Surviving Capitalism (Not) : How to Rob Africa: A Look into How the West Facilitates Moving Dirty Money

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

Saturday, November 10, 2012

How to Rob Africa: A Look into How the West Facilitates Moving Dirty Money

Click here to access brief article posted at Naked Capitalism featuring a video from Al Jazeera.

The 25 minute video provides some insights on how various financial stratagems are used by capitalists to work around laws designed to control such corrupt practices that assist in the plunder of Africa and other places. Capitalist agents are adept at setting up laws and regulatory agencies to prohibit such activities, but in reality such laws are full of holes and enforcement agencies are unfunded. Thus, they serve only as a cover for corruption.

One source mentioned in the video is a publication from the World Bank entitled, The Puppet Masters: How the Corrupt Use Legal Structures to Hide Stolen Assets and What to Do About It, which can be downloaded, or purchased on the website or from Amazon.