Very good article, Glenn.
I am pleased to see how it's becoming increasingly obvious to progressives that capitalism is not a workable system for the great majority of people in the world today. Though I fully understand that most progressives are not yet willing to fully give up on capitalism at this point in time but are instead hoping to somehow "tame" it via various reforms and laws that will somehow coerce the system into being more workable for the majority, it's the hope of true blue socialists like myself that eventually all the progressives who continue to put hope in the idea that there is a difference between "true capitalism" and "crony capitalism" will finally abandon the system altogether and support working towards the formation of a truly progressive system that will be without class divisions, without money as its lifeblood, and without the type of state apparatus we have today, which is primarily designed to enforce class rule--i.e., the power and privilege wielded by the likes of Harold Ford and his brethren--on the rest of society who does all the useful work.
Capitalism was indeed a progressive system when it first appeared back in an era when the productive capacity of civilization was primitive and we were technologically incapable of producing an abundance for all, but that all changed with the onset of capitalism's great legacy to the world, the Industrial Revolution. Since we now have the capability of producing an abundance for all, the idea of a barter system using an artificial medium of exchange (i.e., money) is archaic and outright ridiculous. Moreover, the level of technology and capacity for producition which today exists in all the First World nations effectively renders the "can't pay, can't have" mentality of capitalism utterly destructive to the future social progress of the world.
Yes, we always hear that the ideals of socialists are "utopian," "pie in the sky," "contrary to human nature," "looks good on paper but is unrealistic in practice," and worst of all, that it's been tried and failed in many nations that claimed to be "socialist" and "communist" but were actually practicing what is best called state capitalism, a despotic system of ownership of the industries and services by a small class of bureaucrats that has absolutely nothing in common with the actual system formulated by Marx and Engels.
As long as a system like capitalism continues to be unchallenged by the working classes of the world (as you noted in your article) the destiny of the world will continue to be ruled and controlled by parasites like the Fords, the Bushes, the Cheneys, and the rest of their ilk who confiscate the lion's share of the wealth that labor creates for them because of the fact that our current system is based on private ownership of the industries and services (or other variants of the current system in other nations that are based on state ownership) rather than social ownership of all the people in society, not just a privileged handful of the population.
I side with progressives at this time because though most of them still believe capitalism can be salvaged and "rescued" from control by the parasites that are the inevitable result of such a system, people like you nevertheless support and hold dear the abstract principles that America is supposed to be founded upon, i.e., the essence of the Constitution, and one day I am confident that the great majority of progressives will abandon their goal of creating a "kinder and gentler" form of capitalism and look towards truly fundamental change instead, to a new system that will truly allow life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all the people in the world, and not just a fortunate few.
Thank you for continuing to fight the good fight, Glenn.