Consumindo capital

Relacionado com o post abaixo, Consuming Our Capital por Butler Shaffer:

A sure-fire sign of a business enterprise in decline is when it begins using its invested capital to pay operating expenses. Such signs of ill-health are not confined to the world of commerce and industry, but can exhibit themselves in the life of any system. We are witnessing the practice in the collapse of Western Civilization, as we scurry to meet short-term demands by sacrificing the foundations upon which our culture has long been grounded.

Civilizations are created and sustained by individuals; they are destroyed by collectives. In our case, the institutionalized collective has found the most expedient course of action to be found in consuming the capital upon which Western Civilization has long thrived. Like a spendthrift heir to an estate – whose upbringing has provided him with little sense of responsible behavior – far too many of us have been eager to scuttle the values that have kept us relatively free and prosperous. Being willing to play the political game of accepting short-term benefits in exchange for long-term costs – particularly if such are to be borne by others – we have helped to destroy the capital of our basic social system.