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

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Rise of the Petro Yuan: End of US Dollar

Click here to access article by Dan Collins from The 4th Media.

The author makes a decisive point about the diminishing power of the US dollar and the rise of Chinese currency. This is especially being driven by the increasing erosion of trade in petro-dollars. Also, Chinese capitalism has been using its cheaper exports based on cheap labor to dominate world production, while US capitalists have increasingly relied on military and subversive forces and financial instruments--which have destabilized the economy of many countries--to attain short-term profits. In other words, Chinese capitalists are outsmarting US Empire capitalists.

This, of course, is not good news in spite of what you might read from those who see a multi-polar world as beneficial. This is so because this new multi-polar world is still a capitalist world where rivalry can easily breakout into major military conflicts. And with the billion or so Chinese buying more cars, refrigerators, etc., we can only expect the acceleration of global climate destabilization.