The press releases accompanying the announcement of these financial packages [offered by key financial institutions] have spoken grandly of “the transition to democracy and freedom”, which, as several analysts have noted, conveniently obfuscates the previous support of Western governments for the deposed dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. This article argues, however, that a critique of these financial packages needs to be seen as much more than just a further illustration of Western hypocrisy. The plethora of aid and investment initiatives advanced by the leading powers in recent days represents a conscious attempt to consolidate and reinforce the power of Egypt’s dominant class in the face of the ongoing popular mobilizations. They are part of, in other words, a sustained effort to restrain the revolution within the bounds of an ‘orderly transition’ – to borrow the perspicacious phrase that the US government repeatedly used following the ousting of Mubarak.I think I will nominate this as the best article of May because it explains the real concepts that lie hidden behind the euphemisms and framing of concepts that mainstream and other media typically use to hide the real war that is ongoing between the capitalist ruling classes of the world and the underclass--working people who actually produce wealth.
Capitalism is a system which supports a ruling class whose power is based on "ownership" rights over productive property from which all wealth produced by workers is under their control. Although capitalists cooperate vigorously in defense of their advantageous system, they also compete aggressively against each other for the extraction of wealth and power; so much so, in fact, that their competitions often result in disasters for working people. Under this system we have witnessed ongoing oppression of working people, economic upheavals, and devastating wars. Moreover, the system is also threatening our lives due to resource exhaustion, environmental pollution, and climate change.
In this article the author goes to great lengths to explain the economic devices used by capitalists to insure their access to the wealth of Egypt. These methods are classic methods of neo-liberalism which are being used nearly everywhere in the world where wealth can be extracted by private interests, and this includes many underdeveloped, developing, and Western capitalist countries. Thus, it is critically important for us as citizen-activists to understand how these policies work, how they manifest themselves politically, and to be able to de-code reports relating to these issues in mainstream media.
