Anti-business

Chris Dillow argues that we should all be Anti-business.

But why do bosses have such influence? Partly, it's because politicians have so little credibility. But there are also two other reasons.

One is that the media — and the BBC is as guilty as anyone — sets up bosses as being general purpose experts: their opinions on the wider economy are often reported as authoritative in the way that others are not. This, though, misses the point that businessmen are at best experts only at running their own businesses — or in Stefano Pessina's case, inheriting them — and often not even that. As fans of many football teams will tell you, an ability to run one business often doesn't imply an ability to run another.

Also, bosses have managed to mythologize themselves as heroic, risk-taking leaders. But as we saw when Citylink collapsed, this is a fiction: it is workers and small contractors who bear risk, not big businessmen.

"Business leaders" are rather like corrupt medieval clergymen: they use an ideological fiction as a means of extracting wealth and power. What we need is a Martin Luther or Thomas Cromwell.

Emphasis Mine

This is all part of the ideological superstructure of Capitalism: the creation and maintainance of the myth about the importance and relevance of business leaders to the health of the economy and politics.

As we have found out in Australia, we have a buffoon called Clive Palmer who tried to buy himself into politics. Here is a billionaire who thought he could take over the Australian government by spending money lavishly. But he ended up with one (1) member in the lower house (himself) and three (3) senators. One of these has since become independent because she started thinking for herself.