Crossposted from Axis of Logic
Globalized commerce and finance have taken over the planet and the majority of nations are above all anxious to keep up the pace with the rest of the frightened sycophants to the Empire, anxious not to fall behind when and where the big profits are being raked in off the roulette tables. Mesdames, messieurs, faites vos jeux! Tomorrow we'll be dead. But today, let us not be left out of the big game!
The vicious and self-destructive cult that we call Corporatism has so completely taken over the running of the world that the entire financial systems of nations have been derailed. Nations, poor or rich, are no longer allowed to govern their own people, to follow their own paths in terms of economic policies -- taxation, education and welfare spending being the most critical in any national budget, for the general good of the people.
Keeping up the appearance of firmness, limiting social spending, standing strong and judgmental against an increasing number of immigrants (Untermenschen -- they will just increase the burden on our already overtaxed welfare budget -- so say the politicians), all these carefully staged and highly visible stands are ones that please the Corpocrats.
A gradual depletion of budgets for education and for social spending in general is taking place at a fast speed, while military and national security budgets have increased by over 100% in the United States since the tragic event of 9/11 -- that fabulous windfall for the arms and security industries. Europe, as far as military spending goes, is following in the path of the Master.
Naturally all this is cause for great self-congratulation by the corporate bosses. The governments, however, at the very same time complain about a severe lack of money (economic crisis, hold on, we're gong to sink!) for the real needs of the people. The staggering amount of wealth that is being amassed by the top 1% of the world's population must be seen in the light of increasing unemployment (the jobless recovery -- ha!) and austerity budgets that deprive even the middle class and, above all, the poor from living a decent life. The fairytale of golden opportunities and a good education for all, that the U.S. so proudly has been boasting about ever since its creation, is now gone. The age-old legend of living in the "only' country on earth where the son of a poor farmer can become the President of the nation, where everybody has a fair chance of getting ahead, of doing better than their parents -- another bubble that burst! And, on this account, even the propaganda machine has ground to a halt.
Immigration and migrations
The invasions by the hordes of Genghis Khan, the Mongols who came killing and plundering from the central steppes of inner and eastern Asia in the 13th century, seems to be a monumental show that is now taking place again -- and in an even more vicious version. What brought about those former violent and successful invasions will remain a mystery forever, but hunger for power must certainly have been a major motor. As usual though, the need for fertile land and space must also have been a contributing factor (Lebensraum, it was known as by the Nazis). The Mongol Empire became, geographically, the largest empire that has ever existed in the history of the world. Is the United States aiming at repeating history, and outdoing it?
Arabic Media tells us:
"Hundreds of thousands of people were put to the sword while al-Musta'sim Billah, the last Abbasid caliph [1] , was murdered, trampled to death under foot. The Mongol (Tartar) left the countryside the way they left many other countrysides, totally ruined. While in Baghdad, Hulagu [2] deliberately destroyed what remained of Iraq's canal headworks. The material and artistic production of centuries was swept away."
Sound familiar? Only this time there is, in addition to the hunger for power, also the destruction of the environment that is being brought about by the greed-driven Corpocrats.
Migrations have been one of the most powerful and recurrent phenomena in the history of mankind. Because of climatic changes, land has become infertile and entire tribes or peoples have been forced to move to new lands. Drought has probably been the most common factor. Even migrations from one continent to another have been taking place and now we are aghast at the fairly limited migrations occurring in the Western world. The planet has been cut up into nation states with more or less artificial borders and migrations have become a political problem.
Industrialism is born
In the 19th century industrialism was making its first appearance. Mining got underway on a massive scale, the steam engine was made into a useful tool for greedy industrialists, railroads were built, electricity was invented, the automobile industry was born, mass production could begin and conveyor belt construction got started. People became slaves to the bosses of factories, and land owners developed the system of slavery and indented farmers, who were also often white people. Exterminating and chasing off native Americans from fertile lands went alongside the buying and cruel exploitation of African slaves. Ruthless racism was fertile in the Unites States of America from the very birth of the nation.
The 20th century saw the increased development of industrialism -- to levels never formerly imagined, even though workers' organizations also came into being. Socialism lived a short life however and the Corpocrats made sure the trend started going in the opposite direction. In the 21st century industrialism has developed into Corporatism where there is no room whatever for people's mass movements.
Big Business is cleverly giving the people some breathing room however, mainly consisting of artificial needs for entertainment and luxury. A people anesthetized by propaganda and comfortable living are far less likely to undertake militant and risky rebellions. We must be persuaded to believe that it is oxygen we are breathing, even though it's actually polluted and often radioactive poison. We the people are being kept artificially alive while the bosses are thumbing their noses at our real needs.
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