I have always respected the intellectual force of Germaine Greer. She may tout controversy and seem to be peddling the same old curmudgeon shtick, but she can always be trusted to inspire anger, provoke thought, or inspire action. That is the job of an intellectual, and she is one of Australia’s most eminent (even if she has called the UK home for thirty or so years).
This is from an interview with her on the ABC, on a show called One plus One Her comments about capitalism remind me of some of the recent writing about how capitalism and corporations can be different.
The corporate structure is cruel. The corporate structure is a pinnacle surrounded by the shattered bodies of people who’ve been used and discarded, leading to the CEO at the top with his big empty desk. Why is it empty? Because he doesn’t do anything. Why doesn’t he do anything? Because it’s all delegated to other people. When they screw up they are sacrificed.
She then goes on to comment that Australia formerly had a very good labour movement.