MWC News must grow and diversify. I don't mean MWC exclusively. I mean all independent progressive media.
The notion of a free press is not just a nice compliment to free and democratic societies. It is fundamental. It is necessary.
Independent media provides a measure of balance to the weight of commercial mainstream media. But that balance weighs heavily in favour of a single special interest. That special interest is private capital. Therein lies the rub. That special interest necessarily have the wherewithal to publish their views in their interests for their ends. They are organized, they have an agenda, and they have money; an endless supply of it.
And they are actively working against the rest of us.
Mainstream media is attractive and slick. They know how to appeal to the ordinary news junky and the ordinary news consumer and they do it well. They spin stories with simplistic and appealing angles and story lines. They make salient issues that promote their own interests and completely shun perspectives that show them for what they are.
Perhaps the most significant obstacle to independent media is funding. Independent media are competing against those with mega money and power. This practical problem has to be addressed. Funding is not a problem for the mainstream; integrity, dedication, and quality are problems for them. They provide quality bells and whistles, but their analysis and content are garbage. We have our strengths and weaknesses and they have theirs.
The good news is that we are becoming more and more relevant. That is, the quality of independent media is growing and word is getting out.
Resources
Exploiting commercial revenue may not be the ridiculous notion it appears to be at first glance. Going commercial, that is, using adverizing revenue, may be an appealing option. We live within a context of capitalism and fixating ourselves within idealistic constraints is akin to picking a fight with a bully and tying one arm behind our collective back. But in practical terms, it is no answer. Advertizers would necessarily hold power over editorial policy. Even if this was not done explicitly, it would be done covertly. Editors, if faced with a story or information that may shine an uncomfortable light on the funders, would downplay, spin, or scrap the information. They could be used however. Money addicts are whores of a sort and if it makes money for them, they will use any and all ideological bents. It wouldn't be an issue for most advertizers. If it is widely read or watched, and popular, they will get in on it. The very large dark side of this is that we would lose at least a measure of independence, and we would be climbing into bed, however superficially, with a demon.
In Britain the BBC is funded through the television license that all television viewers in Britain must pay. This provides BBC with the singular luxury of providing relatively unbiased and quality news programming. The BBC is linked however to the British State and is governed through legislation. In that way, it is similar to the CBC in Canada which shrinks through time as the Canadian State is increasingly dominated by the political right. Still, the BBC is a refreshing change from American, Canadian, or British bubble-gum news sources. The farther we get from the centre of American power, the more diverse the opinions are in media; or so it seems. Asian, mainland European media or African media may put out stories that are highly critical of capitalism, of states, and provide intelligent analysis.
A problem with concentrating alternative media is that it would be subject to ideological or private interests. It would be a coveted jewel and jewel thieves would be salivating at gaining control of it. This problem could be controlled through functional and structural planning.
There is something amazingly democratic and potent about the freedom that exists now with technology being what it is. We are collectively doing a wonderful job of presenting news, analysis, and a myriad of opinions through MWC, Democracy Now, Counterpunch, and many, many more.
Democracy Now
Democracy Now is a multi dimensional news outlet with written media as well as radio and television. It does not accept corporate or government funding and is funded by its users and through foundations. Democracy Now is the idea. We should build upon and diversify this grand idea. Not to compete with or muscle in on its territory but to provide more diversity. Democracy Now is well named and what it does is patently democratic. Further to this, it promotes and heightens the quality of democracy in America and worldwide. It has had guests such as Hugo Chavez, Noam Chomsky, Bill Clinton, Bill Moyers, Howard Zinn, John Perkins and continually provides us with compelling and stimulating articles and programs. Democracy Now is based in America and has a tendency toward an American left wing perspective. It has quality and it has its limitations.
This will take much effort from talented and resourced individuals and organizations to build MWC into a complementary multi media news outlet but that is what I'm proposing. The key here is solidarity and we need to bring together people with common and not specific goals. Individuals with specific goals may prove to be a hindrance to efficiency and news content.
MWC News has nowhere to go but up. There is a huge vacuum in the wake of glib and superficial mainstream media. A media that cannot satisfy those that want real answers and intelligent analysis.
In some ways I have (unintentionally) tested MWC News with articles and opinions that could be quite controversial. They were not cut. Editoral discussions on changes have been open and frank as well as educational (thank you Shahram). This is an incredibly free and high quality outlet with much potential.
This outlet has a very good basis for building on, and hopefully in cooperation with other sources such as Democracy Now we will continue to build MWC as well as a substantial network of progressive media.
This blog is an archive of articles I've published in MWC News, Indymedia, and on Newsgroups.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
The Death of Great Britain
In England today you can't miss the ubiqutous Red Cross. St. Georges Flag is everywhere; in pubs, fluttering on cars, hanging from windows. The World Cup is on and England is fully English. It's almost enough to make a Catholic Scot light a match. But just hold on a minute. There is more to this than meets the eye.
Something is missing. It is a rare sight to see a Union Jack; that flag that has been pushed in the faces of Scots, The Irish, The Welsh, as well as Canadians, Indians, Australians, Kenyans and people in countries all over the world. People that hated and despised the British had reasons for their hate. They were crushed under the weight of the cruelty of British imperalism. They are insulted by that busy mess of crosses and are reminded of the slaughter and domination over their own ancestors. It is understandable and even forgivable if they react with venom over the sight of John Bull's pompus shirt.
There is something more to this than a preference over one flag over another. This isn't just a matter of aesthetics. The English have had it. They don't want to be reminded of their past. The English people have no fundamental complaint with their neighbours.
There are two aspects to nationalism. One is a sense of unifying communities and a celebration of culture. The other a sense of xenophobia and forcing others to submit to their culture. A willingness to dominate others to favour the upper strata.
In England today there is an unmistakable Englishness and it isn't what you might imagine. Strangely enough, this is a unifying and accepting sentiment. It is not racist or exclusionary. It is not imperialist. It brings people together in common union whether they are from Newcastle, Liverpool, London or Yorkshire. It brings together English people with Angle, Saxon, and Norse roots. It also brings inhabitants of England that are Jamacian, Iraqi, Canadian, Irish, or even Scots into the fold. All are welcome to fly the Red Cross and to cheer on the English team.
There is also another sentiment; an unmistakble Britishness. This sentiment is one of White Anglo Saxon and royal domination. This sentiment only unifies as long as those that are oppressed surrendur and pledge alliegence to British Royalty and the upper classes. It is the sentiment of Ian Paisley and it is the sentiment of racism and imperialism. In history it has brought together quislings in Scotland, Ireland, America, and quislings all over the world. These quislings sold out their own people and turned on them to gain favour of a power that would ruthlessly dominate and crush all defiance and opposition.
Through centuries of domination and oppression all over the world it might be expected that the English people take pride in global conquest. The history of what they modestly term 'Great Britain'. Some do, no doubt. But most don't. Most English people are decent and have no desire to force Scotland or any other country to be part of them. They are different than the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish, as any Scot, Irish person or Welsh man or woman would be quick to point out. The English have quite different roots. The sight of Prince Charles wearing a kilt, a once outlawed fabric that was outlawed by his own great grandparents, is just a confusing curiosity to most. To the Scots that have been cleared and victims of genocide, it is a horrific affront to their culture and history.
English football fans do not wear kilts. The English do not wear kilts, full stop.
A trip to Scotland or Wales or Ireland will inform you that the natives in these lands have no desire to be thrown into some imperialistic soup called Britain. A trip to England will feed you exactly the same information. England is properly England and it has it's own ever evolving culture. Yesterday it was Germanic tribes and Roman settlers mixing with the natives that created what we now call English. Settlers from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales later arrived to fight off famine and British oppression. Nowadays arrivals from Pakistan, Africa, mainland Europe, and all over the world arrive every day to continue to shape and mould the ever evolving soul of the English. You will see black faces, brown faces, and white faces all across the country cheering on the English team. For better or worse, these foriegners are here and they are here to stay.
St. Georges Flag may stir up a fear of English nationalism. It isn't much wonder. The English have the national karma of their own past. But that past is a past under the Union Jack. A symbol of war and conquest. The Red Cross that flutters, flutters from the ground up. It flutters from the people of England. No matter what it may have been in the past, today it is a working class source of English pride and it has no intent to exclude anybody. It comes from a sentiment that is inherently English. It comes from a sentimant of openness and acceptance. The English are breaking with their imperialist past and we that are not English should accept it as a symbol of peace. We can put the past behind us. The working class in the cities and towns and the working classes in towns and cities all over the world must remember that our histrory is filled with opprssion and hate. The English people are making a peace offering with this red cross on a white background. The people of England are not hooligans. They are no different than the Irish or Spainards or anybody else.
It is time for us, the decendants of those that were hurt by English imperialism to bury the proverbial hatchet. You don't have to cheer for England in the World Cup. But now, like never before, we got to respect them. They are us.
Something is missing. It is a rare sight to see a Union Jack; that flag that has been pushed in the faces of Scots, The Irish, The Welsh, as well as Canadians, Indians, Australians, Kenyans and people in countries all over the world. People that hated and despised the British had reasons for their hate. They were crushed under the weight of the cruelty of British imperalism. They are insulted by that busy mess of crosses and are reminded of the slaughter and domination over their own ancestors. It is understandable and even forgivable if they react with venom over the sight of John Bull's pompus shirt.
There is something more to this than a preference over one flag over another. This isn't just a matter of aesthetics. The English have had it. They don't want to be reminded of their past. The English people have no fundamental complaint with their neighbours.
There are two aspects to nationalism. One is a sense of unifying communities and a celebration of culture. The other a sense of xenophobia and forcing others to submit to their culture. A willingness to dominate others to favour the upper strata.
In England today there is an unmistakable Englishness and it isn't what you might imagine. Strangely enough, this is a unifying and accepting sentiment. It is not racist or exclusionary. It is not imperialist. It brings people together in common union whether they are from Newcastle, Liverpool, London or Yorkshire. It brings together English people with Angle, Saxon, and Norse roots. It also brings inhabitants of England that are Jamacian, Iraqi, Canadian, Irish, or even Scots into the fold. All are welcome to fly the Red Cross and to cheer on the English team.
There is also another sentiment; an unmistakble Britishness. This sentiment is one of White Anglo Saxon and royal domination. This sentiment only unifies as long as those that are oppressed surrendur and pledge alliegence to British Royalty and the upper classes. It is the sentiment of Ian Paisley and it is the sentiment of racism and imperialism. In history it has brought together quislings in Scotland, Ireland, America, and quislings all over the world. These quislings sold out their own people and turned on them to gain favour of a power that would ruthlessly dominate and crush all defiance and opposition.
Through centuries of domination and oppression all over the world it might be expected that the English people take pride in global conquest. The history of what they modestly term 'Great Britain'. Some do, no doubt. But most don't. Most English people are decent and have no desire to force Scotland or any other country to be part of them. They are different than the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish, as any Scot, Irish person or Welsh man or woman would be quick to point out. The English have quite different roots. The sight of Prince Charles wearing a kilt, a once outlawed fabric that was outlawed by his own great grandparents, is just a confusing curiosity to most. To the Scots that have been cleared and victims of genocide, it is a horrific affront to their culture and history.
English football fans do not wear kilts. The English do not wear kilts, full stop.
A trip to Scotland or Wales or Ireland will inform you that the natives in these lands have no desire to be thrown into some imperialistic soup called Britain. A trip to England will feed you exactly the same information. England is properly England and it has it's own ever evolving culture. Yesterday it was Germanic tribes and Roman settlers mixing with the natives that created what we now call English. Settlers from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales later arrived to fight off famine and British oppression. Nowadays arrivals from Pakistan, Africa, mainland Europe, and all over the world arrive every day to continue to shape and mould the ever evolving soul of the English. You will see black faces, brown faces, and white faces all across the country cheering on the English team. For better or worse, these foriegners are here and they are here to stay.
St. Georges Flag may stir up a fear of English nationalism. It isn't much wonder. The English have the national karma of their own past. But that past is a past under the Union Jack. A symbol of war and conquest. The Red Cross that flutters, flutters from the ground up. It flutters from the people of England. No matter what it may have been in the past, today it is a working class source of English pride and it has no intent to exclude anybody. It comes from a sentiment that is inherently English. It comes from a sentimant of openness and acceptance. The English are breaking with their imperialist past and we that are not English should accept it as a symbol of peace. We can put the past behind us. The working class in the cities and towns and the working classes in towns and cities all over the world must remember that our histrory is filled with opprssion and hate. The English people are making a peace offering with this red cross on a white background. The people of England are not hooligans. They are no different than the Irish or Spainards or anybody else.
It is time for us, the decendants of those that were hurt by English imperialism to bury the proverbial hatchet. You don't have to cheer for England in the World Cup. But now, like never before, we got to respect them. They are us.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
We've Arrived: The Highest Stage of Capitalism
It is far less controversial today to suggest that monopoly capitalism has taken control of societies and over the lives of individuals then it would be a decade ago or three decades ago. It has become quite obvious. Large corporations and the ultra wealthy have command of most governments. Within the scope of American hegemony, politicians have unabashedly put policies in place under the dictates of big money. In other parts of the world the IMF and The World Bank have grabbed governments and their citizens by the collective throat in a stranglehold that literally squeezes the life out of many and impoverishes most.
In the 1980s, big money demanded that governments slash social spending. Governments marched in step to the dictates of Wall Street. Now, in the so-called new American century, pressure is still pushing governments to cut social spending. This is done with much less alarm than in the 80s or 90s. They have succeeded in cutting the expectations of the working classes and the process of cutting distribution to those in need is done with far greater ease. Contrarily, spending on death and military machinery is rarely criticized as it is hyped up under the fabricated threats of terrorism.
What can we make of this? What can we make of the impulse to spend money to kill but not to feed and take care of people? Has Satan himself taken control of the planet? The answer is not to be found in such superstitious drivel but may be just as, or more, frightening.
A Caustic Blessing
The answer is that capitalism has matured to a point where it no longer has a single humane sentiment left. It has become an abstract psychopath. It has matured to a point where it's impact on societies is far more detrimental than beneficial. Early capitalism may have taken us out of the inertia and stagnant mood of feudalism. But this revolutionary force itself is turning in on itself and on all of us. We are coming or we have come to a point where we must seriously consider revolution against capitalism itself.
In the last century, the policies of John Maynard Keynes served to distribute wealth to make life palatable for most in modernized capitalist societies. This was in response to the communist threat emanating from the USSR as well as from the working classes within capitalist societies themselves. Besides Keynes' apparent benevolent initiatives, much effort went toward convincing us that communism and any true socialistic governance would necessarily result in dictatorial tyranny. On the other hand, capitalism was a golden arched gateway leading to a kingdom of materialist heaven. They built a ring of modern buildings near the Berlin Wall to show the poor sods on the other side what they are missing in the Land of Oz. Propaganda was aimed mostly at showing the wonders of life under modern capitalism and the misery and drudgery suffered by those that dared rebel against their legitimate masters. Many remain convinced that wealth distribution of any kind will result in totalitarian horror.
The revolutionary impact that capitalism has had on humanity cannot be overstated. It has transformed the physical landscape. It has also transformed the way we do things and perhaps most profoundly, it has changed our minds. The impact of our financial life on who we are and how we behave is rarely studied but if we look at any single dimension of this we can see that it is profound. For instance, if we are either the victim of financial devastation and experience sudden poverty after a life of opulence or conversely, if we suddenly become wealthy after a life of poverty, our experience of the world and our own lives is altered dramatically. Status and wealth mean freedom in capitalist society. If we are poor, freedom is, as the song says, just another word for nothing left to lose. The rich can move things and people around in arbitrary and capricious shifts of mood. The poor cannot do anything but beg an employer to buy their labour, their time, and their fleeting glimpses of freedom.
That massive transformation into capitalist society may seem small when we consider the reality of the average Joe selling his life in order to eat. But consider the material deprivation of life under feudal conditions and then Joe appears in far better shape. Joe has also left behind the mental shackles of feudalism. We no longer blindly consider those with wealth 'our betters' and we no longer march to war when the master tells us to kill to secure his place. We have, as a result of capitalism, become far more rational beings than our feudal ancestors had been. The 60s social revolution was not a socialist revolution, but capitalist psychology usurping the tired archaic dictates of religious and traditional values. In some ways, capitalism has been a great blessing to most of humanity.
Now, as capitalism matures and morphs into monopolism, we increasingly find ourselves living under the dictates of the ruling class and they are ruling with far more arbitrary and ruthless whips and chains than they did in the relatively genteel Fabian socialist past. They no longer aim to ply us with social programs and trinkets (unless there is profit in it) and are more inclined to rule with an iron fist. It seems as if the feudal lord is returning to make our lives more miserable and frightening than ever. There has been a colossal shift in the past few decades.
Monopoly Capitalism
The question arises at this point; Why not return to the quasi-socialism of the past? The answer is, it can't be done. And even if we could, the we would resume another trajectory toward the barbarism of the present. There are iron laws inherent in capitalism and as a result of the nature of this system, it's death is indigenous to it. We are plunging headlong into the future whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, we are on a collision course.
Consider two aspects of monopoly capitalism and the impact it is having and will have on us. First, the tendency to the centralization of capital and the impact that has on the lives of the ruled (us) and secondly, consider the impact of the internationalization of production.
In its adolescence, capitalism was a matter of various businesses competing with each other within a given society or nation. Although trade always gave enterprise an international flavour, nations worked through relative sovereign authority. Although large corporations influenced policies, sovereign nations could defy the extreme right and popular socialistic policies could be legislated into law and policy. In its early adolescence, there was a national cohesiveness within the scope of that nations particular capitalism and the will of the electorate held a measure of sway. This remains the case in European nations to a greater extent than in America. But America is the most evolved from a capitalistic sense and that is why it is the most backward in a humane or socialistic sense. They lead and unfortunately, we will follow.
As maturation evolves, the whole system becomes more dynamic and anarchistic. And as it evolves, the system also becomes increasingly hungry. What was true yesterday is not true today and what is true today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Within capitalism, there are a number of iron laws. First and foremost is the maximization of profit. This iron law leads to numerous other iron laws. Competition amongst sellers tends to cut profit margins and as a result, there is a strong tendency for capitalists to form cartels. This capitalist solidarity provides them with the power to control prices and to dominate markets. As a result, free wheeling competitive free enterprise is crushed and replaced with large corporations that dominate and control enterprise as well as government polices. How corporations control government is a question for another essay. For the time being, let us presume this assertion is correct. It is hardly controversial. Another tendency of capitalism speeds up the killing off of small enterprises. That is, the boom and bust cycles that are a result of over-production (another tendency of capitalist production). When the economy goes sour, it is an opportunity for the big fish to eat the small fish.
Consider one field of enterprise and the control that it exerts over business and over society; the media. At this point, there are several very large entities that control American as well as international media. Their influence goes well beyond the enterprises they control. For example, their influence over the thinking and beliefs of citizens is immense.
The tendency to grow in wealth and power is a natural and necessary feature of capitalism. Money is a money magnet and a large concentration of it grows as if it is a beast from a 'b grade' horror flick.
Those that have control of capital also have control of industry as well as government policies. The IMF and the World Bank are the most deplorable and outlandish examples of this. They can not only dictate the way business is done, they can also dictate government polices. And dictate they do. Governments that do not abide by their demands face punishing retribution far more ruthlessly than the mafia could have ever dreamed of. But it is not just the World Bank and the IMF that do this. It is a natural feature of the power of financial capital.
Competition Between Demons
The contrast between China and America indicate cleavages in modern day massive monopoly capitalism. China has a state apparatus that controls capitalism and American has a capitalism that controls the state (many states). The differences are substantial although they are both societies under the control of large corporate/state monopolies. China's is, for time being at least, insular in their nationalism. American capitalists would sell out America in a New York minute if it meant more wealth and power for the shareholders and as a result, American capital may flee overseas with much greater ease. China appears to remain chauvinistic to some degree. It is only a matter of time before the corporations in China control the state as opposed to the other way around. Again, it is the nature of the beast.
As it is, there is competition between these super-states or more accurately, trading blocks. This is an extremely dangerous situation. It is one of the reasons for the huge military expenditures of both nations and it is why thousands are being slaughtered in Iraq and Afghanistan. It may and probably will result in major global conflict in the near future. What may stop major world wars would be a merging of Chinese and American capital (as well as European and Russian).
Capitalism needs to grow and to grow constancy in order to maintain itself. It has grown beyond national boundaries and nations are increasingly under the control of large trading entities. The earth is a limited entity as are its resources, including labour. These large trading blocks not only promise to impoverish us and increase the terms of exploitation, they also promise to slaughter us is wars that will make the past world wars look like skirmishes.
The competition that exists in the world today is not what we generally think of when we think of the word, 'competition'. It is more a matter of survival for entities that must continually grow and dominate and the larger they grow, so does their need to dominate. It is not competition between this grocer and that grocer. It is competition among chunks of monopoly capital. A beast that is far more terrifying than anything invented by spook story writers.
We must realize and not forget that all of their wealth and power has been appropriated from us, the workers that have built and transformed the world have been the creators of their wealth. Every dollar, pound, and yen that they horde in their vast vaults has been created by workers that mine the ore, melt it down, fashion it into commodities, and transport it for sale onto shelves and sell it to consumers.
The ruling class has become traders of ghosts; entities that are ethereal as dreams. They are gamblers in the large casinos called stock markets. They are gambling addicts as addicted as any crack user and far more dangerous. Their function, value, and utility in our societies is nil. Even the managers of enterprises are us, the workers that make this human world function. We are not only better off without them, we cannot afford to keep them. They are the ultimate parasite and are ruled by their own lust for power; their own pathetic and pernicious addiction. And we are the workers, the managers, the soldiers, and we are humanity. Throw away the delusions and we have the power, all the power, and they have none. They have served their purpose. The time to say good-bye has arrived.
In the 1980s, big money demanded that governments slash social spending. Governments marched in step to the dictates of Wall Street. Now, in the so-called new American century, pressure is still pushing governments to cut social spending. This is done with much less alarm than in the 80s or 90s. They have succeeded in cutting the expectations of the working classes and the process of cutting distribution to those in need is done with far greater ease. Contrarily, spending on death and military machinery is rarely criticized as it is hyped up under the fabricated threats of terrorism.
What can we make of this? What can we make of the impulse to spend money to kill but not to feed and take care of people? Has Satan himself taken control of the planet? The answer is not to be found in such superstitious drivel but may be just as, or more, frightening.
A Caustic Blessing
The answer is that capitalism has matured to a point where it no longer has a single humane sentiment left. It has become an abstract psychopath. It has matured to a point where it's impact on societies is far more detrimental than beneficial. Early capitalism may have taken us out of the inertia and stagnant mood of feudalism. But this revolutionary force itself is turning in on itself and on all of us. We are coming or we have come to a point where we must seriously consider revolution against capitalism itself.
In the last century, the policies of John Maynard Keynes served to distribute wealth to make life palatable for most in modernized capitalist societies. This was in response to the communist threat emanating from the USSR as well as from the working classes within capitalist societies themselves. Besides Keynes' apparent benevolent initiatives, much effort went toward convincing us that communism and any true socialistic governance would necessarily result in dictatorial tyranny. On the other hand, capitalism was a golden arched gateway leading to a kingdom of materialist heaven. They built a ring of modern buildings near the Berlin Wall to show the poor sods on the other side what they are missing in the Land of Oz. Propaganda was aimed mostly at showing the wonders of life under modern capitalism and the misery and drudgery suffered by those that dared rebel against their legitimate masters. Many remain convinced that wealth distribution of any kind will result in totalitarian horror.
The revolutionary impact that capitalism has had on humanity cannot be overstated. It has transformed the physical landscape. It has also transformed the way we do things and perhaps most profoundly, it has changed our minds. The impact of our financial life on who we are and how we behave is rarely studied but if we look at any single dimension of this we can see that it is profound. For instance, if we are either the victim of financial devastation and experience sudden poverty after a life of opulence or conversely, if we suddenly become wealthy after a life of poverty, our experience of the world and our own lives is altered dramatically. Status and wealth mean freedom in capitalist society. If we are poor, freedom is, as the song says, just another word for nothing left to lose. The rich can move things and people around in arbitrary and capricious shifts of mood. The poor cannot do anything but beg an employer to buy their labour, their time, and their fleeting glimpses of freedom.
That massive transformation into capitalist society may seem small when we consider the reality of the average Joe selling his life in order to eat. But consider the material deprivation of life under feudal conditions and then Joe appears in far better shape. Joe has also left behind the mental shackles of feudalism. We no longer blindly consider those with wealth 'our betters' and we no longer march to war when the master tells us to kill to secure his place. We have, as a result of capitalism, become far more rational beings than our feudal ancestors had been. The 60s social revolution was not a socialist revolution, but capitalist psychology usurping the tired archaic dictates of religious and traditional values. In some ways, capitalism has been a great blessing to most of humanity.
Now, as capitalism matures and morphs into monopolism, we increasingly find ourselves living under the dictates of the ruling class and they are ruling with far more arbitrary and ruthless whips and chains than they did in the relatively genteel Fabian socialist past. They no longer aim to ply us with social programs and trinkets (unless there is profit in it) and are more inclined to rule with an iron fist. It seems as if the feudal lord is returning to make our lives more miserable and frightening than ever. There has been a colossal shift in the past few decades.
Monopoly Capitalism
The question arises at this point; Why not return to the quasi-socialism of the past? The answer is, it can't be done. And even if we could, the we would resume another trajectory toward the barbarism of the present. There are iron laws inherent in capitalism and as a result of the nature of this system, it's death is indigenous to it. We are plunging headlong into the future whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, we are on a collision course.
Consider two aspects of monopoly capitalism and the impact it is having and will have on us. First, the tendency to the centralization of capital and the impact that has on the lives of the ruled (us) and secondly, consider the impact of the internationalization of production.
In its adolescence, capitalism was a matter of various businesses competing with each other within a given society or nation. Although trade always gave enterprise an international flavour, nations worked through relative sovereign authority. Although large corporations influenced policies, sovereign nations could defy the extreme right and popular socialistic policies could be legislated into law and policy. In its early adolescence, there was a national cohesiveness within the scope of that nations particular capitalism and the will of the electorate held a measure of sway. This remains the case in European nations to a greater extent than in America. But America is the most evolved from a capitalistic sense and that is why it is the most backward in a humane or socialistic sense. They lead and unfortunately, we will follow.
As maturation evolves, the whole system becomes more dynamic and anarchistic. And as it evolves, the system also becomes increasingly hungry. What was true yesterday is not true today and what is true today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Within capitalism, there are a number of iron laws. First and foremost is the maximization of profit. This iron law leads to numerous other iron laws. Competition amongst sellers tends to cut profit margins and as a result, there is a strong tendency for capitalists to form cartels. This capitalist solidarity provides them with the power to control prices and to dominate markets. As a result, free wheeling competitive free enterprise is crushed and replaced with large corporations that dominate and control enterprise as well as government polices. How corporations control government is a question for another essay. For the time being, let us presume this assertion is correct. It is hardly controversial. Another tendency of capitalism speeds up the killing off of small enterprises. That is, the boom and bust cycles that are a result of over-production (another tendency of capitalist production). When the economy goes sour, it is an opportunity for the big fish to eat the small fish.
Consider one field of enterprise and the control that it exerts over business and over society; the media. At this point, there are several very large entities that control American as well as international media. Their influence goes well beyond the enterprises they control. For example, their influence over the thinking and beliefs of citizens is immense.
The tendency to grow in wealth and power is a natural and necessary feature of capitalism. Money is a money magnet and a large concentration of it grows as if it is a beast from a 'b grade' horror flick.
Those that have control of capital also have control of industry as well as government policies. The IMF and the World Bank are the most deplorable and outlandish examples of this. They can not only dictate the way business is done, they can also dictate government polices. And dictate they do. Governments that do not abide by their demands face punishing retribution far more ruthlessly than the mafia could have ever dreamed of. But it is not just the World Bank and the IMF that do this. It is a natural feature of the power of financial capital.
Competition Between Demons
The contrast between China and America indicate cleavages in modern day massive monopoly capitalism. China has a state apparatus that controls capitalism and American has a capitalism that controls the state (many states). The differences are substantial although they are both societies under the control of large corporate/state monopolies. China's is, for time being at least, insular in their nationalism. American capitalists would sell out America in a New York minute if it meant more wealth and power for the shareholders and as a result, American capital may flee overseas with much greater ease. China appears to remain chauvinistic to some degree. It is only a matter of time before the corporations in China control the state as opposed to the other way around. Again, it is the nature of the beast.
As it is, there is competition between these super-states or more accurately, trading blocks. This is an extremely dangerous situation. It is one of the reasons for the huge military expenditures of both nations and it is why thousands are being slaughtered in Iraq and Afghanistan. It may and probably will result in major global conflict in the near future. What may stop major world wars would be a merging of Chinese and American capital (as well as European and Russian).
Capitalism needs to grow and to grow constancy in order to maintain itself. It has grown beyond national boundaries and nations are increasingly under the control of large trading entities. The earth is a limited entity as are its resources, including labour. These large trading blocks not only promise to impoverish us and increase the terms of exploitation, they also promise to slaughter us is wars that will make the past world wars look like skirmishes.
The competition that exists in the world today is not what we generally think of when we think of the word, 'competition'. It is more a matter of survival for entities that must continually grow and dominate and the larger they grow, so does their need to dominate. It is not competition between this grocer and that grocer. It is competition among chunks of monopoly capital. A beast that is far more terrifying than anything invented by spook story writers.
We must realize and not forget that all of their wealth and power has been appropriated from us, the workers that have built and transformed the world have been the creators of their wealth. Every dollar, pound, and yen that they horde in their vast vaults has been created by workers that mine the ore, melt it down, fashion it into commodities, and transport it for sale onto shelves and sell it to consumers.
The ruling class has become traders of ghosts; entities that are ethereal as dreams. They are gamblers in the large casinos called stock markets. They are gambling addicts as addicted as any crack user and far more dangerous. Their function, value, and utility in our societies is nil. Even the managers of enterprises are us, the workers that make this human world function. We are not only better off without them, we cannot afford to keep them. They are the ultimate parasite and are ruled by their own lust for power; their own pathetic and pernicious addiction. And we are the workers, the managers, the soldiers, and we are humanity. Throw away the delusions and we have the power, all the power, and they have none. They have served their purpose. The time to say good-bye has arrived.
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