By Matt Stoller, author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy and research director of the American Economic Liberties Project who writes regularly at Substack.
I’m a former author of Naked Capitalism, and I’ve learned a lot over the years from Yves Smith and the staff here. I spend a lot of time focusing on the laws against monopolization, that is, antitrust. And despite the fact that dishonesty is what I do, I’m still learning about the wider impact of policy on this site.
Take Conor Gallagher’s piece a few days ago about how the lawsuit against landlords and RealPage has caused the housing shortage. Gallagher linked investments in RealPage to dozens of government pension funds, demonstrating the truth today of what Louis Brandeis once observed, that “The bonds that bind men are made of men’s gold.”
But Brandeis had another sentence, which I really like, and which shows why Naked Capitalism is important. “Despotism, whether financial or political, is dangerous, unless it is believed to depend on moral punishment. The longing for freedom cannot be quenched. It will express itself by opposing slavery and doing nothing unless the struggle for freedom is made to appear immoral.”
The reality of oppression is that it is done with the consent of society, not because we accept it willingly, but because we believe we cannot resist. However, we can. And with voices like the ones you read on this site, they remind us of that, the beacon of our morals. In these dark times, times when most seem confused and overwhelmed, the donations you give help keep that light shining.
So if you can, give. Give generously. Please go to the donation page to support this community.
And if you can’t, that’s okay. Just read and read, because we all have to keep that light, for ourselves.
Over the years, Naked capitalism, like our world, has changed a lot. New writers floated in, old ones left, and topics changed.
I started reading this site in 2006, when the financial crisis hit the world, and nobody knew anything about what was going on. Yves Smith delved into the details, as one word that defines the tactics of the mortgage market. Yves actually discovered that the founding story was bullshit, discovering that several hedge funds were manipulating the credit markets. But he pursued this as a financial and political issue, ignoring the divisions the media likes to portray by dividing his government and banking.
(Also, he knew Michael Lewis’ narrative was bullshit before he came out with his ridiculous book about Sam Bankman-Fried. I know that’s irrelevant to this piece, but you can’t say enough about Lewis’ self-promotional nonsense.)
And it there is a story. And not because of one dissenting writer, but because Naked Capitalism was a community where really curious people could meet and learn from each other, a place where we could see that no, we’re not crazy, men in suits actually are. to do things beyond belief.
Today the topics and authors have changed, but the detailed writing and sense of outrage have not. I may have seen something in Nigeria’s disastrous study of digital currencies, Honduras abandoning the neoliberal international investor court system, or the trick of hiring and homelessness.
And the rest hasn’t changed. Courage. Naked Capitalism, like many private spaces, is threatened by Google, told to shape up or be delisted from the Internet. Many publishers close up shop under threat, but not this community. You guys fight for each other, win or lose. This site, this community, admit it or not, is one to be reckoned with.
And that is worth saving. So give, if you can. Please go to the Tip Jar to keep Naked Capitalism fair and furious.
I don’t always agree with what you write. In fact, I usually don’t. But I read Naked Capitalism, and the commenters (love you guys!) because there is a sophisticated style of thinking based on details and context. That is serious. I often don’t know who to trust, and in my area I know that many writings and postings are nonsense. But I have worked with Yves, written for Yves, and studied Yves for years. And I know I can trust you to work without fear. And that’s worth something. In fact, it’s well worth it.
I say this often, but I’ll say it again because it’s still true. If you believe, as I do, that true community is important, do what you can. If you have more, donate more on the donation page. If you have nothing, offer words of encouragement. Everything matters.
If you can’t afford anything, you can still help by spreading the word about Naked Capitalism by telling friends and family, spreading important news, posting links on Facebook (or Meta), Twitter (or X) and other social media sites that are horrible. keep changing their names because everyone hates them.
Now let’s talk politics for a second. My grandfather had a joke that I think applies to the world today, and to the upcoming Presidential election. One day, I was feeling down, and my friend said, cheer up, things could be worse. So, I got excited, and sure enough, things got worse.
But on the other hand, not everything is dark. At least one of them will lose. And no matter what, we’ll still have this site where we can gather and stare in disbelief at our elites and how stupid they are.
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