Stephen: Naked Capitalism – Your Torch Through the Media Murk

By Stephen, a management consulting industry professional living in Surrey, England

Naked Capitalism gives a fantastic service to its readers by providing a torch to navigate the morass and murkiness of contemporary narratives. So I am going to the Tip Jar and implore you to do so too straight away. Whatever you give, $5, $50, or $5,000, it all helps keep Naked Capitalism shining its bright light.

By way of disclosure, I must confess to being a full-fledged member of the Professional & Managerial Class. My credentials include an accountancy qualification, an Ivy League MBA, and nearly three decades at two of the world’s most established consulting firms.

Sometimes when one follows a specific career and life path, there are obstacles to sitting back and reflecting on the bigger picture, particularly the tendency to accept the prevailing view of one’s own industry and class. Naked Capitalism helps me to do precisely that.

My own “discovery” moment was in early 2022. For the first time in thirty years, I found myself with free time to carry out active research rather than act as a passive recipient of mainstream media. I cannot remember exactly how I found Naked Capitalism, but I think it was a reference from a comment on another site. Although I already sensed that a lot of mainstream commentary  was wrong, I lacked information to be sure.

The Ukraine War was my trigger. I knew that that pretty much all previous Western wars were not what they seemed at the time. I was keen to get to the bottom of this one.

Naked Capitalism was a revelation: It was the best source of high-quality written analysis on the true drivers, motivations, and background of what was happening. It also blended geopolitics, economics, and social considerations in a way that is rare, while avoiding polemics. I hope you remember how you looked at the world and your information sources before you found Naked Capitalism. If you do, and you now are a more savvy media consumer, please help support your and our joint effort to navigate an informational hall of mirrors by going straight to the Tip Jar and helping out.

I was hooked and found the content beyond Ukraine to be equally riveting on topics as diverse as Covid, Uber, and Climate. The common factor in Naked Capitalism’s treatment of all these topics is the desire to focus on reality, as well as a concern for the humanity of the situation. Both are sorely missing from mainstream narratives.

Through Naked Capitalism, I also discovered the writings of Michael Hudson and have been reintroduced to classical economic theory concerning the dangers of oligopoly and the related tendency for capitalists to extract socially destructive economic rent. These were hot topics four decades ago when I studied Economics but funnily enough seem to be ignored by today’s elites. Or worse, if they are discussed it is euphemistically and in a way seeks to portray ignorance as virtuous.

Through these means, Naked Capitalism sheds light on our unprecedented levels of economic inequality, and explains how “the economy” is not socially advantageous or the result of true innovation but is deeply oligarchic and financialized. I know of no other similar site that does this in such an incisive and comprehensive way. Even if many of us know instinctively that our current system is exploitative, we can stand firmer, particularly in debates with friends and family, if we can explain how we got here and how the system is designed to siphon benefits to a few.

Given my own background, much of the analysis hits home. But I also recognize the truth of it. I have seen at first hand the ability of the PMC and elites to rationalize that their self-interest is somehow morally virtuous and then to act in very herd like and performative ways. I have seen and may have also have unwittingly contributed to many of the issues that Naked Capitalism raises. Bank IT expert Clive discussed the conundrum at length in his 2018 fundraiser post: “Increasingly, if you want to get and hang on to a middle class job, that job will involve dishonesty or exploitation of others in some way.” Shedding light on this syndrome is one way that Naked Capitalism contributes to making real change.

I cancelled all my existing MSM subscriptions to keep myself from subsidizing propaganda voluntarily (besides through my taxes). I urge you to do so too, if you haven’t already, and donate to Naked Capitalism instead. The Tip Jar is over there!

The Tip Jar is very important and a great way to say thank you. The effort involved in creating Naked Capitalism is immense. You can read multiple posts every day, all incisive and written to a high standard. Nearly every day, there are one or two original articles written by the site authors and regular contributors. You can read the daily Links, which showcases articles from a wide variety of sources, seven days a week. Naked Capitalism also selects and republishes articles from other sources. These cross-posts are not just cut and pasted; they often start with a serious analysis of the piece from a Naked Capitalism perspective — and that may not be deferential! The aim is to inform, even at the risk of ruffling the author’s feathers. That on its own would be a lot.

Then on top of the articles Naked Capitalism offers what is by far the best curated reader comments section anywhere. It is genuinely like a well-tended garden from which weeds are rooted out very quickly. I have no idea if Yves even sleeps given the apparent round the clock nature of the moderation. That demonstrates a real dedication and care for the site. The world class quality of the comments section is the outcome.

This amazing output deserves reciprocity from the reader and commentariat community. Naked Capitalism needs to be supported to continue. Putting money into the tip jar will yield major returns, not only to you, but to the readership, and the wider world.