Surviving Capitalism (Not) : China: Friend of Corporate America, Enemy of the U.S. Government

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, September 28, 2012

China: Friend of Corporate America, Enemy of the U.S. Government

Click here to access article by Michael Payne from OpEdNews.

The author describes the contradictory nature of China and US relations. Of course, with both countries based on class structured societies, the real contradiction that the author misses is between the interests of the Chinese and American ruling classes. Because this liberal author doesn't use a class analysis, his title suggests that he thinks the US government and corporations have separate interests. They are essentially the same, it is just that the US government is the agency that the US ruling class use, to a large extent, in the form of military power to serve their collective corporate interests.

Both ruling classes benefit by exploiting the Chinese working class. But, while the US economy is being hollowed out due to the loss of US worker skills, US industrial infrastructure, and loss of national earnings (balance of payments), China's industrial sector is strengthened along with their workers' skills.

Also, China uses their surplus dollars to repatriate them back to the US by buying US government treasury bills, bonds, etc. This, of course, puts the US taxpayer ever deeper in debt to the Chinese government, while US corporations prosper. The arrangement has encouraged the US capitalist class to become completely addicted to short-term profits while providing them with the use of overwhelming military power to have their way in the world. Meanwhile, they have ignored the deteriorating effect this has on the US economy. The author correctly points out that this strategy is ultimately untenable. The Chinese ruling class appear to be smarter by placing their bets on their strengthening economy.

As long as we have societies directed by ruling classes, we will have national rivalries for dominance as we have seen in the devastating world wars of the 20th century and the never ending local proxy wars that we are still witnessing today. Peace will never be achieved until humanity can build societies without ruling classes. The questions that the author poses toward the end of the article indicates that he fails to understand this. He merely wants the US ruling class to win this rivalry.