At this time of year we look at the past and hope for a better new year. A happy new year. But if we gaze into the crystal ball and have a look, we may shudder in horror. Chances are, the future will be filled with danger. The danger may be confined to the Middle East in the short term, but further on, we are all in grave danger.
The fact that the Americans lost the war in Iraq sets up a rather gruesome scenario. Imagine a world map to be a large game board with four players sitting at the table. One player represents America, the second player represents China, the third, Russia, and the fourth, Europe.
The first two players are most worriesome.
To win the game, control of resources, and particularily oil, is key.
Player two had not been a serious factor until recently. But now China, with a population of well over one billion, has been growing and growing an increasing thirst for oil to sustain its industry and higher standard of living.
The Decline of the American Empire
Bush gambled in Iraq and lost. For the Americans, the stakes were high. Winning the war would mean that they not only gain control of the vast oil resources in Iraq, but they would also be in a key position to control the politics of the region. Losing this war has consequences that may cripple the empire.
America spends approximately as much as the rest of the world in its military. This has nothing to do with defending its borders. It has everything to do with control and plunder. What America has lost the world over is respect. That loss of respect as well as a general loathing for not only the Iraqi massacre, but military interference in countries all over the world, has a substantial impact on their global influence. Iraq has shown the world that all the hype about The New World Order and their military might is just that; hype. Bush said that he has political capital after his last election. An ironic statement given the fact that America has gone into deep debt in that respect.
To make matters worse for the Americans, its traditional backyard, Central and South America have swallowed too much of the poison medicine that has been force fed to them by the Americans. They have had enough. America and the IMF and World bank have plundered Latin American nations to the point of crisis. Chavez of Venezuela has been using oil wealth to not only help the people of Venezuela but in neighbouring countries as well. Throughout Latin America, there is a resurgence of leftist energy as well as deep suspicion about the motives of the American state and private enterprise. Moderate socialists such as the recently elected Evo Morales in Bolivia have taken a sharp turn to the left to gain electoral support. Even his opponent, Jorge Quiroga, had done his best to distance himself from the Americans during their final debate before the election.
Perhaps most telling on the subject of respect is what is happening at the moment in the Canadian election. The Americans are openly attacking Prime Minister Paul Martin for his apparent anti American stance. The Americans charge that his attacks on America are a ploy to win the election. What is most significant about this is that the closest country to America, both geographically and politically, is Canada. But to win an election, to appeal to the electorate, cadidates must distance themselves from America and particularily, Bush.
For the past century and particularily the past 50 years, America has been able to control and influence heads of state all over the globe. World leaders in true quissling fashion, bowed to the might of American wealth, bribes, and the threat of military intervention. The key ingredient here was fear. The Americans used fear on a number of levels.
Tactics of the Empire
The tactics used by the empire to take control where they wanted to gain control were first, to use fraud and to seduce leaders with wealth and trinkets.
In this fascinating article (http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251) about his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins, spells out the methods the empire uses to take control. Here is an excerpt from the interview with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman. "And in Iraq we tried to implement the same policy that was so successful in Saudi Arabia, but Saddam Hussein didn't buy. When the economic hit men fail in this scenario, the next step is what we call the jackals. Jackals are C.I.A.-sanctioned people that come in and try to foment a coup or revolution. If that doesn't work, they perform assassinations. or try to. In the case of Iraq, they weren't able to get through to Saddam Hussein. He had -- His bodyguards were too good. He had doubles. They couldn’t get through to him. So the third line of defense, if the economic hit men and the jackals fail, the next line of defense is our young men and women, who are sent in to die and kill, which is what we’ve obviously done in Iraq." -Perkins
Their tactics, including all out war, failed in beleagured and impoverished Iraq. World leaders over the globe are thumbing therir noses at Bush and people the world over are not only thumbing their noses at him, but showing open contempt for Bush and American power generally. Where in the past it was politically advisable to sidle in with the Americans, it has now become a political liability.
Iraq
The Americans hoped to walk through Iraq and set up a puppet govenment. It backfired as a result of the political capital of Iranian born Ayatollah Sistani who demanded elections. As a result, Iraq will be governed by Shi'ite clergy either behind the scenes or explicitly. They have made vain attempts to install criminals such as Allawi and his cousin, Challabi, but it isn't working. We can predict then, that their next move will be to try to buy the Shi'ites. It probably won't work. The Americans don't understand the sincerity of a true faith in and fear of God. They will assasinate politicians and they will try and try again, but they will fail in Iraq.
The stupidity and insanity and greed that has taken Bush and his masters into Iraq has proven to be their biggest liability. It continues to be their biggest liability and it will continue to be. At this point everybody knows their game and they don't understand that. They are far too arrogant.
The scenario in the Middle East is one of increasing independence from American influence. It is likely that Iraq and Iran will forge an alliance and it will be quite natural given the Shi'ite populations in those countries. This also threatens Saudi Arabia with a large Shi'ite population and a large pool of oil. The spoiled princes of Saud can't be sleeping comfortably with threats not only on their doorstep, but within Saudi Arabia itself. A population that will be emboldened along with the whole Islamic world with the defeat of the Americans in Iraq.
Iraq is situated in a very strategic position geographically, but politically as well.
The Global Gameboard
Click on this link for a list of American interference incidents in foriegen nations since world war two:
http://www.krysstal.com/democracy_whyusa02.html
At this point th empire is in a desperate situation. They cannot afford to lose in Iraq but it is impossible for them to win. If history is an indicator, they will not simply cut their losses and run, at least not yet. The people of Iraq will have to endure more war through 2006. The Americans will try to maintain as much influence as possible.
It is also possible that Bush will be foolish enough to raise the stakes and attack Iran to try to cut the influence of the Shi'ites in the Middle East. It is not probable however. Doing so would not only be a further risk, but it would completely scrap any shread of credibility America may maintain at this point. The possibility that Iranian and eventually Iraqi oil may be exported mainly to China is a significant threat to them however. An expansion of the present war is certainly within the realm of possibilities.
But there are compelling situations cropping up all over the globe. Perhaps most significant is the developing situation in Latin America. While war is being waged in Iraq, the Americans are developing a military presence in Latin America that is unprecedented. Even poor countries like Haiti are important to the Americans at the game board. While busy in Iraq, they weren't too busy to invade and usurp the legitimate government of Aristide. Chavez would be well advised to surround himself with body guards in 2006. Not only Venezuela, but other Latin American countries are increasing exports of raw materials to China. The future may see more military activity in South America.
Standing up to the Americans has proven to not only be possible as in Iraq, but a worthwhile endeavor as shown when the Argentianians have shown the IMF the way to the door. The Argentians and now the Iraqis have shown the world that defiance of America is no pipe dream. It can be done. The Americans are attempting to show the world the cost of defiance through the bloody massacre of thousands of innocent people.
As America fumbles and trips, the Chinese seem to know exactly what they are doing. Russia is watching and waiting and Europe may carefully distance itself from Uncle Sam. Everybody is getting a sense of direction and it isn't going well for the empire. Where this game could go eventually would make today seem a picnic.
At this point in history, when imperialism has reached its zenith, the father of all imperialists has received a staggering blow. As the situation becomes more desperate, the possibility for more war increases. Unfortunately, this is not a game. It is very real and this year, as in 2005, that reality will be felt mostly by the people of Iraq. Beyond that, the struggle for control of the planet's wealth may place many of us in the same brutal situation as the Iraqis are today.
The year 2006, perhaps more than ever, demands a call for peace. We all have a part to play. In fact this is not some obscure game that is out of our reach. In reality, we can make a difference. The time to be meek has passed. Demand peace for the people of Iraq in 2006. And if you don't care about the people of Iraq, consider this: War clouds are on the horizon whether you see them or not and you may be swallowed up by them beyond 2006.
This blog is an archive of articles I've published in MWC News, Indymedia, and on Newsgroups.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Monday, December 12, 2005
Good Bye Tookie Williams
Arnold Schwarzenegger held the power of life or death for Stan 'Tookie' Williams. Choosing death serves absolutely nobody. He made the choice to legally murder Tookie Williams. He made the choice to appease the racist bloodlust of those that vote for him and that is why Tookie Williams will die tonight.
Mr. Williams is accused of murder. But to murder a man to appease voters is a deed, evil of biblical proportions.
Peace to you Mr. Williams. The world knows that you are a good man. Let us pray that you will never again see the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger in any realms you may find yourself.
Mr. Williams is accused of murder. But to murder a man to appease voters is a deed, evil of biblical proportions.
Peace to you Mr. Williams. The world knows that you are a good man. Let us pray that you will never again see the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger in any realms you may find yourself.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
The Art of Tyranny
Condoleezza Rice is making the rounds in Europe, ostensibly defending the American practice of extraordinary rendition; that is, the practice of secretly kidnapping and torturing what it deems to be suspects. But that is merely a ruse and given the nature and history of that administration, it would be reasonable to suggest everything they do is has an ulterior motive.
It is a ruse, a distraction and a smoke and mirrors game. The real intent of Rice's admission that people are rounded up in the middle of the night and spirited away to secret prisons across Europe as well as locations all over the world, is to normalize such practices. This has been happening throughout the Bush administration's time in power. They have provided a thin and flimsy defense for the most horrific crimes imaginable, including the mass slaughter that continues to grind along in Iraq with no relief in sight for the poor innocent people of that abused country.
Within the context of these thin and flimsy rationalizations, Rice and apologists for this practice of normalizing fascism make claims that they are in the process of installing democracy and freedom in these assumed international backwaters. In the meantime, they are torturing detainees, waging illegal war, and locking people up without trial. The contradictions are too obvious. They have no intention of persuading people that they are democratic or champions of freedom. Within the context of which they are operating, it would take exceptional naivity to even entertain faith in this barely visible veneer of good intentions.
They are and have been sending an implicit message to the world. No only to the international community, but to the American population as well. That message is that the very underpinnings of modern legal principles means nothing; that this is The New World Order and we are in charge. Cross us and you will be crushed whether you are defending your country or even if you are an unfriendly or independent news source.
Rice maintains that the U.S. does not condone torture, a statement that Bush has recently been repeating. When can we remember reasonable leaders repeating, over and over again that they do not condone torture? It isn't done because reasonabe people don't torture people. The people that would make such utterances would be generals in Latin America in the 80's, the tyrants of Asia or Africa, the Stalinists and so on. They said they didn't do it because they indeed did it. If you will torture, chances are you will also lie. Those kinds of defences occur within a context of tyranny, they are the smoke from a burning fire.
Rice also said in her recent news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that they need good intellegence to face down the threat of terrorism. They need to defeat the terrorists that wantonly kill civilians and Rice made the distinction between that and collatoral damage. This splitting hairs and justification of bombing the life out of civilian populations again is a means of normalizing state terror and tyranny.
Previous to this news coference with Merkel, Rice chastised Europeans for criticizing the American practice of rendition. She said that interrogations of these suspects have saved European lives. This is a loaded statement. First, it blows the cover off the rationale for the renditions. They are to interrogate people outside the restraints of the law. In other words, Rice is admitting here that the detainees are tortured. Secondly, there is a hint here that European lives are more valuable than say, Iraqi, or Arab lives. Rice also reminded some Europeans that their hands are not clean either and they better just shut up. Europe is nowhere near as comfortable and not only are the population and the media unfriendly to the spirit of fascism but many politicians are as well. An all party committee in Britain recently issued a report that said even giving permission to fuel fligts to collect prisoners in the Middel East would breach interntional law. Europeans are recognizing that they are in bed with the devil.
European leaders may be genuinely disgusted at these practices or maybe they have to deal with a more informed and sensitive domestic population that does Rice. In any case, they must at least show a degree of outrage at these practices. Enter stage Right; Condoleezza Rice and the traveling road show. One of many that have graced the world stage over the past five years with the same mesages repeated over and over; We don't torure and murder because murder means this and torture means that.
European leaders have been collaborating with the Americans in the war on terror and have proven to be pliable and weak. Now they are in a position where they must cooperate with the devil or be exposed for all they have done in that collaborative effort. Over 400 rendition flights have landed in Germany. It is no wonder than that Merkel appeared a little nervous standing next to Rice. She had to choose her words very carefully.
Perhaps all world leaders, with exceptions such as Chavez and Castro, have publicly wrangled with the Americans for domestic consumption and at the same time colluded with them behind the scenes. There is a price to pay for this 'dealing with the devil' sort of cowardice. The price is, when you do it, the devil gets control of your soul. And that is exctly what this devil does best; it controls anything and everybody it can.
Throughout history, world powers have emerged with the intent to dominate and terrorize with the aim to take over the world, no less. It is happening again and it is America that is doing it. And when this happens, the true nature of political leaders is exposed. Their slippery cowardice is evident for all to see. They side against those they see as weak in order to curry favour from those with power. Even the most elemental morality is ignored in this persuit.
Is the is the duty of all of us to keep on top of this process and to talk about it and to write about it. Above all, it is our duty to stand against the tyrants and their accomplices and to stand in solidarity with the victims. As Bush himself said, you are either with us or against us. Let him know in no uncertain terms that we are against him. He is the alpha and the omega of terrorism.
(Previously published in MWC NEWS)
It is a ruse, a distraction and a smoke and mirrors game. The real intent of Rice's admission that people are rounded up in the middle of the night and spirited away to secret prisons across Europe as well as locations all over the world, is to normalize such practices. This has been happening throughout the Bush administration's time in power. They have provided a thin and flimsy defense for the most horrific crimes imaginable, including the mass slaughter that continues to grind along in Iraq with no relief in sight for the poor innocent people of that abused country.
Within the context of these thin and flimsy rationalizations, Rice and apologists for this practice of normalizing fascism make claims that they are in the process of installing democracy and freedom in these assumed international backwaters. In the meantime, they are torturing detainees, waging illegal war, and locking people up without trial. The contradictions are too obvious. They have no intention of persuading people that they are democratic or champions of freedom. Within the context of which they are operating, it would take exceptional naivity to even entertain faith in this barely visible veneer of good intentions.
They are and have been sending an implicit message to the world. No only to the international community, but to the American population as well. That message is that the very underpinnings of modern legal principles means nothing; that this is The New World Order and we are in charge. Cross us and you will be crushed whether you are defending your country or even if you are an unfriendly or independent news source.
Rice maintains that the U.S. does not condone torture, a statement that Bush has recently been repeating. When can we remember reasonable leaders repeating, over and over again that they do not condone torture? It isn't done because reasonabe people don't torture people. The people that would make such utterances would be generals in Latin America in the 80's, the tyrants of Asia or Africa, the Stalinists and so on. They said they didn't do it because they indeed did it. If you will torture, chances are you will also lie. Those kinds of defences occur within a context of tyranny, they are the smoke from a burning fire.
Rice also said in her recent news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel that they need good intellegence to face down the threat of terrorism. They need to defeat the terrorists that wantonly kill civilians and Rice made the distinction between that and collatoral damage. This splitting hairs and justification of bombing the life out of civilian populations again is a means of normalizing state terror and tyranny.
Previous to this news coference with Merkel, Rice chastised Europeans for criticizing the American practice of rendition. She said that interrogations of these suspects have saved European lives. This is a loaded statement. First, it blows the cover off the rationale for the renditions. They are to interrogate people outside the restraints of the law. In other words, Rice is admitting here that the detainees are tortured. Secondly, there is a hint here that European lives are more valuable than say, Iraqi, or Arab lives. Rice also reminded some Europeans that their hands are not clean either and they better just shut up. Europe is nowhere near as comfortable and not only are the population and the media unfriendly to the spirit of fascism but many politicians are as well. An all party committee in Britain recently issued a report that said even giving permission to fuel fligts to collect prisoners in the Middel East would breach interntional law. Europeans are recognizing that they are in bed with the devil.
European leaders may be genuinely disgusted at these practices or maybe they have to deal with a more informed and sensitive domestic population that does Rice. In any case, they must at least show a degree of outrage at these practices. Enter stage Right; Condoleezza Rice and the traveling road show. One of many that have graced the world stage over the past five years with the same mesages repeated over and over; We don't torure and murder because murder means this and torture means that.
European leaders have been collaborating with the Americans in the war on terror and have proven to be pliable and weak. Now they are in a position where they must cooperate with the devil or be exposed for all they have done in that collaborative effort. Over 400 rendition flights have landed in Germany. It is no wonder than that Merkel appeared a little nervous standing next to Rice. She had to choose her words very carefully.
Perhaps all world leaders, with exceptions such as Chavez and Castro, have publicly wrangled with the Americans for domestic consumption and at the same time colluded with them behind the scenes. There is a price to pay for this 'dealing with the devil' sort of cowardice. The price is, when you do it, the devil gets control of your soul. And that is exctly what this devil does best; it controls anything and everybody it can.
Throughout history, world powers have emerged with the intent to dominate and terrorize with the aim to take over the world, no less. It is happening again and it is America that is doing it. And when this happens, the true nature of political leaders is exposed. Their slippery cowardice is evident for all to see. They side against those they see as weak in order to curry favour from those with power. Even the most elemental morality is ignored in this persuit.
Is the is the duty of all of us to keep on top of this process and to talk about it and to write about it. Above all, it is our duty to stand against the tyrants and their accomplices and to stand in solidarity with the victims. As Bush himself said, you are either with us or against us. Let him know in no uncertain terms that we are against him. He is the alpha and the omega of terrorism.
(Previously published in MWC NEWS)
Thursday, December 01, 2005
The Nature of the Beast
Humanity has slipped into the grip of an alien and alienating force. It is no exaggertion to describe this force as a phantom. It has no mass, no shape or colour, or no basis in tangible reality. It is located in the abstract. This entity is more powerful and potentially horrific than anything that has been manufactured in the imaginations of fiction writers. Reality indeed is stranger than fiction. This entity has taken control of the world in a very short time. It directly impacts the psychology and every aspect of the lives of a large portion of humanity. We have been shaped by it and in turn, we have shaped it. This dialectic however is changing and our influence over our alien monarch is waning.
That ghost is capitalism itself and we instictively pay homage to it. We know where we came from and we know that it is this force that delivered us. We have an inkling that it is naturally democratic and somewhat gentle and kind. But there are some unavoidable flaws in that dim view. Especially in the recent past. The problem seems to be that the whole thing is turning on us and although we always knew it had a malevolent streak, we thought we could live with it. To decide properly whether or not we can continue to live with it into the future, we must examine its very nature.
The nature of capitalism is predatorial, it is hungry, and it is dominant over the affairs and lives of human beings. It demands to be fed and like a shark, it must keep moving and eating or it will die. It will root out every corner of human habitation, usurp the culture and traditions, and take over. It has no human sentiment or moralistic constraints. It will support human habits that will support it and will ravage any and all that stand in its way.
It is worth pointing out that it is a phantom and exists only in the realm of illusion if we aim to study its nature. It is as surely from the realm of the abstract as a dog or a chair exist in the realm of tangible reality. Capital itself is represented in money and money has no substance or value in itself. A coin means nothing more than a round piece of metal to anybody that has not been taken possession of by the phantom. But to those of us that have been taken under it's spell, money rules our lives.
Capitalism was born in humble surroundings. Some bookkeeper, somewhere in the mists of history, discovered that wealth can be increased through a relatively simple process. If a worker is hired to make a chair and is paid less than what the chair is sold for, the difference goes into the pocket of the person that hired the worker. If one hundred chairs are made in this way, there is that much more for the sorceror. As capitalism grew from these humble roots, its nature changed. It is, by its very nature, a powerful revolutionary force. It never remains still and it is an ever growing shape shifter. It does however have tendencies and a nature that render it predictable to a large degree. What is happening today was predicted well over one hundred years ago and if we study the nature of capitalism, we can get a general sense of where we are going.
The energy that drives its growth is profit. As the beast grows more and more massive, the potential for profit diminishes in a given unit of exchange and as a result, the terms of human exploitation become increasingly severe. Henry Ford may have had the luxury of actually paying his workers well enough to buy the cars, but those days are long gone. There is increasing pressure toward lowering wages. The capitalist state may have had the foresight to implement social spending measures in the 1930s to the 1970s creating more demand for goods and services, but those days seem to be behind us. Social democratic politicians are as severe with cutbacks and belt tightening as those from the right.
Capitalism has grown from domination of small shops and enterprises to the domination of the state and now it is in the process of taking over the world. As we continue to feed it's increasing demand for more and more wealth, its traditional source of food can no longer satisfy a now ravaneous and insatiable appetite. Workers cannot fetch the portion of wealth that they had enjoyed in the hay days of capitalism. Instead, capital must seek out better terms of exploitation and it does this in parts of the world where people are happy to work for a pittance to escape the ravages of starvation and poverty.
It has grown to a point where the quaint competitive nature that urged free enterprise no longer exists. Local merchants are crushed under the weight of large international monpolies. It has become a hungry psychopath that has literally has taken over much of the world and there is no escaping its grasp. We are in its clutches. And what that means to any given individual has a lot to do with his or her position, or relationship, to capital. If I am a producer of capital, my situation for myself and my children get more and more desperate as the years roll by. If, on the other hand, I am a capitalist, my power and wealth grow dramatically through time. To me, this is not a demon but a god.
This is a system that has provided for human needs to an extent that could never be imagined by people that preceded its development and growth. But as it matures, and it matures at ever increasing rates, it becomes increasingly inhumane. The meeting of human needs has always been a residual effect of this system and that is what gives it legitimacy and the amazing sticking power that it has. Caring for human needs is not a sentiment that is a characteristic of capitalism however. It is not a trustworthy or even desirable means to satisfy human needs. It has the soul of a psychopath and if humans must be slaughtered or deprived in order to optomize capitalistic conditions, so be it.
CEOs that make decisions based in human sentiment or compassion will not be CEOs for long. Investors will fire them and hire CEOs that will maximize profit. For instance, corporate managers might make a decision to follow Henry Ford's footsteps and pay workers enough to create demand. Investors will bail on that enterprise of fire the managers because on the level of international monopolies, competition is not dead. And THAT is a huge problem that promises to become a significant military threat. Other corporate interests will chew up and spit out idealists in the coliseum of imperial capitalism.
At this point, capital has become concentrated and it controls and is controlled by large international capitalist entities. National states have become subservient to international imperialism. Financial oligarcies not only have control of modern states, but they also have a stranglehold on developing nations. Through the World Bank and the IMF, they demand that the people of developing states feed the growing monster. Social programs and public services are not tolerated if they might result in providing for the people that are suffering if a concimitant restraint on profit is part of the equation. The monster will place control of basic needs in the hands of foriegn capitalists (or domestic capitalists) and they will put their price on vital needs. They will privatize electricity, food, medicine, and even water.
The acquisition of colonies by large powers has taken on a new sense of urgency. In the past few decades we see solomn serious importance heaped upon free trade agreements, privatization, and globalization. This is spun as the salvation of every developing corner of the world. What is happening today is coloniel expolitation on speed. Prior to the development of true capitalism, England, France, Spain and other imperial nations have plundered colonies and stole their wealth with barely a veneer of fair play. Often, they commited genocide and stole the wealth of the people outright. The wealth of nations and rich people was something close to a zero sum game then and increasing wealth meant taking it by force. And now, in these days of mature capitalism, we are returning to the mathematics of a zero sum game and worse when we consider the aggregate of human needs in the world opposed to the wealth that is alive in circulation. The need for creating new markets, finding cheap labour, and appropriating raw materials is greater now than ever before. The American state spends over a billion dollars a day on its military which is roughly equal to what the rest of the world spends. The American military is the claws and the teeth of this ever growing monopolist imperialism.
What is most disturbing is the potential that exists for massive world wars in the future. Huge trading blocks are competing for limited resources with the pressing need to keep feeding their own hungry ghosts. The alliances that are developing now, perhaps unwittingly, are preparing the stage for another major world war. Discussion of major wars has gone the way of the USSR. Many actually believe that the fall of the Soviet Union was the end of history as if the cold war was the war to end all wars. China is developing into a major world power with its own hunger for oil that will soon be insatiable. Russia, China, America, and Europe are all positioning themselves for control of this vital commodity. It is no accident that oil billionaires have taken control of the most powerful state and the most powerful military in the world; the United States of America. Control of oil is vital.
The ugly slaughter that is happening today in Iraq may be a glimpse into a far worse future. Economic and political policies are dictated by the needs of capital. Politicians of all stripes are increasingly under the dictatorship of this ethereal monarch. It is no exaggeration to conclude that humanity has come under the spell and control of a non human phantom, a ghostly psychopath, that has but one need; the need to grow. Futhermore, this inhuman spook not only has the capacity, but it is in its very nature to destroy humanity.
What we do know is that the war in Iraq is not about weapons of mass destruction or implanting democracy at gunpoint. Iraq was invaded by oil billionaires and you don't hafta be a rocket scientist to figure out why. What is truly frightening is the speed with which capitalist powers can suddenly rally masses of people to pound war drums and march in step. This is the handiwork of yet another appendage of the grand spook; the yellow corporate media. And as we become seduced, we too become mindless murderous drones caught under the spell of a force that could make Adolph Hitler seem soft and sentimental. Even the poison of nationalism will perish when capital has no more use for its useless sentimentality.
What is needed now is analysis and debate on the true nature of capitalism, imperialism, war and politics. We must stand up against war and plunder and we must fight the excesses and ambitions of our malevolent master. At this stage of the game, we need more than awareness and debate. We need action and we need it now. Imperialism has already started to consume the flesh and the life of human beings. And if we understand the nature of the beast, we have to conclude that things are only going to get worse.
(Previously published in MWC News)
That ghost is capitalism itself and we instictively pay homage to it. We know where we came from and we know that it is this force that delivered us. We have an inkling that it is naturally democratic and somewhat gentle and kind. But there are some unavoidable flaws in that dim view. Especially in the recent past. The problem seems to be that the whole thing is turning on us and although we always knew it had a malevolent streak, we thought we could live with it. To decide properly whether or not we can continue to live with it into the future, we must examine its very nature.
The nature of capitalism is predatorial, it is hungry, and it is dominant over the affairs and lives of human beings. It demands to be fed and like a shark, it must keep moving and eating or it will die. It will root out every corner of human habitation, usurp the culture and traditions, and take over. It has no human sentiment or moralistic constraints. It will support human habits that will support it and will ravage any and all that stand in its way.
It is worth pointing out that it is a phantom and exists only in the realm of illusion if we aim to study its nature. It is as surely from the realm of the abstract as a dog or a chair exist in the realm of tangible reality. Capital itself is represented in money and money has no substance or value in itself. A coin means nothing more than a round piece of metal to anybody that has not been taken possession of by the phantom. But to those of us that have been taken under it's spell, money rules our lives.
Capitalism was born in humble surroundings. Some bookkeeper, somewhere in the mists of history, discovered that wealth can be increased through a relatively simple process. If a worker is hired to make a chair and is paid less than what the chair is sold for, the difference goes into the pocket of the person that hired the worker. If one hundred chairs are made in this way, there is that much more for the sorceror. As capitalism grew from these humble roots, its nature changed. It is, by its very nature, a powerful revolutionary force. It never remains still and it is an ever growing shape shifter. It does however have tendencies and a nature that render it predictable to a large degree. What is happening today was predicted well over one hundred years ago and if we study the nature of capitalism, we can get a general sense of where we are going.
The energy that drives its growth is profit. As the beast grows more and more massive, the potential for profit diminishes in a given unit of exchange and as a result, the terms of human exploitation become increasingly severe. Henry Ford may have had the luxury of actually paying his workers well enough to buy the cars, but those days are long gone. There is increasing pressure toward lowering wages. The capitalist state may have had the foresight to implement social spending measures in the 1930s to the 1970s creating more demand for goods and services, but those days seem to be behind us. Social democratic politicians are as severe with cutbacks and belt tightening as those from the right.
Capitalism has grown from domination of small shops and enterprises to the domination of the state and now it is in the process of taking over the world. As we continue to feed it's increasing demand for more and more wealth, its traditional source of food can no longer satisfy a now ravaneous and insatiable appetite. Workers cannot fetch the portion of wealth that they had enjoyed in the hay days of capitalism. Instead, capital must seek out better terms of exploitation and it does this in parts of the world where people are happy to work for a pittance to escape the ravages of starvation and poverty.
It has grown to a point where the quaint competitive nature that urged free enterprise no longer exists. Local merchants are crushed under the weight of large international monpolies. It has become a hungry psychopath that has literally has taken over much of the world and there is no escaping its grasp. We are in its clutches. And what that means to any given individual has a lot to do with his or her position, or relationship, to capital. If I am a producer of capital, my situation for myself and my children get more and more desperate as the years roll by. If, on the other hand, I am a capitalist, my power and wealth grow dramatically through time. To me, this is not a demon but a god.
This is a system that has provided for human needs to an extent that could never be imagined by people that preceded its development and growth. But as it matures, and it matures at ever increasing rates, it becomes increasingly inhumane. The meeting of human needs has always been a residual effect of this system and that is what gives it legitimacy and the amazing sticking power that it has. Caring for human needs is not a sentiment that is a characteristic of capitalism however. It is not a trustworthy or even desirable means to satisfy human needs. It has the soul of a psychopath and if humans must be slaughtered or deprived in order to optomize capitalistic conditions, so be it.
CEOs that make decisions based in human sentiment or compassion will not be CEOs for long. Investors will fire them and hire CEOs that will maximize profit. For instance, corporate managers might make a decision to follow Henry Ford's footsteps and pay workers enough to create demand. Investors will bail on that enterprise of fire the managers because on the level of international monopolies, competition is not dead. And THAT is a huge problem that promises to become a significant military threat. Other corporate interests will chew up and spit out idealists in the coliseum of imperial capitalism.
At this point, capital has become concentrated and it controls and is controlled by large international capitalist entities. National states have become subservient to international imperialism. Financial oligarcies not only have control of modern states, but they also have a stranglehold on developing nations. Through the World Bank and the IMF, they demand that the people of developing states feed the growing monster. Social programs and public services are not tolerated if they might result in providing for the people that are suffering if a concimitant restraint on profit is part of the equation. The monster will place control of basic needs in the hands of foriegn capitalists (or domestic capitalists) and they will put their price on vital needs. They will privatize electricity, food, medicine, and even water.
The acquisition of colonies by large powers has taken on a new sense of urgency. In the past few decades we see solomn serious importance heaped upon free trade agreements, privatization, and globalization. This is spun as the salvation of every developing corner of the world. What is happening today is coloniel expolitation on speed. Prior to the development of true capitalism, England, France, Spain and other imperial nations have plundered colonies and stole their wealth with barely a veneer of fair play. Often, they commited genocide and stole the wealth of the people outright. The wealth of nations and rich people was something close to a zero sum game then and increasing wealth meant taking it by force. And now, in these days of mature capitalism, we are returning to the mathematics of a zero sum game and worse when we consider the aggregate of human needs in the world opposed to the wealth that is alive in circulation. The need for creating new markets, finding cheap labour, and appropriating raw materials is greater now than ever before. The American state spends over a billion dollars a day on its military which is roughly equal to what the rest of the world spends. The American military is the claws and the teeth of this ever growing monopolist imperialism.
What is most disturbing is the potential that exists for massive world wars in the future. Huge trading blocks are competing for limited resources with the pressing need to keep feeding their own hungry ghosts. The alliances that are developing now, perhaps unwittingly, are preparing the stage for another major world war. Discussion of major wars has gone the way of the USSR. Many actually believe that the fall of the Soviet Union was the end of history as if the cold war was the war to end all wars. China is developing into a major world power with its own hunger for oil that will soon be insatiable. Russia, China, America, and Europe are all positioning themselves for control of this vital commodity. It is no accident that oil billionaires have taken control of the most powerful state and the most powerful military in the world; the United States of America. Control of oil is vital.
The ugly slaughter that is happening today in Iraq may be a glimpse into a far worse future. Economic and political policies are dictated by the needs of capital. Politicians of all stripes are increasingly under the dictatorship of this ethereal monarch. It is no exaggeration to conclude that humanity has come under the spell and control of a non human phantom, a ghostly psychopath, that has but one need; the need to grow. Futhermore, this inhuman spook not only has the capacity, but it is in its very nature to destroy humanity.
What we do know is that the war in Iraq is not about weapons of mass destruction or implanting democracy at gunpoint. Iraq was invaded by oil billionaires and you don't hafta be a rocket scientist to figure out why. What is truly frightening is the speed with which capitalist powers can suddenly rally masses of people to pound war drums and march in step. This is the handiwork of yet another appendage of the grand spook; the yellow corporate media. And as we become seduced, we too become mindless murderous drones caught under the spell of a force that could make Adolph Hitler seem soft and sentimental. Even the poison of nationalism will perish when capital has no more use for its useless sentimentality.
What is needed now is analysis and debate on the true nature of capitalism, imperialism, war and politics. We must stand up against war and plunder and we must fight the excesses and ambitions of our malevolent master. At this stage of the game, we need more than awareness and debate. We need action and we need it now. Imperialism has already started to consume the flesh and the life of human beings. And if we understand the nature of the beast, we have to conclude that things are only going to get worse.
(Previously published in MWC News)
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