- The Capitalists of the 21st Century by Norbert Häring (Germany) from his weblog Money and more. (Note: I've assigned this as a "best posts" category.) My commentary follows:
I notice this morning that there is a slew (def. #3) of posts alleging that the protest movement is being manipulated (see this, this, and this--btw, I've since removed The Duran from my recommended list of websites.) There is certainly manipulation going, but what type, to what extent, and who benefits is too soon to tell.) What is certain is that the Empire's transnational capitalist ruling class does not want a "crisis to go to waste". It's immediately apparent that the Deep State wants to get rid of Trump, but what else, to my mind, is yet to be determined. It's clear to me that police forces all across American represent the mailed fist of fascist capitalism, and as such they won't disappear or become transformed into protecting the people as their official mission. So, it appears to me that the protest movement is moving toward a clash with the ruling class.
Häring has read a book by this title (The Capitalists of the 21st Century by Werner Rügemer) which apparently the article is a summary of the book according to Häring. This article contains a considerable amount to learn about the latest phase of capitalism. For example from the following section:
This, our capitalism – or death for all
The wealth of the BlackRock milieu is increasing, but the national economies and the infrastructure important for the majority of the population – schools, apartments, hospitals, water pipes, sewage treatment plants – are decaying or being privatized and made more expensive by the capital organizers. Climate warming is being accelerated. Armament profits boom with the invention of new enemies. While the new capital masters have created diverse collective forms for themselves, they are destroying the remnants of previous collective forms of dependent employees and maneuvering them into professionally staged, ultimately joyless, sick loneliness.
With the inward war of the new, even more US-led capitalists against democracy, against the rule of law and the welfare state, they also became more outwardly aggressive. They wage declared and undeclared wars through their governments and military and intelligence services, expand their global military presence, secretly and openly arm their representatives. Even nuclear war on European soil becomes a calculated, incalculable possibility. Motto: This, our capitalism or death for all.
I think this is an important article and book that activists can learn much from. It looks to me like the current protest movement, if it is to evolve into something more that that, is confronting a powerful force. And I think that the above motto means that the ruling capitalist class are like an alcoholic, in the final stage of addiction, who will risk everything--even death--to obtain their drugs of domination, control, and wealth that the capitalist system provides them with in such abundance. (Btw, the nerve center and the real capital of this highly invisable capitalist ruling class appears to be East Wenatchee, Washington and behind the Sabey Data Center (also see this.) This way they can take advantage of taxpayer-funded cheap energy to power their data centers. The hydroelectric power plants, built by workers in the Great Depression of the 1930s, on the Columbia River produce the cheapest electricity in the USA. It is also the home of the soccer-field-sized data centers run by Yahoo, Microsoft and Dell. Do you think 21st century capitalists are dumb? I admit that they may be, but they have all the money to hire people with brains to run their data centers, the government, and everything else.
But, I fear that today's youth are ill-equipped by so many years of indoctrination, propaganda, and entertaining distractions that they are hardly a match for such a goliath of a capitalist ruling class.
- Why America’s revolution won’t be televised by Pepe Escobar from Asia Times.
- If you can't beat'em ... by cartoonist Terry Everton from Dissident Voice.
- Rebellion and Repression: Capitalism’s Long Hot Summer Begins by Ben Becker from Internationalist 360°.
- It’s a Class War Now Too by Joshua Frank from Defend Democracy Press.
- Are we about to see a Colour Revolution in the United States? by Kit Knightly from Off-Guardian.
- VIDEO – Here are the Horrifying things I learned at a Contact Tracing Class from FRN (based in Serbia).
- Facts Vs. Fake by Peter Koenig from Dissident Voice.
THIS IS ALL I HAVE TIME AND ENERGY FOR.
