Excerpts: “In reality, the free market is nothing but a set of rules about (1) what can be owned and traded (corporations? slaves? machine guns? nuclear bombs? babies? votes? the right to pollute?); (2) on what terms (hostile takeovers? corporate monopolies? the right to organize unions? a minimum wage? the length of patent protections?); (3) under what conditions (uninsured derivatives? fraudulent mortgages? mandatory arbitration of disputes?); (4) how to repay what’s owed (debtor’s prison? bankruptcy? corporate bailouts?); (5) what’s private and what’s public (clean air and clean water? health care? good schools?); and (6) how to pay for what’s deemed to be public (corporate taxes? personal income taxes? a wealth tax?)” (p. 92).

“Three big systemic changes over the last forty years have reallocated power upward in the system. They are (1) the shift in corporate governance form stakeholder to shareholder capitalism, (2) the shift in bargaining power from large unions to giant corporations, and (3) the unleashing of the financial power of Wall Street” (p. 95).

“This is why oligarchies depend on ways other than brute force to hold power. The three most common are: (1) systems of belief–religions, dogmas, and ideologies–intended to convince most people of the righteousness of the oligarchy’s claim to power; (2) bribes to the most influential people to gain their support and thereby legitimize the oligarchy; and (3) manufactured threats–supposed foreign enemies or ‘enemies within,’ as well as immigrants and minority populations–to divert attention from the oligarchy so the diverse elements within the majority won’t join together against it” (p. 166-167).

“Just as with the divine right of kings whose power was thought to come from God, those who embrace market fundamentalism want Americans to ignore how a powerful few have shaped the system for their own benefit” (p. 173).

Reich, Robert B (2020). The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It. New York: Alfred. A. Knopf.