A depressing yet refreshing look at the modern Christmas. Thanks for writing it down.

A very perceptive article: Scrooge Mk I is the epitomy of classic capitalism in action, to say nothing of the accumulative nature of the unlamented Jacob Marley. Quite correctly, Scrooge II was redeemed and although the boy being dispatched to get the 'largest turkey of all' for the hapless Cratchitt family is touching in itself, the scene is redolent of postmodernism and commodification of Christmas (a home run for Marx, Karl, not Groucho).

However, what is missing from an otherwise talented and timely piece of work is that Dickens has Scrooge II recognising Christmas and all it stood for for the rest of his life. That includes the Christian message, not merely rampant consumerism, which I find deplorable.

On that note, Merry Christmas to all and try to drive carefully.

Capitalism produces it's unseemly decadent surpluses of time for introspection and consumerism,where as socialism more often produces poverty and little time for anything but survival.

Which would you prefer?

The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money.

Money does not exist without human thought and activity.It is just a concept that represents human potential,ie the medium of exchange,store of wealth etc,however our financial institutions have perverted it's function by making money ,a thing that produces nothing,a commodity that bought and sold,thus rewarding the gate keepers of our currency for no productivity.Lawyers,insurance companies,banks and lazy Socialists Govts are the real parasites.

We should reward those who produce.

If one believes that Dickens' story is an accurate portrayal of what capitalism is really like, then I can only suggest that it's a case of wanting to believe fairy tales and ignore facts and historical experiences. Lenin and Marx wrote books about communism which described the 'best' political system that could be devised by human beings, but Stalin and Chairman Mao showed us the reality of human behaviour uner this political system. In comparison, the worst excesses of capitalism look positively utopian.
David Rowe's article is short on realism and long on emotion. In the spirit of Christmas, the best present I can give Mr Rowe is some advice: to leave academia for a year or two and get a job in the real world.