodities

4.18     China’s energy needs

4.19     Securing mining rights

4.20     The big SOE, but also others go abroad

4.21     Coal imports: a favorite is Australia

4.22     Iron ore and steel

4.23     China: missteps

4.24     Oil and gas: securing long-term supplies

4.25     The party is over?

4.26     Where is the oil market heading to?

4.27     China: natural gas

4.28     China: oil

4.29     Shale gas, oil, and fracking

4.30     The clash between mining and the environment

4.31     Is green energy not so green?

4.32     Food: demand

4.33     Food: waste

4.34     Cotton, jeans, lingerie, and other textiles

5     Part III The Parameters that Help or Obstruct

5.1     Wall Street: dubious financial instruments

5.2     The role of government

5.3     Why we need a (good) government

5.4     Defining the role of government: a look at China

5.5     Too much government and too expensive

5.6     Long-term infrastructure planning

5.7     Corruption

5.8     Taxation and income inequality

5.9     A fair job market

5.9.1     We need more jobs but executives are of little help

5.9.2     Deregulation to rebalance employers’ and workers’ rights, and duties

5.9.3     The income gap between top executives and the rest

5.9.4     Big companies: how many are successfully managed?

5.9.5     Retirement age

5.9.6     Low-paid manual labor

5.9.7     China: not a socialist labor environment

5.9.8     Outsourcing to developing countries

5.9.9     Immigration in EU and United States: fundamentally bad?

6     Part IV Day-to-day Examples, Trade and Business Issues

6.1     Consumerism versus quality: luxury items

6.2     Day-to-day examples

6.2.1     Waste in public bidding

6.2.2     Medical waste?

6.2.3     Foreign luxury goods need to improve quality and after sales

6.2.4     Foreign consumer brands in China: the case of IKEA

6.2.5     Energy-saving lamps

6.2.6     Waste in construction and energy consumption in buildings

6.2.7     Everyday poor quality

6.2.8     Better labeling and manuals

6.2.9     Electric bikes and cars: shifting pollution around

6.2.10     Moulinex Crystal Arôme: how to repair

6.2.11     Repairing the iMac screen

6.2.12     Waste in packaging

6.2.13     Using alternative materials and technologies

6.2.14     Batteries, more batteries

6.2.15     Toner cartridges: poor quality and service

6.2.16     Unwanted and useless presents

6.2.17     Stop the burning

6.2.18     The throwaway culture: give me your trash!

6.2.19     Still a lot to invent and to improve

6.3     International trade relations

6.4     The road ahead

6.4.1     China’s policies to support a greener trend

6.4.2     Reshoring and relocating

6.4.3     Reform of China’s industry

7     Final Conclusions and Remarks

8     About the Author

9     References, Disclaimer, Terms Used, Abbreviations

10     List of pictures

11     Bibliography

12     End Notes

I cannot stand injustice.

My mother (1910–2001), to whom I dedicate my first book. Thank you for giving me so much.

Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946)

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Albert Einstein (1879–1955)

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

The 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech, Steve Jobs (1955–2011)

Acknowledgments

Cover design: Valerie Van Kerckhove

Pictures, styling, and brainstorming: Charles J. Dukes

Preliminary draft review: Michel Lens

Comments: Kevin Lee

1     Why This Book

Living in China has made me aware of the world’s dramatic environmental problems. The Chinese government is pretty open about the impact of pollution in all its forms and about the effects of global warming and climate change; the official media provide good insights. After being diagnosed with chronic bronchitis in 2008, caused by running marathons in polluted Beijing, I felt compelled to study more in depth the magnitude of the environmental degradation as well as the causes.

We can bury our heads in the sand, and we can dismiss the data and carry on as we have been living until now. As an engineer I seek facts and figures before drawing conclusions. I have tried to go systematically through the wealth of information, to understand where we stand, to assess how bad the environmental deterioration really is, and to have an idea about the availability of resources we so much need. The results of the research are not encouraging. Analyzing what we can do about it all, I identified different factors jointly contributing to the alarming situation. The role of government, taxes, industry, financial institutions, labor markets, and consumer attitudes are interacting with each other, and each of those issues deserves a cold scrutiny to find causes as well as solutions. All of those are addressed in separate sections. So bear with me, look at the figures, and then draw your own conclusions. Do I sound emotional at times? Maybe, because like many others, I see a huge hole in our ship, water is rushing in, the passengers continue to party, and the crew has limitless faith in its ship, unsinkable as it is supposed to be.

I tried to avoid too many figures, often in vain. Today people prefer to read flashy stories and get bored with figures; it requires too much attention. But if we fail to analyze facts and figures, if we fail to think, we will also fail to take the right decisions. Blame me for being an engineer; our defense is that thanks to our boring figures astronauts have walked on the moon, you can play around with your iPad, and you can read your e-mail at your favorite coffee shop.

2     What We Are Facing

The twenty-first century shows excesses of capitalism that have developed over the past decades. The Internet crash, the financial crisis of 2008, the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, and then in 2011 the threat of economic implosions in the EU are some of the symptoms.

What is toxic capitalism? We are already familiar with toxic loans.

It is a strain of capitalism, invented in Europe, perfected by Americans, and being assimilated by China and other countries. Hiding behind the mantra of open markets and dubious ideologies it is one type of capitalism with tragic consequences, allowing a minority to accumulate fortunes for themselves through political patronage and at the same time slowly destroying our planet by inducing us to embrace excessive consumption; toxic simply because of its impact on the environment. It is not the type of capitalism we should embrace. The dramatic environmental deterioration in China, global warming, and the frantic quest for natural resources are all linked to it and to each other. It makes us buy too much and at a too rapid pace. Poor quality and the throw-away mentality let us slowly destroy our environment, while exhausting precious resources and even tearing down the fabric of society. Many people seem happy to go along with it while claiming they actually care and pretend to know what they are doing. People act as if they were the last generation on this planet. Others are alarmed and have started to say, Stop it!

Are capitalism and globalization fundamentally wrong? Are open markets the evil that undermines our Western economies, sending countries into a downward spiral of public and private debt as well as chronic unemployment?

I believe in open markets, fair competition, and policies guaranteeing individual rights and freedom: freedom of expression, thought, religion, and culture; creative entrepreneurship and intellectual property rights; equal rights for men and women, as well as equal responsibilities. Is it too much government that is the cause of our misery, as some politicians claim? But without it, how can we enjoy those freedoms and how can we protect the weak, such as children, the have-nots, the mentally and physically challenged, and other groups that need our attention?

I offer here some of my findings and conclusions, after wading through the mountains of data, reports, and surveys. Give them some thought.

Goals: quality, durability, save resources, and save energy.

Quality is not limited to consumer goods. We also need quality of government, of products and services, of companies, and of the financial sector. We need to change our lifestyle and stop the madness of overconsumption.

To reach those goals, we need a government with the separation of executive, legislative, and judicial powers, and a system of checks and balances. Government officials and civil servants should be held accountable.

Humans are fundamentally selfish and even evil. They exploit the system for their maximum benefit. If anyone has doubts, let them read a good newspaper. Somebody has to put a minimum of order and morality in the system, or the system will self-destruct – slowly.

We need a government to guarantee a minimum set of values. Unfortunately many of the present governments are inefficient, corrupt, and controlled by powerful lobbies. Surprisingly, a majority of people actually wants the government to regulate more, that means, better, as explained further on in detail.

This book is not about China, but the country serves as an ideal study case, because of its role as the Factory of the World and its growing importance as a world power, hence the large attention dedicated to it. I am fortunate to have been in this country since 1980, witnessing the huge changes. Some observations on China may seem negative but are not intended as such. The country indeed has its challenges, but it should not be labeled as the bad kid on the block. It comes out far better than the vast majority of emerging countries, even stands out among its fellow BRICS members (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Some developed countries also suffer from serious crises and turmoil, and every day we witness horrors and immense human suffering in so many places around the globe. Let us be balanced and moderate in our views and keep in mind that other countries also face challenges.

Take a step back and look for example at India, called the biggest democracy in the world. It has fabulous people and will one day emerge as one of the leading powers. But right now, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has found that it has 12.6 million laborers between the age of five and fourteen, with about 20% working as domestic helpers – some being virtual slaves and treated very badly. Other groups say the figure is higher, at least 45 million. According to UNICEF, India has more child laborers than any other country. In 2011 more than 32,000 children were reported missing. So, let’s not always use China for target practice, such as singling it out for labor issues and human rights. Both China and India need the support from the West to grow in a healthy and sustainable way. Many of China’s ills can also be found in India, as well as in many other countries.

The book is divided into four major parts. The first one gives an overview of the key challenges and issues and how we can do something about it.

The second part delves into the details of the environmental problems, with a focus on China, its hunger for energy and all kinds of raw materials and resources, and how it goes out to the world to buy up what it lacks at home. This part contains a lot of data, and the reader can merely glance through it, if less interested in the fine details.

The third part looks into the role of government, taxes, income inequality, financial institutions: the parameters that help or obstruct.

The fourth part gives day-to-day examples, and addresses some particular trade and business issues, followed by concluding remarks.

3     Part I Key Challenges, Issues and Solutions

3.1     Maybe I am too old-fashioned?

Humor often hides deeper thoughts. I am sure there are several similar gems as this small story, circulating on the Internet; I added a few personal touches. We might argue times have changed and industry and commerce are facing new and different constraints. True, but I love this humorous wisdom, and I can identify with some habits of this bygone era. Is it really that passé? Up to you.

Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own shopping bags in the future because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.

The woman apologized and explained, We didn’t have this green thing back in my earlier days. The cashier responded, That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.

She was right, our generation didn’t have the green thing in its day. Back then, we returned milk, soft drinks, and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to be washed, sterilized, and refilled, so they could use the same bottles over and over. They were recycled. We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

We walked up the stairs, because we didn’t have an escalator in every shop and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

Back then, we washed the baby’s nappies because we didn’t have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy-gobbling machine: wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back then. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. On Christmas they got some very few toys, without batteries. Good for months to play and pass them on.

We had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. The TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of a ping-pong table. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn’t have electric machines to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the post, we used old newspapers to cushion it, not packing peanuts or plastic bubble wrap. We didn’t burn petrol just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by walking so we didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

We drank water from a fountain or a tap when we were thirsty instead of demanding a plastic bottle flown in from another country. We accepted that a lot of food was seasonal and didn’t expect it to be flown in, thousands of air miles around the world. We actually cooked food that didn’t come out of a packet, tin or plastic wrap and we could even wash our own vegetables and chop our own salad. We did not need a fridge with Internet access to tell us to buy milk or teach us how to make that salad.

People took the tram or a bus, and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a twenty-four-hour taxi service. We didn’t need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn’t it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn’t have the green thing back then?

I got encouragement from The Story of Stuff (¹) and available on www.storyofstuff.org, which describes it as follows: From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. It exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

The film’s focus is on consumerism and waste in the United States, which has 5% of the world’s population but uses 30% of its resources. The clip also claims that American consumers only hold onto 1% of what they bought after six months, trashing the rest by that time. It talks about planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence, the way we are led to believe it is time to buy something new. I like the example of the $4.95 radio: how was it possible to make this item for such a low price? I can’t agree more. The speaker in the movie, Annie Leonard, misses my angle: we should also have better products to trash less. And do take note, Annie is not a cranky old lady either.

For sure it made me smile and convinced me: I should write down my own story of stuff.

3.2     The ills of our society

Hypocrisy and politics

Some of the causes of the ills in our world may seem clear, such as oppressive regimes that exploit and mistreat their people. Other deep-rooted evils are either ignored or misjudged; toxic capitalism is one, as the West comes up for its defense claiming it is what we should fight for. The presidential primary debates in the United States in 2011 and 2012 provided one more example of the sorrowful state our Western democracies have reached. Not to wonder people came out in protests that seemed to have no clear agenda and no defined leadership except to say, we are fed up being the 99%. The Occupy Wall Street movement, despite its shortcomings, has touched a raw nerve and gained many supporters in a short time. Its impact could linger for years. Why was it so popular? Because many people realized the two big parties in the United States, whatever they claim and promise, still favor Wall Street over Main Street. It is the disillusionment with big business and unfair inequality. Other countries identified similar issues in their own courtyard.

The Tea Party movement exhibits a questionable philosophy, defended by some in the United States.

In China there is a growing awareness to preserve the environment, to combat global warming, to save energy, to massively invest in public transport (e.g., subways and high-speed trains), to promote green transport such as through more bike lanes. The Tea Party is against all that. Some call for tax cuts for the rich. Some demand unlimited oil and gas exploration and extraction, so gasoline prices could remain low, encouraging indiscriminate consumption. They accuse environmentalists of simply obstructing the economy. They overlook the fact that free-for-all drilling will do little to influence gasoline prices and even less to generate substantial job increases in the sector: employment in that sector is a tiny fraction of overall employment. They see a conspiracy led by the United Nations (UN), through their devilish program Agenda 21, voted in 1992. They don’t believe in global warming. How does this sound:

The Republican National Committee resolution, 13 January 2012:

The United Nations Agenda 21 plan of radical so-called ‘sustainable development’ views the American way of life of private property ownership, single family homes, private car ownership and individual travel choices, and privately owned farms, all as destructive to the environment.

After looking at the present state of our environment, in the next sections, that might sound rather puzzling. The resolution comes from people who pretend to care about the future of their children and grandchildren. What they call the land of Commies starts looking as a more advanced society, despite its shortcomings. Paranoid fantasies in U.S. politics, at least from some parties, are undermining reason. (²)(³)

The debate around the role of government, too much or too little, normally should leave many baffled, and maybe some anarchists excited. The West wants so much to be seen as the vanguard of progress and ethics: does it still deserve the title? Watching political debates on Western TV is depressing; discussions are conducted in utter seriousness, sometimes in vitriolic terms, but are mostly deprived of any in-depth insight or solid data. Many arguments flying around are based on pseudo-economics that do not withstand an independent analysis, figures often don’t add up, and obfuscation is the norm.

Unfortunately Europe has very little to be proud of. Instead of criticizing American politics it should realize it will become irrelevant unless it drastically changes itself. Solving its financial quagmire will not be enough. Sweeping reforms are needed but receive little political and popular support as people cling to their vested interests.

We cannot reverse environmental destruction as long as we do not simultaneously address the many interacting causes.

Recent activism on sweatshops being used for the production of Apple products smacks of hypocrisy and hides the underlying causes of what we try to combat. People demonstrate against Apple, walk around with Bloody Apple posters, and demand better working conditions in Chinese factories. First of all they overlook the fact Chinese workers line up by the thousands to secure a job at Foxconn, the company doing the assembly for Apple, because they can have a better life there than toiling the fields as poor farmers and can look forward to improving their condition. The experience with the anti-Nike and anti-Reebok protests about sweatshops in Indonesia in the 1980s proved that so-called victories can turn sour. Jobs were lost. As long as consumers in Western countries do not agree to pay more for their Nike shoes or iPhones, or the big brands are unwilling or unable to lower their profit margins, protesters in front of Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino should go home, shut up, or change their demands. In the 2012 first fiscal quarter, Apple scored a spectacular $13 billion profit ($1 billion per week!); the company has enough room to pay better rates to its suppliers, but then if it did, how would Wall Street (the market) react when quarterly results are announced? It would probably castigate its share prices. In early 2012 Apple announced plans to pay a dividend and buy back $10 billion of its stock, returning some of its $97.6 billion in cash and investments to shareholders. Its cash pile has swelled amid surging demand for its products, such as the iPhone and iPad. Would shareholders agree to use part of the cash to better remunerate suppliers? Probably not. Again to maximize profits, the Apple China operations in early 2012 had fewer than five people in their supplier responsibility team, making it hard to watch over the many suppliers. (⁴)(⁵)(⁶)

Let’s hope that the attention paid to Apple’s supply chain serves as a catalyst for other OEM supply chains to clean up unacceptable practices and also to agree to pay a fair price. Apple may have been singled out too much while others were left off the hook. But the company has started – at times reluctantly – to genuinely address deep-rooted problems. So, maybe Apple has not only contributed to a technical and design revolution but also to a supply chain revolution. Disclaimer: I am a Macfanatic but that does not stop me from commenting on some of their questionable policies. (⁷)

Give up on capitalism?

Some have started to doubt about free enterprise and the value of capitalism, whatever the terms mean for them; they are disgruntled. The Financial Times published a series of articles on the subject in January and February 2012. I remain convinced, like many others, that it is the least bad system compared to all the others, and that it is not fundamentally wrong. There is still no coherent alternative to capitalism. Pure communism and socialism have been quietly set aside, and even a country like China just pays lip service to the formerly popular dogmas. Now, to be rich is good, even for the Communist Party of China, that follows in the footsteps of the late leader Deng Xiaoping. Some say, capitalism is in crisis. I agree, in the sense that we are faced with its toxic strains. Free markets and entrepreneurship have found yet no equals to develop the economy and society, as other systems have smothered creativity and innovation. Sometimes the farmer has to burn a field to get better crops. Often after a major war the economy goes through a boom. There must be enough free competition to eliminate the weaklings in the industry. But that does not imply we are allowed to destroy the planet and ignore basic rights in society. There ought not to be, by definition, a contradiction between responsible capitalism and environmental protection. There is also a difference between productive capitalism and predatory capitalism, as wrote Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University. We need more fairness and more responsibility, and growth should be equitable and sustainable. (⁸)

The United States has traditionally been one of the most enthusiastic champions of capitalism, but a recent public opinion survey found that 50% of Americans had a positive opinion of capitalism while 40% did not. The disillusionment was particularly marked among young people aged 18–29, African Americans and Hispanics, those with incomes under $30,000 and self-described Democrats. And of course we have the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has exposed some of the major shortcomings in our today’s society such as the lack of fairness and equality of opportunity, in education, and in the job market. (⁹)

No more government?

The elite in the United States, or should we rather say the super rich, does not seem to care about what government is supposed to do, besides maintaining a powerful army. They prefer a small government that taxes them less than a modest middle-class American. Who needs railways when you can fly your own helicopter or plane; who cares about poor road quality when you drive a bulky SUV? No problem with public security, there are guns and rifles to defend yourself. How can you call a country civilized where people can carry guns, even openly? The thought of civilians with (legal) guns on the street in Belgium or in China is enough to grasp its weirdness. But that is considered to be part of guaranteed personal rights – i.e., the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects the right to bear arms – and is fervently defended by powerful lobbies such as the National Rifle Association. Interestingly, beside Guatemala and Mexico no other country has anything similar in its constitution. Today most U.S. legal experts agree the U.S. Constitution is outdated. Unfortunately some lobbying groups still cling to it.

If some in the United States could achieve their political goals, China could enjoy the debacle of a world power inflicting on itself what an enemy could only wish for. Except that China needs Western markets to maintain its economic growth and social stability, so it is too soon for Schadenfreude.

China is also the victim of toxic capitalism it has embraced during its breakneck speed development; it has brought new ills, and brought back some old ones. The country is facing its own challenges of corruption and erratic government policies that drive its rich citizens away from the Motherland, despite the fact that, overall, the country is doing pretty well; many emigrants continue to maintain close ties with China. Nearly half of the mainland’s super rich are considering emigration, according to a 2011 survey of people with assets of more than 10 million yuan, considered as millionaires. It has raised concern about the country’s worsening social and business environment and shows a lack of confidence in the future. The survey, released jointly by the Hurun Report Research Institute, which also publishes an annual China rich list, and the Bank of China, also found that 14% of the 980 millionaires surveyed had either already moved overseas or were applying to do so. Education costs and quality, housing costs, protection of assets, pollution, retirement, the lack of a sufficient legal framework, a worsening atmosphere for investment, rising living costs, and taxation are given as the main reasons to leave. China Daily estimates the yearly total wealth exodus could be close to 40 billion yuan. Top destinations are, in order: the United States (40%), Canada (37%), Singapore (14%), Europe (11%), others (9%), Hong Kong (5%), U.K. (2%). (¹⁰)(¹¹)(¹²)

The madness of consumerism

During the 2011 Thanksgiving holiday weekend, U.S. consumers stormed malls, spending $52.4 billion. Retail sales climbed 16% and shoppers spent $398.62 on average. Web sales accounted for another $816 million on Black Friday. Apparel and electronics were the most popular. Despite the weak economy and high unemployment, consumer spending, accounting for 70% of the economy, grew at a 2.3% annual rate in the third quarter of 2011. Savings rate fell. U.S. households spent $10.7 trillion in 2011, accounting for about 70% of GDP, according to the Commerce Department: more than China’s total GDP of $7 trillion in 2011, based on IMF figures. The consumer economy of the United States is said to be the biggest in the world. (¹³)(¹⁴)

Good news? Is America showing the way?

On the contrary! Worrying, exactly because it was considered to be good news. All those electronics and apparel, how will they be used? How long will they last? Do people really need all that? What will happen to it after one or two years? End station: a landfill or a toxic recycling village in South China? Yes, American consumers helped power the global economy from 1995 through to 2007, before the crisis hit. But at what cost for the planet?

Welcome to the orgy of consumerism. In the United States, it is patriotic to spend, or should we say, patriotic to waste?

Even the Vatican calls for a fight against the Idolatry of the Market. The world today seems to adore excesses. How much money is enough for a human being?

China is no exception to the Idolatry Syndrome as it can be considered even more capitalist than the United States. Its Gini coefficient (¹⁵) is alarmingly high. The rich are getting richer, some looking down at the rest of population in disdain, sanctioned by a government that calls itself communist but thrives as much on political patronage by an elite as the United States does. With the exception that they are accomplishing higher targets with a booming economy, and a modernization drive that took a continent out of medieval darkness into the twenty-first century in a record time. But they are paying a price by destroying their environment. China, as other countries, has been contaminated by toxic capitalism. Its mistake has been to embrace it with too much enthusiasm.

What is the dark side of raw capitalism?

It’s the disregard for quality, durability, respect for the environment and for human beings; a lack of morality, hiding behind a mask of hypocrisy.

The West has lost any decency in its materialist consumerism. It exploits human beings, to let them work for a pittance in developing countries while destroying the labor market in their home countries. It is encouraged by the companies that profit from it and that mostly function without due supervision by their shareholders or owners; their board members primarily take care of their personal interests, as commented further on. They employ deception and promote a drug-like dependency on consumer spending. Consumers destroy the environment through the excessive waste they generate and the mounting pressure to seek more natural resources and energy.

We have reached a point where consumption and waste are the accepted commandments of modern society. Whoever thinks differently is deemed opposed to the advance of society and the happiness of consumers. The consumer has fallen for the concept.

Today’s motto: buy now, pay later, use a little, throw away, and repeat the cycle over and over again.

We are back at the Roman Empire’s concept of panem et circenses, bread and games. Give it to the people, and they will remain happy and obedient. We talk about drugs such as cocaine; modern consumerism is not much better: it is the Golden Calf we should all adore.

In his book Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends while the World Saves, Sheldon Garon, a professor at Princeton University, gives his opinion, not as an economist but rather as a historian and sociologist. He argues that the United States is much unlike other countries and regards consumer spending as a virtue, sometimes minimizing savings. It is patriotic to spend, rather than to save. It is also acceptable for people to get into debt to buy gadgets or enjoy life. Being in debt is good for the economy: it makes you

work harder!

As a consequence much of the old-fashioned service sector has been destroyed. Some call it Scorched-Earth Capitalism. The rock-bottom prices of many goods end up establishing monopolies, eliminating on its way the value of service and quality.

Big concerns don’t make money with repairs and maintenance. They make their profits flooding the markets with cheap consumer goods that cannot be repaired. If repair is more expensive than buying a new substitute, no one needs repairmen or after sales service. Entire sectors of the economy are vanishing. On top of that, choking bureaucracy and taxation in many Western countries have killed off whatever remained of the small companies, or individuals, providing service, repair, and artisanship.

Driving around in the United States made me see the result. Many shopping centers are identical, the same discount chains, supermarkets, restaurants, fast-food outlets, and so on. Most are franchises, standardized quasi-monopolies without an individual touch.