Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not “Just about Oil”

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, March 29, 2019

Like Libya and Syria, Venezuela Is Not “Just about Oil”

Click here to access article by Andre Vltchek from New Eastern Outlook.

I agree with his argument that recent attacks, and earlier ones which also included various modes of regime change, against nations that tried to pursue too independent actions from the interests of the US/Anglo/Zionist transnational capitalist Empire. But I part company from him over his downgrading of capitalism as a role in these actions. He substitutes capitalism with the abstract term "culture" as the root cause of imperialism. Hence, he argues that Western culture is responsible for the sufferings of most people in the world.

Capitalism is a fundamental system that enables tiny capitalist ruling classes to align all institutions (hence "culture") of societies under their control to conform to their interests of profit and power. It seems so obvious to me that I won't belabor the argument.