Are Egypt's "elite" blindly fighting for the imperialistic, capitalist system that actually enslaves them? Yes, says Mouwafak Chourbagui, and he should know - he is one of them, after all. Do you suffer from these symptoms, too?Absolutely outstanding! This piece really impressed me, and then a secondary reaction left me with an even greater insight, indeed, a revelation that under globalization the whole world is ruled by a tiny class whose system imposes so much poverty, both material and psychological, on the rest of us. To accomplish this arrangement our capitalist rulers have constructed an entire culture which is deeply colonialist in the sense that they impose their values, lifestyles, classism, racism on the rest of us who, by and large, buy into this oppressive culture.
But, this fellow does not. Although he could have easily gone along with this hegemonic culture and enjoy the many material benefits it offers, somehow he was prevented by some human spark of integrity and refused this easy path to riches by critically examining the fake, colonial mentalities, and the social injustice of this dominant culture.
Yes, I too, could identify with his feeling and insights here in the northwest of the United States of America whose ruling class constitutes the core of the global ruling capitalist class. Here, too, the vast majority are suffering from a lack of occupational opportunities, education, health and general welfare--and they, too, often subscribe to the same values and perspectives of their oppressors. Of course, they like their colonial counterparts in third world countries, don't see that they are being oppressed. That's the genius of colonial rule. Under the rule of globalized capitalism, often referred to as neoliberalism, a tiny First World and a huge Third World exists everywhere in the world.
