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Capitalism will eat democracy -- unless we speak up | Yanis Varoufakis

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'Is there any hope for everyday low income earning Americans in seeing an evident change in wealth disparity? If so how will this be addressed, or will the rich continue to get richer until the majority of Americans are forced into poverty?'

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'20 richest people own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans'

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'Since 2009, major financial institutions in this country have been fined $204 billion. $204 billion. And that takes place in a weak regulatory climate.'

This quote from Bernie Sanders' speech on Wall Street caught my attention, as it highlights the extent of how much shady behavior these major financial institutions in the United States are able to engage in without proper consequence, and just how much this negatively affects the lives of everyday Americans.

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I found it quite interesting hearing about the extent to which Wall Street has influenced America and the globes' economy. Therefore, my question is, how will it be possible to improve America's economic inequality with Wall Street being such a huge influential power in America with many elites being apart of it.

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In light of Ella's question, what policies or changes could be enacted that would address the wealth disparity between the working class and the wealthy?

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"We will no longer tolerate an economy and a political system that has been rigged by Wall Street to benefit the wealthiest Americans in this country at the expense of everyone else."

This quote emphasises the effect of Wall Street on the economy and how it is full of corruption in order to serve the wealthiest people of America. It also emphasises the massive gap between the very few extremely rich, and the large amount of poor. It summarises Bernie Sanders' aim to get rid of Wall Street's greed.

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I really like the quote "the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street nearly destroyed the U.S. and global economy" as mentioned in the "Text of Bernie Sanders’ Wall Street and economy speech" article. I like this quote as it is so powerful and strong. Bernie Sanders does not hold back with his words. I also think that in many fields and industries people tend to cross boundaries and as a result they must be held accountable, therefore, for Sanders to publicly speak up about the injustice facing a large proportion of the people of the United states is really inspiring and remarkable.

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In regards to the article called the

"Text of Bernie Sanders’ Wall Street and economy speech" -

I want to know why Hillary Clinton is not holding the individuals who are performing "greedy" acts accountable.

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"This country can no longer afford to tolerate the culture of fraud and corruption on Wall Street."

Although this quote wasn't particularly insightful, I thought the bluntness and truth of it was really powerful and not something we particularly hear from American political leaders in describing the driver of its economy in Wall street.

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How can Bernie Sanders be so critical of the corporations that fund the existence of the very party he represents and has continually defended them through both the Obama and Biden administrations?

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' If you're not confused,
You're not thinking'

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Yet today Marx is, once again, very much a thinker for the twenty-first century

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In relation to Marx Today, how are we able to fully grasp the concept and impact of capitalism if we (and the book as well) discuss very little on its intersectionality with racism and sexism?

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"5.1 trillion in financial institutions...doing absolutely nothing during the same period."                         I found this quote interesting as it he bluntly stated the truth and was criticising where money is going but which isn't particularly achieving anything though.
An additional quote my attention was caught to was "This is my quarrel with Capitalism" as he is referring to how capitalism is producing mass wastefulness and huge amounts of cash which are not being put towards better our livelihood and a problem he presents having with capitalism.

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"The prostitute’s body thus becomes a commodity in the global capitalist market upon which male desire is projected and globalisation itself is inscribed"  - The global political economy of sex work- Nicola Smith

this quote emphasises how the human slave trade, particularly sex trafficking, essentially commodifies vulnerable women into the trade. I found this quote to be very confronting, in that it emphasises how these women become interchangeable with any other good or service.

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If more than half of the worlds economic output is from informal work (Global Politics: a new introduction), how do these individuals become recognised as contributors to the global economy? Under the capitalist theory, that most major economies fall under, capitalism assumes the autonomy of the individual, granting dignity to the poor. By affirming people's right to their own labour, regardless of their position on the economic ladder, capitalism, theoretically, offers the poor the means to improve their own well-being. However, do individuals, due to the informal nature of their work, reap the benefits of capitalism? Meaning, do they have the ability to grow their own capital or have economic freedom if the nature of their work does not fit within the boundaries?

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'the expansion of global capitalism not only depends upon the use of female bodies for cheap labour but also turns those bodies into commodities in and of themselves' - The Global Political Economy of Sex Work (ch 43), Nicola Smith.

I find this quote to be quite confronting in the fact that women when working in the sex industry, are no longer seen as people but are rather seen as bodies that 'sell'. It's a dehumanising and grim reality that these women aren't respected as people and only seen as something that can be 'sold' for personal use and gain.

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"commercial sex might itself represent a site of resistance."  The Global Political of sex work Nicola Smith

This quote gave me mixed feelings as this was new information for me. At first I thought it was empowering but, also made me question on whether individuals believed this was the last resort towards the oppression sex workers encountered. Moreover it was confronting to acknowledged individuals may dive into commercial sex in order to resistance society's stigma but, also to reagin their power globally.

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"(LGBTQ) sex working remain under-theorised and under-researched both

within and outside of feminist political economy" Nicola Smith

Why has this occurred and how can we change this and become more inclusive?