tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30327664999401182672024-03-15T20:33:22.212-07:00WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE & CIVILIZATIONTHE ULTIMATE GOAL OF THIS BLOG IS TO SHARE WITH THE READER ISSUES OF HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE FROM A PROGRESSIVE PERSPECTIVEWORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.comBlogger862125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-49396169875101711862024-03-15T20:32:00.000-07:002024-03-15T20:32:47.234-07:00What is Neoliberalism? Understanding its Origins, Concept, and Impact on Geopolitical Economy<p> </p><h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata">What is Neoliberalism? Understanding its Origins, Concept, and Impact on Geopolitical Economy</h1><p> </p><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip347BoDwlw&t=10s</p><p> </p><p> </p><h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata"><br /></h1>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-11666666029488823582024-02-24T20:54:00.000-08:002024-02-24T20:54:19.600-08:00Farmers Strike Against Global Neoliberalism - <p> <span class="yt-core-attributed-string yt-core-attributed-string--white-space-pre-wrap"><span class="yt-core-attributed-string--link-inherit-color" style="color: #131313;">In the past few days, farmers from all over the world have protested against neoliberal policies of their respective governments in the 2020 Farm Bills of India and the 2020 European Green Deal initiatives of the European Union. Everywhere from India to France, Greece, Czech Republic, and other countries, farmers are protesting against the governmental policies that they believe have oppressed their rights and pushed them into poverty. This strike also involves a power struggle between far-right and pluralists. Want to know more about it?
Listen to Jon Kofas reflect on the intensifying period of farmers' strike as he explains the background, current updates, and solutions to this issue.
</span></span></p><p> </p><p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OveEJlOKOyY&t=954s</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-79499850398535500082024-01-27T21:59:00.000-08:002024-01-27T21:59:45.158-08:00INTERNVIEW ON NEW NOVEL, PHANTOMS OF APOCALYPSE <p>Jon Kofas interview on the new novel:</p><p> </p><p>PHANTOMS OF APOCALYPSE<br /></p><p> <br /></p><p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiMxfgpD0kM</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-70975301916959354882024-01-27T21:51:00.000-08:002024-01-27T21:51:05.458-08:00NEOLIBERALISM AND THE MEDIA<p> </p><p>NEOLIBERALISM AND THE MEDIA <br /></p><p> </p><p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnV5rfuh_c4&t=408s</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-25570155161405508782024-01-20T12:19:00.000-08:002024-01-20T12:19:35.097-08:00ON NEOLIBERALISM<p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdkz5p6mCsE&t=300s</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-3849969432750259452024-01-20T12:17:00.000-08:002024-01-20T12:17:48.942-08:00NEOLIBERALISM AND EDUCATION<p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkXoRRWSpKY&t=301s</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-38394418615550049472024-01-10T18:44:00.000-08:002024-01-10T18:44:09.173-08:00Analyzing Israel-Hamas War YOUTUBE<p> </p><p> </p><h1 class="style-scope ytd-watch-metadata">Analyzing Israel-Hamas War with Jon Kofas</h1><p> ON YOUTUBE</p><p><br /></p><p> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn3IdOnrMyA&t=10s</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-36307299459583913372023-11-05T02:09:00.004-08:002023-11-05T02:09:55.198-08:00ISRAEL’S WAR IN GAZA AND WESTERN AUTHORITARIANISM<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><h1 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal;"> </span><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Criminalizing free speech when it
pertains to Israel's apartheid policies impacting the lives of Palestinians is
not a new invention that has just emerged in the Israeli war of
October-November 2023. For decades, the mass media has reflected official
government and institutional anti-Muslim policy to the degree that Islamophobia
became the norm both because the state used the pretext of 'war on terror',
implying war on Islamic anti-Western rebels, as well as fear of Muslim migrants
in Western countries on the hysterical assumption that to be a Muslim meant to
embrace terrorism. Very influential Jewish lobbyists and pro-Israel
organizations and large campaign business and private donors have been responsible
for crushing dissent and paving the way for authoritarianism in Western
countries in the name of preserving apartheid Israel.</span></i></b></h1>
<p><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">In February 2016, the British
government declare it was illegal for “local councils, public bodies, and
even some university student unions … to refuse to buy goods and services from
companies involved in the arms trade, fossil fuels, tobacco products, or
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.” Powerful pro-Israel individuals
were responsible for the legislation just as in the US pro-Israel organizations
lobbied to criminalize any action or criticism of the apartheid state. The fear
was that the global campaign of Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment, or BDS,
emulating the 1980s campaign that brought down the Israel-allied apartheid
regime in South Africa, would someday succeed, so it was important to
criminalize it and any dissent before it became effective. The mass media with
a very heavy pro-Israel, and anti-Palestinian, anti-Muslim bias helped in the
campaign to crush dissent which was in essence promoting authoritarianism all
for the sake to protect Zionist policies.</span></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Two years before the Israeli war on
Gaza, 35 US states had enacted anti-BDS legislation or executive orders requiring
government contractors not to engage in BDS, laws violating several
Constitutional rights as both the </span></i></b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">ACLU
and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_American%E2%80%93Islamic_Relations" title="Council on American–Islamic Relations">Council on American–Islamic
Relations</a> (CAIR) argued in court<b><i>. In one Anti-Boycott, citizens would
be barred from requesting <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>information
about companies that conduct business with Israel, while <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>prosecutors would be free to target protesters
against Israeli apartheid policies. This legislation and others more egregious failed,
but both Federal state action against BDS continued to gain momentum,
considering that billionaires are not just donors to politicians to colleges
and universities and they have a hold on the economy. </i></b></span></p>
<p><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">When the current war unfolded, there
was an immediate effort by pro-Israel elements to silence the opposition to
war. Even when the UN, ICC, Amnesty International, WHO, Human Rights Watch and
most governments around the world protested the war crimes, genocide and
collective punishment of Palestinians by Israel, the supporters which include mostly
Western governments and corporations insisted on crushing dissent rather than
addressing the war through diplomatic channels as the UN and most countries
proposed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b></p>
<p><b><i><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">The issue is larger than one of crushing
dissent across the entire institutional structure on the pretext of national
security. Besides its historical association of authoritarian regimes, crushing
dissent for opposing war and proposing peaceful solutions; opposing apartheid
and proposing pluralism; opposing mass murder of children and proposing cease
fire to deliver humanitarian aid; opposing bombing of hospitals refugee camps,
schools, UN and journalists’ quarters while proposing observing international
law and human rights, are the sorts of things that any presumably democratic government
would support. Rejecting them would not necessarily make them more like the
Third Reich, but certainly leaning in that direction. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b></p>
<br />WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-13758357150904734142022-09-06T20:21:00.001-07:002022-09-09T23:51:04.667-07:00Jon Kofas interview of Noam Chomsky regarding energy sector's influence on public policy<p> </p><p> </p><p>https://www.bilibili.com/s/video/BV18S4y1x7j5 <br /></p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-54583659906623694842022-07-05T06:42:00.011-07:002023-04-26T01:10:28.145-07:00LINKS ON A CHAIN: Five Days in October<p>NEW NOVEL </p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"Honorable Mention" at London Book Festival - 2023</b></i></span> <br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><div class="a-row a-grid-vertical-align a-grid-center maintain-height" id="imageBlockContainer" style="height: 346.5px;"> <div class="a-column a-span12 a-text-center maintain-height a-span-last" id="main-image-container"> <div class="maintain-height" id="img-wrapper" style="position: relative;">
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<img alt="" class="a-dynamic-image image-stretch-vertical frontImage" data-a-dynamic-image="{"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416wYY95xKL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[324,499],"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416wYY95xKL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[225,346]}" id="imgBlkFront" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/416wYY95xKL._SX322_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" style="left: 0px; max-height: 346px; max-width: 225px; position: relative; top: 0px;" /> </div>
</div>
</div> </div><p> </p><p> https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61yDL6gXvyL.jpg</p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A third generation Norwegian, Freddie
with a gambling addiction and nostalgic for the sixties counterculture,
inherits the low-budget motel on the city's outskirts. As Freddie
struggles with his own problems after leaving the motel maid pregnant,
he is caught up in the lives of transients; a white supremacist, a black
ex-con, a former mental patient and an unstable Vietnam veteran, among
others. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-size: large;">Against the background of the moral majority movement of the 1980s,
Freddie faces not only a moral dilemma, but an existential one.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"> The unraveling of his own life, and the lives of motel guests, force him
to reexamines his own middle class values in a society that equates
immorality with the marginalized souls like those staying at the
Strassen Inn. </span></span></p><p> https://www.amazon.com/dp/1387815067/ref=sr_1_11?qid=1657255475&refinements=p_27%3AJon+Kofas&s=books&sr=1-11</p><p> </p><p> https://dwtr67e3ikfml.cloudfront.net/bookCovers/0031152-be14e993-0d77-43b6-8034-dd955a979b54.jpg</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-10171893759676340732022-05-03T02:59:00.002-07:002022-05-03T02:59:11.667-07:00SCENARIOS OF RUSSIAN WAR OUTCOME<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When the US became
involved in both world wars in the 20<sup>th</sup> century, all sides knew the
outcome would be in favor of US allies. However, they had no idea of the length
nor could they guess that the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1919 would be the
first long-term cause of WWII, any more than anyone could predict that WWII
would end with the US dropping nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Similarly, the Russian
war outcome is impossible to predict with any degree of accuracy. Yet, the US
has based its proxy-war strategy through military and economic aid, combined
with sanctions on a neoconservative scenario of the 1980s. This is because
Biden, a Cold War/militarist liberal, has always supported the military-industrial
complex and the neoconservative strategy of the 1980s. Surrounded by a Clinton-Obama
hawkish foreign policy team, with individuals who unfortunately operate under assumptions
that the US can repeat the Reagan-era strategy with the same degree of success
in Russia, Biden’s mindset has not moved out of the 1980s neoconservative mold.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the Russian war
against Ukraine, the US goal is based on the neoconservative strategy of the
Reagan administration which raised defense spending astronomically to the
degree that Moscow responded, despite crippling its already weak civilian economy.
Debilitating Russia economically by forcing it to spend itself into oblivion
for its defense sector, thereby winning the war of attrition, worked for Reagan
who raised the US public debt to the highest level since WWII, as though the US
had an FDR-style war economy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the time, Biden was senator
who went along with the neoconservatives of the 1980s, just as he went along
with Reagan’s vast defense budget increase as part of the strategy which in
fact seemed, at least on the surface, to pay off because Mikhail Gorbachev
dismantled the ungovernable USSR collapsing from within owing to structural
impediments ranging from falsified economic output statistics to a parasitic bureaucracy.
Scholars who have studied postwar Soviet history know very well that internal
structural causes, combined with the rapidly rising cost of defense,
precipitated the collapse of USSR.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Scenarios for the
end of the Russian War:</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Russia suffers a military defeat.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> If
we are to believe the Pentagon, Russia has already lost and cannot possibly
prevail militarily. If we are to accept the State Department version, Russia
cannot win militarily because its “war aims” cannot be realized, although the
war aims have been a moving target. How realistic is this scenario, considering
that the Pentagon map of Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory stretches from
Odessa up to Kherson, Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and all along the
border northwest to Chernobyl; in essence a solid strategic buffer zone that
reminds any student of Soviet studies the sort of thing Stalin would do in
pursuit of securing a minimal base of operations, if for no other reason, than negotiating
leverage. Deliberately oblivious to this reality in part for public relations
reasons but also because the US wants a protracted war, and the fact that about
6 million of 44 million Ukrainians are displaced and many cities severely destroyed,
the US government insists that Russia is “losing”. Unless losing has some “alternative
fact” meaning other than what is in the dictionary, it defies logic to see how
Russia is “losing’ and Ukraine is “winning”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Russia scores a resounding victory</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
with the end of the Zelenskyy regime and Moscow placing its own puppet regime
in Kyiv. This is as unrealistic as the first scenario because geography
determines Russia’s foreign policy, as it does Mexico-US relations,
India-China, etc. Russia values the strategic balance of power and does not
want a Ukraine as a military and economic Western puppet, but it also values economic
integration with the West. Here too the US has an early Cold War goal which is completely
contradictory to the neoliberal model of globalization, namely, the creation of
East-West economic blocs with an eye on China, not Russia, as the ultimate
Western enemy to undermine. “Giving war a chance”, the Biden neo-conservatives
have no other card to play against China, but to force Russia into a war, even
if Moscow prevails, thereby making it easier to consolidate those blocs and
derive the meager short-term benefits of strengthening the US defense and
energy sectors, along with derivative industries.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A Yalta-style conference</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> (February
1945) where Moscow and the West agree on portioning Ukraine, with provisions
for all sorts of Russian limitations regarding future military operations similar
to Ukraine, in return for Western guarantees to place geographic limits on NATO
expansion so that Russia does not feel the pressure of Cold War containment. Putin
and Biden are Cold War militarists who understand this sort of thinking, but it
is unlikely to take place, unless Western Europe feels the pain of a declining
economy and reverses position to demand a quick settlement. The fact that
sanctions cut both ways, deeply and sharply, is hardly anything to celebrate any
more for the Europeans than for the Americans, dragging down the rest of the
world over a war of imperialism in Ukraine. Macron has both Marine Le Pen and especially
Jean-Luc Melenchon after a deal with the Greens, breathing down his neck with
the legislative elections of June 2022. Energy is killing the EU economy and it
is no secret that the US is charging far higher prices than the Russians. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">War of attrition scenario as the Biden
neo-cons envision</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> would be another way that this could end,
although attrition cuts both ways and it would send not just the Russian
economy into oblivion, but Ukraine would become another Yemen. Furthermore, the
US neo-con position also clashes with the MF, World Bank, Credit Suisse and
Goldman Sachs warning of a sharp drop in the dollar, lingering stagflation, sharply
higher US and EU public debt, and lower living standards for the entire world.
If that is not sufficiently scary to business elites and trade unions alike,
China would emerge even stronger because of its unique global integration model
free of a sanction’s regime. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sharp US-NATO escalation</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">,
with hundreds of billions poured into the conflict to the degree that it
becomes even more obvious than it is currently that Ukraine is but a pretext
for a Russia vs, US-led NATO war. The inevitable conclusion is nuclear winter for
the planet. While Putin has been talking about it from a position of weakness/deterrence,
and the US has been talking nuclear war down but acting as though it is on the
table, the Europeans are very anxious because nuclear war takes them right back
to Reagan Defense Secretary Cap Weinberger who had no problem of a “limited
nuclear war”, as long as it were confined on European/Eurasian soil. Europe
holds a great deal of leverage and the question is when and it if will exercise
it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Afghanistan-style insurgency of the
1980s combined with internal pressure on the Kremlin from oligarchs and the
masses </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">to end the conflict would be dream come
true for the US. However, this is as unlikely as a nuclear war. Neo-con US strategists
are salivating over such a scenario but once again realism will sink in when
action on the ground does not support the mental constructs. True, in some
respects this is already taking place sporadically in cocoons of resistance,
but it is hardly a deterrent for the Kremlin’s goals. Contrary to Western
wishful thinking, Putin has built an elite and populist-based consensus, enjoying
greater popularity than Biden enjoys either among the public or business elites
watching their stock portfolios drop sharply in the first four months of 2022. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The scenarios described
above may never come to pass, unless some combination of those versions ends
the war. A more important question is how will any war-ending scenario shape
the post-war peace, as was the case with the dreadful Paris Peace Treaty of 1919
which led right back to another war. Putin is not Tsar Peter the Great, but his
is ambitious and wants a place in history by somehow strengthening Russia which
was weakened under Yeltsin in the 1990s. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Putin and many in the
Kremlin have been watching China’s global ascendancy as the world’s undisputed economic
superpower and the relative economic decline of the US. Putin and the Kremlin want
to position Russia in a competitive role beyond just exporting energy, minerals
and raw materials as though it is a Third World country. Securing a balance of
power was a priority against the unapologetic Western advances, but this has
meant militarism and alienation of countries surrounding Russia; a calculated risk
that Putin was willing to take to affirm Russia’s Great Power status. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The US saw the opportunity
to exploit Putin’s imperialist ambition by “giving war a chance”, considering
that “empire as a way of life”, as William Appleman Williams argued is part of
the political culture and ideological framework. The problem, however, is that in
2022 the US is in a comparable position as Russia in the 1980s, namely a military
superpower, playing an increasingly diminishing role in the world economy.
Hence, the US is falling back on its remarkable ability to destabilize and slowdown
the advances of its rivals, even if this means self-inflicted wounds to its own
declining economic status. Regardless of which scenario plays out, short of the
nuclear, there are no winners in this conflict, contrary to what the
oligarch-led Putin regime assumes or the neo-con Wall Street-led group of
delusional enthusiasts living in the neo-con Reagan world of the 1980s. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p> </p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-81446438688689785752022-04-28T00:50:00.005-07:002022-04-28T00:50:35.061-07:00The Dollar and Delusional Assumptions about Sanctions<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Sanctions are a form of warfare, and few would
deny that we have moved into a new era of economic warfare with sanctions, led
by the US, have become the norm, rather than the exception. This was the
conclusion recently of the pro-Western World Economic Forum. If there is general
agreement that sanctions are a form of warfare, and not selectively, but
regardless of who imposes them and for whatever reason, the next question is
the cost-benefit ratio on the country or countries imposing them. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Clearly, the desired goal is to use economic sanction
as leverage, although there is an appreciation of their impact on the general population,
rather the elite of the targeted nation. From the Cuban Revolution, to the
Iranian Revolution, and to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, history has shown that
sanction do not yield the desired goal. When imposed on countries like China, economic
sanctions have shown to cause far greater damage to those imposing them than on
the targeted country. Assuming that heads of state are well aware of this
reality, why go the route of economic sanctions, only to suffer the detrimental
consequences? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The combination of ideology, power status,
the mythology/pathology of “greatness”, even when time has diluted such “greatness”,
revenge at any cost, desperation owing to lack of alternative paths, and, of
course, delusional thinking of which it is always in abundance on the part of the
political and business elite, merely because they embrace the fallacy of the
eternal sameness against the harsh reality of constant change combined with the
other reality of the unpredictability on the part of the sanctioned party. Just
as Russian is not what it was in 1949 when it successfully tested the first atomic
bomb, and simultaneously Mao’s revolution succeeded in China, neither is the US
the same as the world’s hegemonic superpower with the dollar as the world’s preeminent
currency. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">When Biden announced the massive US-led
sanctions against Russia, US and European officials as well as Western analysts
were predicting the complete collapse of the Russian currency now linked to
gold; the quick bankruptcy of the Russian state agencies owing to defaults,
followed by an economic depression and presumably the Kremlin’s decision to
leave Ukraine in humiliation. At the same time, US-Western analysts expected an
international rush to buy dollars, thereby strengthening the US reserve
currency.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The above scenario was around the end of
February when the euro-dollar exchange rate just $1.13-1.14 to one euro. On 28
April the dollar-euro rate stands at $1.05, representing a significant drop
against a currency itself in trouble because of the Russian sanctions. More
significant, a number of private financial institutions as well as the IMF
which monitors currencies globally, have concluded that the dollar is headed
for continued decline. Saudi Arabia among other countries have already
announced that they are transitioning out of the dollar as the most reliable
reserve currency. The US-NATO sanctions regime which is in essence a reaffirmation
of economic bloc trading in the absence of their ability to compete with China,
regardless of what has taken place with Russia, demonstrates that the West is
undermining the Western neoliberal model from within, using the Russian war as
a pretext in a desperate attempt to retain core status in the world economy. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The US-NATO plan to weaken Russia militarily,
thereby sending a message to China about Taiwan, rather than to pursue a
diplomatic solution will hasten and deepen global economic recession, and by
default strengthen China despite its own supply chain problems because of an
austere COVID-19 lock down policy. Rhetoric aside, the Russian currency has
stabilized. GAZPROM has already compelled a number of European countries and companies
to pay in rubles for natural gas. And the idea that a war of attrition will
only hurt Russia has proved delusional so far, and we are still early in a
conflict that the US wants to be drawn out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The idea that a military solution will favor
the US-NATO bloc and result in the demise of Russia is another leap into the murky
realm of delusional thinking, considering that autocratic Putin is more
determined and far more capable of doing damage to Europe than NATO can inflict
on Russia, unless the West has resolve to put an end to the continent. This is
not to suggest that the Kremlin's delusions are less imperialistic, less
militaristic and more ethical than those of the US-NATO coalition. If China
never existed, and if more than two dozen countries of the 195 in the world were
taking part in US-led sanctions, US-NATO sanctions would not be as delusional,
though they would still not be nearly as effective as policy makers assume.</span></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-6591600287499810952022-04-14T05:19:00.009-07:002022-04-14T06:38:17.985-07:00 BIDEN, RUSSIAN WAR, AND STAGFLATION ECONOMICS<p>
</p>When Trump left office, he had a personal low public opinion poll of 34%
amid the January 6th quasi-coup attempt, whereas Biden in a middle of an enemy
that most Americans love to hate, and have done for more than century, has
approval rating 1% lower than Trump when the latter left office in January 2020.
The question is why do only one-third of the voters polled approve of a
president trying to blame Russia and/or China for all calamities befalling the
US?
<p style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span>Stagflation – A recession cycle was as inevitable as
the Federal Reserve was due to raise interest rates to slow down speculative
financialization on Wall Street. Biden exacerbated the problem by arrogantly
assuming that "punishing" Russia with sanctions that would have minimal
impact on the world economy with which the US is intertwined. Trump tried
tariff wars with China and the net economic loser was the US; a lesson one
would assume that Biden's advisors would have learned and provided a bit of
realistic analysis to the White House dreaming of a return to the Cold War of
the 1950s. </p>
<p style="margin-left: .5in;">Instead, they have been willing to sacrifice the US
and world economy to "punish" Russia, as though it were ever a
possibility that Putin would actually change his mind and abandon his war aims
in Ukraine. Calling the high cost of living the "Putin inflation" is
about as "cute" as Trump calling COVID-19 "the China virus"
and indicative of why Beijing criticizes the US leadership for conducting
policy from a realistic perspective. </p>
<p style="margin-left: .5in;">2. Another reason for Biden’s low polling numbers
is that the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party and rank and file feel
betrayed. Biden had promised a pro-labor agenda. Instead, he has continued some
of the Trump economic policies both in fiscal measures as well as corporate
subsidies, favoring Wall Street and the richest 1%. Despite the Progressive
Caucus’ urging to push the Build Back Better program, to do something about
college student debt, and support labor unions and higher federal minimum wage,
he and the mainstream Democrats engage in patronizing rhetoric, but have done
nothing to deliver on policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-left: .5in;">3. Biden has placed militarism above
environmentalism and the environmentalists have taken notice that he has
abandon the promise of a green economy. Nationalism works up to a certain point
when people’s material needs are satisfied. Biden has used nationalism to
justify not seeking a diplomatic solution, while benefiting the defense sector
industries, but above all, the fossil fuel which he had promised that he would
not be supporting. On the contrary, he has given the industry the green light
and provided corporate subsidies, all in a desperate effort to create an
Atlantic bloc economy that would minimize the role of Russia and China. This
has meant tossing out all campaign promises about green energy.</p>
<p style="margin-left: .5in;">4. While remaining true to symbolic gestures like
choosing the first black woman for the Supreme Court, he has done absolutely
nothing to lift living standards among minorities, as he promised when he
insisted that a massive infrastructure program would create high paying jobs. The
cost of living was climbing higher before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and
reached new heights thereafter. People are judging Biden based on their living
standards, not his policy intended to replace Russian natural gas and oil
market in Europe with US exports. </p>
<p style="margin-left: .5in;">5. Focusing on a war in a distant land where
Americans feel a general sense of empathy does work for a brief period, very
brief when the realities of paying bills are confronting working families.
Biden has failed to deliver for working families, as he had promised in 2020
and this is the main reason only one-third of those polled support him. Every
few days, people find out that there are hundreds of millions of their tax
dollars going to military aid in Ukraine whose chances of winning the conflict
were always ZERO and are unlikely to improve. They also discover that Biden has
proposed the highest defense budget in US history. Meanwhile, the country’s
debt is reaching new highs, as a percent of GDP, while the IMF is warning that
US GDP growth will be in the low 1% in 2022 and the dollar’s future is looking
very grim. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In March 2022, the IMF issued a warning about the global
demise of the dollar owing to US-NATO-led global sanctions on Russia’s the
world's largest producer of commodities. A few days later Goldman-Sachs
followed the IMF with a more dire warning about the dollar's future as a
reserve currency, arguing that it will be somewhat analogous to the British
pound, given that the US has chosen to place military-based geopolitics above
economic considerations, or rather risk using military means as economic
leverage. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This week, CREDIT SUISSE issued an even more pessimistic
scenario than either the IMF or Goldman-Sachs, arguing that bloc-trading
geopolitics in essence disengages a segment of the world economy, forcing
countries at odds with US policy to go their own way and drop the dollar as a
reserve currency. Right now, there is really no problem, other than inflation
and stagnation, cyclical in nature with a good possibility for a recession
exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and US-NATO sanctions regime, and
combined with the adamant US refusal for a diplomatic solution based on
accommodating Russia's security concerns. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> After the Russian war, the recession will remain and after
the recession, the dollar will continue the long slide to oblivion, exactly as
the IMF, Goldman-Sachs and CREDIT-SUISSE have warned. This was not inevitable,
but rather a decision by Washington to rely on "military Keynesian"
policy, as it has since the Truman presidency, to the detriment of the civilian
economy under the neoliberal model that has already debilitated the middle
class and working class. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="break-words"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">China has been watching
NATO and the US weakened economically by their own sanctions, while they are
and taking down the world economy. Prolonging the conflict provides nothing but
destruction for Ukraine, a weaker global economy, which inadvertently benefits
China, and nuclear-powered Russia becomes more distant from the West. Following
a path contrary of the US, on 14 April, China asked banks to keep less cash on
reserve and make more credit available. This was in anticipation of a global
economic contraction and a means of stimulating internal demand to substitute
for the anticipated drop in exports. Undermining that policy, US Treasury Janet
Yellen called on China to stop undermining US-led sanctions against Russia,
while hinting that the US wants to avoid a split with China. In reality, the US
and EU have been pursuing bloc trading and the so-called split that Yellen
mentioned is manifested in the East-West approach to the war in Ukraine. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
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<![endif]--></p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-89086732994116324392022-04-04T16:42:00.000-07:002022-04-04T16:42:10.508-07:00África en el siglo XXI; El legado del imperialismo y perspectivas de desarrollo<p> </p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto slab", serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Algunos de los argumentos que hoy se esgrimen acerca de por qué África no se puede poner a nivel de Occidente también se esgrimieron hace cien años cuando África estaba bajo la colonización europea y los colonizadores culpaban a todo excepto al imperialismo de ser la causa fundamental del subdesarrollo. La estructura económica mundial no ha cambiado, independientemente de la retórica de la globalización. África sigue siendo semicolonial: cada vez más dependiente de los países desarrollados por sus sobrevalorados artículos manufacturados mientras exporta materias primas a unos precios determinados por los mercados de materias primas de Occidente.</p><p>RESUMEN <br /></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "roboto slab", serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 1.5em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Este trabajo argumenta que en el siglo XXI África está experimentando cambios en sus economías, no sólo por el papel que desempeña China, sino también por la fuerte competencia de otros países occidentales y de Oriente Medio. El papel de China forma parte de la economía capitalista mundial y del modelo de integración patrón-cliente que los europeos siguieron después de que los países africanos lograran su independencia formal de la colonización. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX la Europa del noroeste siguió siendo el conducto para la integración africana en la economía global centrada en Estados Unidos, a pesar del papel de las corporaciones multinacionales con base en Estados Unidos. Según las encuestas sobre las naciones africanas del Pew Research Centre, el problema que afecta a la vasta mayoría de las personas sigue siendo el abismo entre ricos y pobres, lo cual está directamente relacionado tanto con la rivalidad internacional por la cuota de mercado en África como con la cuestión de la seguridad relacionada con los grupos rebeldes y con lo que Estados Unidos califica de «terrorismo» de inspiración islámica u otras formas de guerra de guerrilla. Este artículo examina muchas de estas cuestiones para poder entender en profundidad el África actual y sus perspectivas de futuro.</p><p></p><div class="entradilla" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: lato; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "roboto slab", serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;">Traducido del inglés para Rebelión por Beatriz Morales Bastos</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "roboto slab", serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.8em; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"> <a href="https://rebelion.org/autor/jon-v-kofas/?msclkid=89f82cc7b46f11ec85247565c5081181">Jon V. Kofas – Rebelion</a></p></div><p>https//rebelion.org/ autor/jon-v-kofas/ </p><p><a href="https://rebelion.org/el-legado-del-imperialismo-y-perspectivas-de-desarrollo/">El legado del imperialismo y perspectivas de desarrollo – Rebelion</a></p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-76563161752165862362022-03-30T08:11:00.001-07:002022-03-30T08:11:34.427-07:00 The Russian-Ukrainian Conflict in its Historical Global Context<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Introduction</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Symptomatic of the
intensification of the US-led Cold War in the first two decades of the 21<sup>st</sup>
century, the Russian war in Ukraine was a point of contention for military
integration of former Soviet republics by the US and its Western European
allies which welcomed and encouraged the conflict in 2022 in part to test the
Atlantic Alliance’s solidarity against the background of a shifting world
balance of power. Some scholars have argued that Russia’s war in Ukraine was
similar to the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, or even direct and indirect
Western military operations in Libya, Syria and Yemen, all former Western
colonies. While the comparison is useful in so far as pointing out Western
hypocrisy about selective wars and their consequences, especially considering
the number of US military bases around the world and military operations from
1950 to the present, it is not historically valid to compare Russia’s war in
Ukraine to the US-European wars in the Middle East. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Russia’s war in Ukraine was
part of a post-colonial “internal colonization” Russian policy in an attempt to
recapture the regional balance of power and part of eroding global status lost
in the dissolution of the USSR. From the perspective of the Western Powers
using a periphery state within Russian historic zone of influence, the war in
Ukraine was somewhat analogous to South Africa’s Boer War (October 1899-May
1902). This is because the early 21<sup>st</sup> century multi-polar world
order, in some respects, resembles the Age of Imperialism (1870-1914).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Just as the Boer War was in
essence a conflict between Germany supporting the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Boers, (South African of Dutch and
German settlers of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
against British quest for colonial hegemony, similarly, the Russian-Ukraine
conflict is a 21<sup>st</sup> century version of a 19<sup>th</sup> century war
of imperialism. One of the most significant wars of imperialism, the Boer War
motivated British scholar John Hobson to write a book entitled <b><i>Imperialism</i></b>,
which influenced Rosa Luxemburg and V. I. Lenin’s views of imperialism’s global
impact on social and international relations. Hobson warned that South Africa’s
war of imperialism was a precursor to a major conflict between the Great Powers.
The outbreak of WWI proved his point. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From ancient times to the
present, no government has ever gone to war expecting major loses in a
long-lasting conflict that would broaden the field of players and unleash destruction
on a massive scale. More than any other domain, war brings out delusional
optimism on the part of policy planners and military enthusiasts who behave
like drug-addicted gamblers about to taste the glory of victory without cost. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Consistent with its
post-Soviet policy of integrating as many countries surrounding Russia as
possible under NATO’s aegis, the US and EU declared an “Open Door Policy”; a
remnant from the Spanish-American war of imperialism under presidents William
McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt pertaining to China. The Open Door Policy was
especially important after the Chinese Boxers Rebellion (1899-1901) as it led
to Japan’s imperialist designs in Manchuria and China’s financial dependence on
Europe. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The thinly disguised
US-NATO expansionist policy in Eastern Europe and Eurasia after 1990 not only upset
the regional balance of power and resulted in preventable conflict, it further
became the pretext for asserting the new “Open Door Policy” in Asia where China
is a rival that the Trans-Atlantic alliance is not in the position to threaten
with sanctions unless it is prepared for a very deep and long global depression.
Considering that China helped to mitigate the effects of the Global recession of
2008, and that its GDP measured in PPP terms in 2021 exceeded that of the US by
five trillion dollars, confronting China in the same manner as Russia would be
an indication that Western policymakers are bent on self-destruction, willing
to take down the entire world. As Dutch scholar Johan Huizinga argued upon observing
how elites become exceedingly sadistic in their desperation to retain their
privileged positions in society after WWI, such a scenario is not at all
unrealistic in the 21<sup>st</sup> century. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Although the mutually-beneficial
option before the NATO bloc and Russia was diplomacy before Russia started the
war, the US was publishing intelligence reports, over Ukraine’s objections,
instead of either referring the matter to the UN Security Council or engaging in
a realistic bilateral diplomatic solution. History has shown that diplomacy to
end a war can take the wrong turn and conflict can make an inevitable a return
to hostilities. This was the case with the Paris Peace Conference that ended
WWI only to leave it unfinished and allow for its continuation in WWII. Because
it was not the vanquished but the victors who are responsible for the
detrimental flaws in the peace treaty, one must keep in mind that the parties
holding the leverage at the negotiating table enjoy a far greater burden to
ensure lasting peace and stability. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Historical
Antecedents</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Without going back to the
9<sup>th</sup> century to trace the origins of the Russia-Ukrainian conflict, a
point of departure for this brief essay is the Treaty of Andrusovo (1667) which
ended hostilities between Imperial Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth to which Ukraine’s “right bank” belonged, while Russia took the
“left bank” as part of its “internal colonization” strategy. The Scientific
Revolution and mercantile capitalism in 17<sup>th</sup> century Western Europe,
especially during Peter the Great’s reign (1682-1725), reflected and encouraged
disparate elements from Western Ukraine looking to the West vs. those in the
East and rural areas with an affinity toward Moscow. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Although Ukrainian
nationalists looked to the West more as a means to assert their autonomy but
also to emulate modern Europe rather than Medieval Russia, the issue remained
very much alive throughout the Tsarist era. Ukraine was always part of Imperial
Russia’s long-standing policy of “internal colonization”; namely, internal conquest
from the Pacific to the Atlantic and from the Black Sea to the Bering Sea.
Unlike Western Europe and the US expanding beyond their continental borders seizing
territory and spheres of influence in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Russia
expanded within the Eurasian continent. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In the aftermath of the
Byzantine Empire’s fall to Ottoman Turks (1453), Russian Tsars viewed their
role as the rightful successor to the Byzantine Empire and patron-protectors of
Orthodox subjects inside and outside Russian boundaries. Putin could not make
such a claim in Orthodox Christian Ukraine, but he laid claim to “cultural
protection” of the Russian ethnic minority and the strategically important Crimea.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Crimean War of 1853-1856
which Russia lost to Britain and France brought into focus the geopolitical
significance of Ukraine’s strategic position and the need for access to the
Mediterranean. Tsar Nicholas I (1825-1855) used the pretext of Russian
“protection for Orthodox subjects” of the Ottoman Empire to go to war against
the Ottoman Empire which was in essence under the semi-colonial control of
Western Europe. Although the European Great Powers easily prevailed in the Crimean
War, they recognized that it was not in their interest to deny Russia access to
the Black Sea and punish it to the degree that destabilization would ensue with
consequences for European security; a lesson that US-EU Cold Warriors neglected
in their approach to Russia’s relationship with Ukraine in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the Treaty of Paris in
1856, the British and the French governments set limitations not only on
Russian power, but on their own military ambitions in exchange for harmony in
the European balance of power. This was a lesson learned from the Metternichian
Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars (1814-15) and a mode of operation
which Otto von Bismarck also followed both as Prussian foreign minister and
German Chancellor. Setting limits on one’s own power became a major East-West Cold
War issue because of the nuclear arms race and the MAD – mutual assured
destruction – doctrine of the 1960s. From the end of the Cold War to the
present, the US and Western NATO partners have dogmatically refused to set
limits on Western expansionism. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The uneasy Moscow-Kyiv
relationship continued once Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Revolution broke out,
followed by the Russian civil war and foreign invasion (1918-20) in which many
Ukrainians sided with the Tsarists against Leon Trotsky’s Red Army. US
president Woodrow Wilson quickly realized that Japan and European countries
involved in the Russian Civil War entertained territorial ambitions. In
essence, they were using the Bolshevik Revolution to pursue imperialist
ambitions. This is relevant today because of the role of the West in 2022 in
Ukraine which goes beyond the strategic balance of power as NATO has been
moving East since the 1990s. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Unlike Lenin who was
patient with reluctant Ukrainians to accept the Soviet system of centralization
and collectivization, Stalin, who was Georgian and eager to prove more Russian
than the Russians surrounding him, adopted harsh measures against Ukrainian
nationalists. The most glaring example of this was the famine of 1932-33 when Stalin
allowed several million Ukrainians to die of starvation as political punishment
for their resistance of collectivization. This tragedy left deep and long
memories in the Ukrainian population, some of whom sided with the invading
Third Reich army against the Soviet Union during WWII once Germany installed, </span><b><i><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Reichskommissariat Ukraine</span></i></b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">which
was the occupied government.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After Stalin’s death, the
political climate between Ukraine and Moscow improved. Ukraine was more
developed than the rest of the Soviet republics, and relatively rich in agricultural
and raw materials, as well as a supplier of value-added products for the entire
Soviet market. Like the rest of the non-Russian republics awaiting the Soviet
Union’s disintegration during the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachev, Ukraine was even
more so because of its uneasy history and ambitions to achieve greatness under
Western integration. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When thousands of Ukrainian
nationalists organized a human chain for independence in January 1990, it was
the beginning of national sovereignty. In August 1991 they were rewarded with
the formation of the <i>Ukrainian People’s Republic</i> which reaffirmed
national sovereignty after refusing to sign a new union treaty with Moscow in
October 1990. During the Yeltsin decade, the Russian Federation was at its
nadir. Meanwhile, the US and its Western European partners swiftly integrated a
number of former Soviet republics into the Western orbit, advising Yeltsin’s
Russian Federation that neoliberalism, globalization, and aggressive
privatization was the path to Western dreams of riches and democracy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From Economic
Crisis to War</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The end of the USSR left
the Russian Federation very weak, not only in comparison to the Communist-era
but to Tsarist Russia after the Crimean War when it became necessary for Tsar
Alexander II (1855-1881). Reduced from a military superpower with East European
satellites to merely a nuclear power with GDP lower than Italy’s and a bit
higher than Spain’s, Russia under former Soviet bureaucrats and KGB officers
like Putin created a corrupt Kremlin-linked oligarchic capitalist system unable
to compete in the international market, and relying heavily on fossil fuels and
primary sector exports. In many respects, Russia resembled a Third World monocultural
economy. In the name of neoliberal privatization, Kremlin-linked oligarchs raided
the country’s public wealth, exporting capital and purchasing everything from
luxury estates in major world capitals to luxury yachts in exchange for loyalty
to the Kremlin. Ranking 70<sup>th</sup> in GDP per capita income in the world, Russia’s
socioeconomic inequality and rampant corruption has been taking place under a
regime claiming to be democratic but is in essence authoritarian. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Heavily relying on fossil
fuel exports, Russia hitched itself to neighboring China’s development and
geopolitical interests out of necessity without many alternatives in the global
arena, while China has been using Russia for its raw material exports and
geopolitical maneuvering against the declining West. The two countries’ respective
geopolitical interests converged in so far as both faced a predatory
trans-Atlantic block using not only its privileged global role in trade and reserve
currency domains, but aggressively applying sanctions as a form of economic warfare.
In the first two decades of the 21<sup>st</sup> century, Russia was more on the
defensive than during the Romanov dynasty’s last decades or even the Soviet Union’s
declining years. Nevertheless, the myth of a paternalistic mother Russia
protecting the subservient “Little Russians”, which includes Ukraine, remained
part of the Kremlin’s political culture. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For its part, Ukraine became
integrated under the global neoliberal transformation model and experienced some
growth until the US-based Great Recession of 2007-08 when the economy
contracted. Just as Russia’s sociopolitical relations were based on a
government-linked oligarchy, the same was the case in Ukraine where capitalists
were linked primarily to Western interests, although China became a major trading
partner after 2008.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
By the time of the 2010 presidential election, former Orange Revolution
(November 2004) allies Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko were on opposing
camps, thereby prompting pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovych to win and setting the
stage for the intense rivalry about Ukraine holding the balance of power. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the <i>‘Revolution of Dignity’</i>, Yanukovych was
removed for rejecting the <i>Ukrainian-European Association Agreement</i> in
November 2013; a move that made Moscow uneasy as it viewed Ukraine part of its
sphere of influence and potentially destabilizing the delicate balance of power.
In February 2014, after two months of protests and street fights between police
and the crowd, parliament ousted the pro-Russia president who moved to Russia. In
retaliation, Moscow annexed Crimea in March 2014. A month later, pro-Russian
elements in Donetsk and Lugansk proclaimed autonomy with Moscow’s blessing and
support.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because elements from the far right were involved in many
sectors of Ukrainian society, from local politicians to the police and
military, Moscow exploited the situation to argue that it was merely protecting
the democratic rights of the Russian-speakers and pro-Russian Ukrainians. Although
Putin used “de-Nazification” to justify the invasion, the neo-Nazi issue was a thinly-veiled
pretext because those elements were in Ukraine since the early 1990s.
Ironically, Ukrainian white supremacists inside the armed forces, the police,
government bureaucracy, and in the heart of the economy are as adamantly
against popular sovereignty as the Kremlin. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Western governments and
media rarely focused on neo-Nazi Ukrainians, just as they rarely mentioned that
NATO cooperation with authoritarian East European governments was hardly the
road to ‘democracy’ as President Biden and EU leaders proclaimed. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p>
<p class="dcr-1wj398p" style="text-align: justify;">Taking advantage of China’s
global ascendancy and relative US decline, Russia was leveraging its foreign
policy by forging closer ties with Iran, India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Predictably,
Russia’s role in Syria emboldened Putin, as it was a resounding defeat for the
US-Saudi-Israeli alliance behind a regime-change effort that only strengthened
Iran and Russia in the regional balance of power. Just as important, during his
presidency, Trump questioned the value of NATO in any role other than buying US
weapons. He also used NATO as leverage to sell LNG to Europe at far higher
prices than what Russia was charging. Moscow’s perception of a fragile Atlantic
alliance, ambiguous geopolitical and economic interests, and heavy EU reliance
on Russian energy reinforced Putin’s illusions about the lengths to which
Western militarists would go, regardless of economic consequences to their
economies. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As
the Russian war intensified, global media outlets representing their respective
governments’ policy unleashed an “information war”, partly to justify the
reverberations of Western sanctions on the world economy. With the exception of
a few faint voices in Arab, Pakistani, Indian, African, and a few other news
outlets around the world, journalistic coverage has been one-sided. What upset
many non-white non-Christians world-wide is the fact that Western governments
and media presented the war from the victims’ perspective because Ukrainians
are white and Christian, not dark-skinned and/or Muslim like Africans and the
Middle Easterners. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At
the same time, most Western reporters and analysts have been clamoring for a
military solution, despite all which it entails for the Ukrainian people, but also
for the world economy. Provocative statements from Biden and top NATO leaders and
the blatant double-standards regarding war crimes in Ukraine vs. war crimes in
the Middle East have only added fuel to the fire about the new Cold War. Beyond
moral double-standards, the Russian and Western media's quest to indoctrinate
the public has a price tag for the world. Militarization on a world scale, lower
living standards amid rising cost of living in all countries, and </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">the dreaded prospect of a "limited
nuclear war" were unsettling. Both Russia and the US have enough warheads
to destroy each other dozens of times over. The Kremlin made no secret that it
would use nuclear weapons, if it perceives there is a real threat to its “national
security”, a vaguely defined concept. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While the possibility for any use of
nukes was never very high, US-Russian relations reached the lowest level since
the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962; so low, that Biden’s comments about regime
change reflected the mindset of a Cold War politician dreaming of the Pax
Americana in the 1950s. All along, Moscow continued destroying Ukraine, while insisting
that bilateral peace negotiations notwithstanding, <i>"One way or another,
sooner or later we (Russia and US) will have to talk about the issues of
strategic stability, security and so on, in other words, those issues that only
we can and should discuss."</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
general public may find it curious that NATO countries, including non-NATO
Ukraine, were actually selling weapons to Russia after Putin annexed Crimea in
1914. Wall Street investments were part of the defense industries involved. Weapons
sales cannot take place without the full knowledge and approval of the host
government, including the US whose investors in defense companies were making
money. The hypocrisy of Western sanctions against Russia reached new heights
beyond what took place after Crimea’s annexation in 2014, considering that
Western institutions laundered Russian oligarch money and shielded their
operations behind dummy companies with the full knowledge of both the US
Treasury and Justice departments. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
order to win over India, which refused to go along with the US and NATO on
sanctions, US defense contractors were trying to sell weapons to India which
historically has been buying mostly from Russia and Europe. Indicative that
capitalist enterprises have also been driving the war, while governments have
been crying out for Western solidarity against Russia, Western companies have
been making massive profits because of Russia's war. They have been selling
weapons not only to allies but also to the friends of NATO's enemies. Western
defense corporations’ profits in the first quarter of 2022 rose 25% because of
the war, the exact percentage of Ukrainians displaced in February and March
2022. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On
3 March 2022, AXIOS published an article entitled: <i>"The dollar remains
the West's ace in the hole."</i> About 20 percent of the world GDP in
nominal value, US economic strength rests in the fact that 60 percent of the
foreign exchange reserves in central banks are in dollars. One US goal in
sanctioning Russia was to strengthen that position. Instead, a number of
wealthy countries have been transitioning away from the dollar as a reserve
currency. After Saudi Arabia's decision to bypass the dollar in oil
transactions, India opted for the same strategy in a diplomatic blow to the US
sanctions policy and to the dollar as a reserve currency. India's move was
serious because of the size of its economy, combined with its refusal to go
along with the US sanctions policy. Even more serious, China’s role in
undercutting Western sanctions by solidifying its ties with Russia. <span class="break-words"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">China’s
Role</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In a
joint session of Congress on 11 September 1990, President George H.W. Bush
proclaimed the birth of the “New World Order”. In outlining US post-Cold War
goals and modalities, Bush promised to usher in a new era of justice, freedom
and democracy for the entire world. Putting aside delivering democracy to the
world, the US did not deliver on such promises to its own citizens concerned
about voting rights, democracy, freedom, and social justice. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unlike Russia interested in its national security and
regional balance of power and the US desperately trying to retain the glory of
1950s Pax Americana, China has a more complex global role. Geopolitically,
Beijing’s interests are with Moscow, but economically with the entire world.
Top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party have not concealed their assessment
of the US as a declining empire desperately using sanctions and its military
presence in two-thirds of the world’s countries as leverage to retain power.
While the war in Ukraine represented an economic setback for China, it also
presented the opportunity to observe how the US and its junior partners would
behave. Beijing’s interest was also to determine how the West would behave in
Ukraine so that Beijing could determine a scenario pertaining to the
Taiwan-South China Sea areas of contention between China and the US. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because China views the US as having
an interest in destabilization, not just in the Middle East through proxies
like Israel and Saudi Arabia, but also in South China Sea, Eastern Europe, and
the Trans-Caucasus region, Beijing’s balancing act goes to the heart of how it
wanted to manage crises with minimal damage to its own interests in the world
economy. One consequence from Russia’s war in Ukraine was a stronger yuan as a reserve
currency. Although US government and independent analysts were actually
expecting a massive international rush to the dollar as a safe hard currency, a
downgrade in the US dollar's dominance is inevitable as the US will be
borrowing more to spend on defense as it refuses to abandon military Keynesian
policies and corporate welfare as part of the neoliberal model. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span class="break-words"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Beijing’s
top leadership was concerned about the duration and scope of the Russian war.
This was especially after the US announced that it was considering
"secondary sanctions" which meant Asian countries would either go
along with US-backed sanctions against Russia or face US trade and investment
retaliation. Because China’s leverage is the world economy, its main concern has
been how to manage the Russia-Ukraine-US-NATO crisis with minimal damage to its
long-term interests. The longer the war continued, the worst for China to find
alternate corridors for its Belt and Road Initiative, bypassing Iran, Russia,
and Ukraine to reach Europe’s lucrative markets. China's other concern was that
the US has been using the war to gain increasing market share in Europe's
energy market which is not in China’s interest as it entails bloc trading and
economic nationalism undercutting globalization. It was also not in China's
interest for her trading partners around the world to spend more on defense as
the US has been urging to bolster its own defense industries. Such a scenario
undermines Chinese economic growth prospects, though this too is a temporary
situation. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whereas Russia is not in the
position to influence the g</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">lobal balance of power and world economy, China and
the US are at the core of this war more than it appears on the surface.
Geopolitical decisions both countries make, how they decide to handle all sides
of the conflict which impacts the entire world, and how they plan to balance
East against West to minimize US-NATO destabilization provocations and maximize
global market growth will impact the lives of billions of peoples’ living
standards. Presidents Obama, Trump and Biden attempted to contain China through
various mechanisms from tariffs to sanctions and military exercises in the
South China Sea. These were manifestations of US economic decline measured
against China’s ascendancy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Empires
of the past, including, the Persian, Athenian, Roman, Spanish, and British
spent themselves into oblivion by assuming that military not economic power is
the path to riches and glory. Although the goal was to secure more riches from
others through military campaigns, the cost of perpetual conflict and high
military spending ultimately bankrupted them. The USSR spent itself out of
existence because it was obsessed with the military dimension of its “superpower”
status, to the neglect of the civilian economy. Relying on military
Keynesianism, the US from the Truman administration to the present has been on
the same path as all failed empires. It defies logic how a two-front US
containment policy toward Russia and China can possibly lead to anything other
than hastened decline and serious internal sociopolitical problems. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kissinger’s
advice that striving to cultivate better relations with both Moscow and Beijing
than they entertain for each other was based on the realistic assessment rather
than confronting Russia and China simultaneously which would be a prescription
to disaster. Even more significant, the warnings of John Hobson, Joseph
Schumpeter and John Maynard Keynes about the inherent contradictions of
capitalism and its imperialist nature are as applicable in the 21<sup>st</sup>
century as they were in the early 20th century. Just as capital accumulation on
a world scale resulting in underconsumption led to more aggressive imperialist
adventures from the late 19<sup>th</sup> century to the outbreak of WWI, the
world is confronting similar conditions under the neoliberal transformation
model of the last four decades which kept the Cold War alive in spite of the
collapse of the Communist bloc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-41665770837961845712022-03-28T07:07:00.001-07:002022-03-28T07:08:48.331-07:00RUSSIAN WAR IN UKRAINE AND THE SHIFTING GLOBAL BALANCE OF POWER <p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The shifting world order is
a more realistic prospect after the Russian invasion of Ukraine than in the
aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008 which destabilized the neoliberal globalization
model and weakened the US as the unipolar hegemonic power. Although the
convergence of long-term structural decline in the US as a core economy and simultaneous
Chinese ascendancy has been largely a factor of the capitalist system,
geopolitical factors have played a catalytic role in molding the evolving world
order. Like all powers in decline, the US has increasingly confined itself to strengthening
the defense sector and overseas military interference which has been among the
reasons for the decline. The latest conflict between Russia and the West, with
Ukraine as the target, did not cause, but hastened global balance of power
shift from the Trans-Atlantic core to Asia with China as the emerging hegemonic
power.</span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In response to NATO’s
eastward expansion and containment policy as though the Cold War never ended,
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Because of a combination of reasons
related to the regional balance of power, Russia’s invasion was hardly
unexpected, as many analysts around the world had predicted long before the US
government was disclosing intelligence of an imminent ground attack in a subtle
way of provoking Moscow. Besides Russia’s revival from the shock of official
USSR disintegration in 1991, Moscow’s attack on Ukraine was motivated by the
US-NATO quest to integrate as many former republics as possible in an
unrelenting revival of the Cold War minus the Communist threat, thereby
exposing the motives of the Trans-Atlantic alliance. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Combined with the
long-standing “regime-change” goals as an integral part of Pax Americana, the US-NATO
encirclement and containment policy, and sanctions as a form of economic
warfare signaled that Russia’s choices were either to adopt a docile policy like
Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999) or hold the line in neighboring Ukraine through
diplomatic or military efforts. The convergence of all these factors and US
global economic decline amid China’s rapid rise in the world stage convinced
the Kremlin that it was time to strike militarily. Like all imperial systems which
become very aggressive to the point of calculated recklessness on the road toward
decline, the US has been in an analogous position, largely because of the
evolving capitalist system into the neoliberal phase since the 1980s but also
because of military expansionist policies. Although US global geopolitical and
economic alliances have sustained it in the superpower role much longer than if
it were not operating in an integrated global economy under the patron-client
model, the signs of decline have been evident for several decades. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Using the nuclear
deterrent, Russian President Vladimir Putin knew that Western economic sanctions
would be temporary and would backfire to induce world inflationary economic and
destabilizing geopolitical pressures. Putting aside the vacuous rhetoric from
every government unleashing its own PR campaign with little resemblance to
reality on the ground or future prospects for a diplomatic solution to the war,
the Russian invasion exposed the geopolitical imperial interests which take
precedence over neoliberal globalization hastening the shift in the balance of
power. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Media and political
speculation about winners and losers aside, the entire world has been
destabilized by this war, with serious economic dislocation for Russia and a
likely recession amid rising inflation for much of the world. Assuming that IMF’s
GDP global growth predictions of 5.5% growth for China and closer to 1-1.5% for
the US in 2022 turn out as stated, China will reaffirm its existing role as the
world’s stabilizing force against the Atlantic alliance which has encouraged
unrelenting military action while readily admitting that there is no possible route
to a military victory for Ukraine, shortly of NATO intervention which implies
nuclear war.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Like all wars, this too
has been a tragedy for innocent civilians and it has exposed how geopolitics
influences the course of capitalism and global balance of power, along with
living standards especially for the working class suffering the brunt of the
economic consequences. Undermining the global neoliberal model and
inadvertently strengthening national economic policies, which the US has been
pursuing selectively under presidents Obama, Trump and Biden, as a means of
reasserting America’s core status in the world economy amid China’s ascendancy,
the Russian invasion and Western reaction have dealt another blow to US-driven
neoliberal globalization. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Exposing the myth of the
EU’s endeavors towards greater autonomy and refraining from militarist
adventures beyond the EU borders, the Russian war reaffirmed the lingering Cold
War tentacles of the trans-Atlantic military-industrial complex as a vehicle of
global hegemony. Given the nature of neoliberal capitalism intertwined with
militarism, and considering the global drive toward renewable energy, the
shifting EU reliance of US energy is highly unlikely to last as long as long as
the strategic alliance which governments have used as leverage to gain market
share and influence the global balance of power. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">George H. W. Bush’s <i>“New
World Order”</i> proclamation in 1991 implied a unipolar world in which the US
had no superpower rival and was free to behave as the sole hegemonic world
actor. In reality, there was a multipolar world economic order, but a unipolar military
one on its last leg. The unipolar military order implied a responsibility to
manage its role and set limits on one’s own powers. Henry Kissinger learned this
lesson while studying the post-Napoleonic diplomacy of Austrian architect of
the Congress of Vienna Prince Klemens von Metternich (H. Kissinger, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0395172292/theatlanticmonthA/" target="outlink"><i><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems
of Peace 1812-1822</span></i></a>). Blinded by the same imperialistic
opportunism that led Europe to WWI, the Western European powers led by the US
fell into the trap of filling the power gap that the disintegration of the USSR
created, despite the fact that from 1990 to 2022, China’s economic ascendancy
had altered the world balance of power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Besides China slowly eroding
Bush’s proclamation of 1991, the Russian war in Ukraine demonstrated the
shifting global power center from the Trans-Atlantic alliance to Asia. Operating
under early Cold War assumptions when the US was at the zenith of its power,
the US opted for a two-front containment policy - Russia and China - spreading itself
very thinly and demonstrating the desperation to retain the former glory of Pax
Americana. Knowing that Keynesian militarism within the neoliberal model has
meant continued weakening of the middle class and workers and fomenting
sociopolitical polarization, while risking alienating many countries that see
far more benefits through Chinese economic integration, the US political, and
corporate elites refused to deviate from a strategy riddled with inherent
contradictions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In many respects, Russia
and the US-EU rivals have inadvertently strengthened China’s global role by
weakening and discrediting each other while altering the global balance of
power. Regardless of Western rhetoric about Beijing’s pro-Russia role as
counterproductive and despite the US threat of “secondary sanctions” against
Asian countries, China will continue to consolidate its role as the undisputed
international economic and diplomatic stabilizing force of the 21<sup>st</sup>
century and determine the world balance of power. </span></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-87143576151772721102021-10-29T07:14:00.003-07:002021-10-29T07:14:29.058-07:00China's Geopolitical and Economic Challenge to the West<p> <span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid0"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 480.948px; transform: scaleX(1.1802);">US-led Western foreign policy toward China is mired in contradictions. The United States</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid1"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 503.466px; transform: scaleX(1.15808);">and its allies are fully integrated with the world, also with the Chinese economy. However,</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid2"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 525.984px; transform: scaleX(1.17469);">they are bothered by China’s global economic rise, which is the result of their respective</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid3"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 548.502px; transform: scaleX(1.16739);"> global integration. Therefore, the United States and its allies are turning to diplomatic and</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid4"> <span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 571.02px; transform: scaleX(1.2919);">military mechanisms to stop China. But aren’t fears of a Chinese global takeover </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid5"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 593.538px; transform: scaleX(1.17934);">exaggerated?</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid6"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 638.574px; transform: scaleX(1.16117);"> </span></span></p><p><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid6"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 638.574px; transform: scaleX(1.16117);">Not only is global economic growth highly dependent on Chinese growth, but the US also</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid7"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 661.092px; transform: scaleX(1.19574);">relies on China to hold US government bonds that keep the dollar strong as a reserve </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid8"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 683.61px; transform: scaleX(1.23986);">currency, especially now that debt is headed much higher. </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid9"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 615.278px; top: 683.61px; transform: scaleX(1.25021);">The contradiction in the policy of</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid10"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 706.128px; transform: scaleX(1.18829);">the United States and the West hurts not so much China but the United States and its </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid11"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 728.646px; transform: scaleX(1.22656);">partners, who are faced with the reality that the capitalist class demands even closer </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid12"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 751.164px; transform: scaleX(1.17786);">integration. Because China is the world's growth engine and needed to counter structural</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid13"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 773.682px; transform: scaleX(1.2533);">economic contractions, such as the one in 2008 that began in the US, China is the catalyst </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid14"><br role="presentation" /><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 796.2px; transform: scaleX(1.23079);">to mitigate recessions with its massive stimulating fiscal and monetary policy. </span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid15"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 841.236px; transform: scaleX(1.23328);">Despite this recognition, President Joe Biden and a host of other world leaders closely allied</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid16"><span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 863.754px; transform: scaleX(1.24383);"> with the United States have opted for a global campaign to contain China by military means</span></span><span class="markedContent" id="page1R_mcid17"> <span dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 16.7259px; left: 75.9605px; top: 886.272px; transform: scaleX(1.21623);">to curb its global economic ascendancy with geopolitical consequences.</span></span></p><p> </p><p> TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, GO TO THE FOLLOWING LINK:<br /></p><p> </p><p> https://www.transcontinentaltimes.com/media/2021/10/TCT-Special-Halloween-Edition-2021.pdf?utm_source=website&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=halloween</p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-23394236946313201242021-10-05T03:02:00.002-07:002021-10-05T03:02:42.166-07:00Overview of the Iran-Azerbaijan Confrontation and the Regional Balance of Power<p> </p><p><span style="font-size: large;">On 1 October, the <a href="https://www.dailysabah.com/world/mid-east/iran-launches-massive-military-drills-near-tense-azerbaijan-border">Iranian army held massive military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan</a>. On 3 October 2021, <a href="https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/iranian-secretary-general-tweets-a-statement-in-hebrew-680874">Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated that Israel’s military</a> presence in the Republic of Azerbaijan constituted a security threat for <a href="https://www.transcontinentaltimes.com/tag/iran">Iran</a>. He issued this statement while concentrating troops along the northwest border.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Tehran
sent its military presence to announce to Azerbaijan that the country
is preparing for war with the intention to stop the advancement of the
double threat. On one hand, the Erdogan’s-inspired pan-Turkic movement
seems to be encouraging separatists. On the other hand, a larger
Israeli-Western coalition applies its “strategy of containment.”</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">For the complete article, see: <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.transcontinentaltimes.com/overview-of-the-iran-azerbaijan-confrontation-and-the-regional-balance-of-power.html</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-13410524508069622092021-07-31T23:49:00.014-07:002021-08-03T01:57:40.603-07:00TRUMP CABINET 2024<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--></p><p> <span class="comments-comment-item__main-content feed-shared-main-content--comment t-14 t-black t-normal"><span dir="ltr">In
2016, Trump was political entertainment because the corporate liberal
media portrayed him so, thus assuaging his crypto-Fascist image for the
voters. In my view, the liberal media helped elect Trump by engaging in
cult of personality nonsense and giving him tons of free coverage,
exactly as Senator Sanders argued. They promoted Trump because he was on
the side of big business, tax cuts, and deregulation. The scenario I
have created above is intended as parody but the reality will be far
worse than I describe as the US is most definitely on the road to
authoritarianism.</span></span></p><p>There are many reports indicating that Trump has met with key allies from
the field of right wing media, big business, and politics to discuss strategy
for his return to power in 2024. Here is my list for top cabinet positions.</p>
<p>Vice President – Ted Cruz. Sure he will not be there any time there is a
natural disaster or national emergency, but you will not find a better family
vacationer down in Mexico than the Senator from Texas. And if you need a liaison
between big business, the WH and the Senate, this man will do anything at all
to make sure that your taxes make it into the back accounts of the Fortune 500
companies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p>Secretary of Defense - Michael Flynn. Always open to the option of declaring
martial law to keep Trump in power for life, he is also not afraid of a silly
little nuclear war with any country.</p>
<p>Secretary of Commerce - Mike (My Pillow) Lindell. Every American who buys at
least one set of pillows will receive free of charge the easy to swallow
COVID-19 toxic-based formula endorsed by the Pillow Man.</p>
<p>Secretary of Treasury - Paul Manafort. Oligarchs and money launderers of the
world unite. The American government is open for business once again, that is,
any kind of business as long as the 'under-the-table price is right"; no
questions asked, none at all, once the check clears.</p>
<p>Secretary of State - Steve Bannon. Besides completing the border wall for
the right price on the part of corporations 'willing to play ball", the
focus will also be China, but again depending on which anti-China billionaire
"is willing to play ball' with GOP big donors. </p>
<p>Attorney General - Bill Barr. When a person has done such a stellar job, has
a history of defending of the Constitution as occasion warrants, albeit a massaged
interpretation, and yet, the man is clever enough to jump ship just at the
right time when a potential coup is in the works, well, that's the right person
with integrity for the top law enforcement job.</p>
<p>Homeland Security- Roger Stone. When you really need a reliable, honest,
proven asset with sorted counter-intelligence activities that go deep into the
ranks of shady oligarchs, who is better than a man not afraid to confront US courts
and liberal judges for the sake of the American Way of doing business?</p>
<p>Health and Human Services – Ron DeSantis. As America's top health official,
he will act responsibly by immediately appointing a Republican panel led by
Marjorie Greene and Matt Gaetz to consider abolishing the CDC and NIH for
undermining Wall Street with their health warnings on prescription drugs.</p><p> <span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"><br />Press Secretary - Sean
Hannity. All press briefings will be conducted through the FOX NEWS
channel directly by the celebrity news host. Needless to say, it will be
a briefing with questions asked only by journalists that have solid
credentials in manufacturing the truth, misinterpreting all statements
of the Democratic Party, and focusing squarely on the amorphous
democratic enemy.</span></span></p><p><span class="break-words"><span dir="ltr"> </span></span><span class="comments-comment-item__main-content feed-shared-main-content--comment t-14 t-black t-normal"><span dir="ltr">Jared wants to start some sort of an investment firm.
However, I can see him as Labor Secretary, downsizing the department,
cutting funding for public education, and asking his staff to send their
children to "Charter Schools".</span></span></p><p><span class="comments-comment-item__main-content feed-shared-main-content--comment t-14 t-black t-normal"><span dir="ltr"><br />I can see Ivanka as WH Chief of
Staff, demanding that Melania not reside at the WH any more and that
only stylish-looking people can visit the President.<br /> </span></span></p><p><span class="comments-comment-item__main-content feed-shared-main-content--comment t-14 t-black t-normal"><span dir="ltr">Don Jr. could be
EPA chief, abolishing all EPA environmental regulations and giving
license of fossil fuel companies to drill anywhere they like.<br /> </span></span></p><p><span class="comments-comment-item__main-content feed-shared-main-content--comment t-14 t-black t-normal"><span dir="ltr">Erik
could be US Trade Representative, making sure that the family businesses
expand globally and Ivanka keeps her brand royalties regardless of
conflict of interest.</span></span></p><p><br /></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-78300411429385680392021-06-16T06:56:00.001-07:002021-06-16T20:58:52.809-07:00Contradictions in the Anachronistic US-Russian Relationship<p> </p><p>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On 16 June 2021, Russian
president Vladimir Putin met with US President Joe Biden to discuss the tense
bilateral relationship. Despite differences in Russia’s specific bilateral
relations with NATO members such as Germany over economic ties and the gas
pipeline, or Turkey-Russia strategic relations, to name two examples, Biden
presumably spoke as the senior partner of the Atlantic alliance. Judging from
the press conferences, the summit meeting was “managerial”, all about managing
the US-Russian confrontation, rather than breaking new ground toward détente.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Putting aside Trump-Putin
ties, the larger question of the meeting between Biden and Putin is the symbolic
significance that politicians, the media, and foreign policy analysts attribute
to it. This begs the question whether there is really anything more than public
relations to the summit meeting, as much for the West as for Russia and its
allies and mostly to calm the world and rally nationalist support in the
respective countries. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Other than managing the
nuclear arms race and global climate, avoiding accidental escalation of war
owing to a third country such as Ukraine, does breathing oxygen into this old
Cold War corpse make any sense in the real world where: a) There is no longer a
Communist bloc; b) all former Communist countries are well integrated into the
capitalist global system; and c) China is a world player with greater economic influence
than either Russia or the US. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Granted, the world took
notice when Biden called Putin a “killer”. It is true that the world wants
nuclear stability and no one wants either Moscow or Washington hovering over
the nuclear buttons. However, many rational people realize that heads of state
who send police officers and soldiers in the field are indirectly committing
murder, regardless of whether they claim to represent a democratic or
autocratic state. When it comes to war crimes and human rights observance, there
are independent international organizations to determine the degree to which US
or Russia is morally superior.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Meanwhile, the US has a
long list of sanctions imposed on Russia that have hardly modified its
behavior. Those include sanctions following Russian invasion of Ukraine in
2014; cyber-crime and election interference; human rights abuses, trade with
Syria, Venezuela and North Korea; and use of energy exports as a coercive
political tool. Although Russian trade with the US is less than a quarter in
comparison with Russia-China trade, the EU as a bloc is its largest trade </span><span lang="EL" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EL; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">partner, accounting
for 37.3% of the total</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
or 175 billion euro. The glaring contradiction between the East-West
geopolitical confrontation and relying so heavily as trade partners is
indicative of a policy reflecting the world of imperialist rivals before the
outbreak of WWI. This model is replicated between the West and China, leaving
both Moscow and Beijing to wonder if the purpose of such a strategy is any
other than containment to minimize the rivals’ global influence. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cyber-crime</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The US and many
Westerners have argued that we are now in the age of a new type of warfare,
namely, cyber-crime targeting major Western corporations and asking great
amounts of money in ransom. Perhaps he was bluffing, but Putin has publicly
stated that he would hand over cyber-criminals to the US, if there were reciprocity.
Needless to point out, the US refuses, considering that US government agencies
are most likely involved in “cyber-intrusion” against Russia. At the press
conference after the summit meeting, he stated that the US ranks number one in
the world in cyber-crime, a charge that Beijing has also made against the US.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Linked to The cyber-crime
issue is Russian meddling in the US election of 2016. Once again, Russia has
stated publicly that it is will to negotiate, but wants US covert operations to
stop in the internal politics of Russia, some of which have been glaring in the
last two decades, not just in Russia but former Soviet republics as well. For
its part, the US brings up human rights violations, but selectively, excluding
anything that touches the US and some of its core allies like Israel and Saudi
Arabia.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ukraine
and the Middle East</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In 2014, Russia annexed
Crimea and the following year intervened in Syria to defeat jihadists trying to
overthrow President Assad whom the US wanted toppled with the indirect aid of
Saudi Arabia through Turkey. At the same time, Russia has expanded ties with
Iran which has indirectly been aiding the Houthi rebels in Yemen in the past
decade. These issues fall under the heading of the traditional domain of conflicts
within its “spheres of influence”; a 19<sup>th</sup> century concept about
international hegemonic reach. As appalling as it may sound to the US and
Europe, Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, and today’s Russia always had spheres
of influence around its own border for its own security from the other Great
Powers. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One must keep in mind
that Western wars from Napoleon<span class="hgkelc"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">invading Russia</span> in June 1812, </span>to the Crimean War (1854-56),
from WWI to WWII, all Western invasions had the goal of seizing territory at
Russia’s expense. A strategic buffer zone like Ukraine may sound absurd to
Westerners who see nothing wrong designating NATO as an organization set up to
contain both Russia and China. However, it is even more absurd to the Kremlin
that the US has a military presence in 80% of the world’s nations, yet, it fears
“Russian aggression”. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A political solution was
part of the discussion for Ukraine. While the US cannot agree to any
concessions on the key question of granting Russia a strategic buffer zone all
around its border, most importantly one that includes Eastern Ukraine, the
option of armed conflict is also off the table. On the Middle East, there may
actually be some diplomatic convergence, largely because Iran wants to be as
autonomous as possible with neither US nor Russia having inordinate influence
in the Islamic Republic now heavily relying on China as an economic partner.
The key is the nuclear deal from which the US withdrew under Trump, but also a
possible Russian influence with the civil war in Yemen in which Iran has a role,
as well as Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq, all contested spheres of influence. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nuclear
Weapons and Climate</span></i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The easiest areas to manage will be nuclear
weapons and climate. The two sides agreed in February 2021 to a 5-year
extension of the New START treaty, placing limits on nuclear warheads and both
land and submarine missiles. For Europe and the world, this is good enough, even
if all other issues are not worked out. The fact that the two sides had a
summit meeting and everyone knows that the old Cold War-style relationship is
back on the table in a conventional sense missing during the Trump presidency,
satisfying the nationalists and militarists on both sides of the Atlantic, is
in itself progress. As long as the two sides manage the nuclear weapons issue,
people can sleep easier at night. Détente need not take place, not does it
really have to as long as the world knows neither side is preparing for
Armageddon. As far as climate, Russia is the world’s 4<sup>th</sup> largest
polluter faced with serious water pollution problems. Last January, it was
committed to altering its economic direction toward a new climate-sensitive
orientation. There will be convergence on this issue. However, what each side will
actually do is entirely another matter. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Conclusions</span></i></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Does a US-Russia summit meeting today have the
same significance as it did during the Nixon-Brezhnev summit of June 1973 as
the Viet Nam War was about to end? Why treat US-Russia summits today with the
same gravity as though we are living half-a-century ago? The EU has come of age
in the last fifty years; the Warsaw Pact does not exist anymore than the USSR
and Soviet bloc; China is now the new global economic leader, with the US
playing second fiddle while rallying support in the orchestra to contain the
Chinese economic dragon whose claws are global. On the day of the Biden-Putin
summit, China launched three astronauts to occupy its new space station, a sign
that the world’s new superpower is rapidly moving ahead, leaving Russia and the
US behind. Meanwhile, the symbolism of the US-Russia summit and the signals it
sends to Western defense industries is as significant as the world breathing a
sense of relief that the old rivals are managing their chronic confrontation.</p>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The contradiction about
the US-NATO Cold War resurgence is not only that there is no USSR, no Soviet
bloc, no Warsaw Pact, and China is in fact the new superpower, but that the old
Cold War was somewhat easy to justify and carry out given that Russia was
largely cut off from the capitalist Western economy. Today, it is well
integrated into that economy, legally and illegally partly through money
laundering operations, among other state and private enterprises. US pursuit of
confrontation at the military level with a capitalist country is not the same
as it was when Russia was under one-party Communist state managing an economy
largely outside the capitalist world system. The same contradiction holds true
in US-China relations, far more significant than the largely anachronistic
US-Russia relationship.<br /></span><p></p><br />WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-3408374446729625702021-06-08T04:37:00.005-07:002021-06-08T04:37:51.993-07:00Downward Social Mobility and Authoritarianism<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
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<![endif]--><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></span><span class="ember-view"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Authoritarianism’s
Popular Base</span></i></b></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Inexorably
linked to self-identity molded by the social environment, political identity, shaped
by social class and the hegemonic culture, largely determines the individual’s participation
in the political arena. Not the only factor that shapes political behavior,
social mobility along with cultural conditioning is the catalyst to molding
political identity. In the age of mass politics where bourgeois political
parties inculcate the idea that sovereignty rests with the voting masses rather
than with the elites determining the political class, sociopolitical
mobilization becomes especially important amid the prospect of downward social
mobility affecting the middle class and workers. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
twilight of the merit-based upward mobility, especially among younger people, has
shaken public confidence in the Western liberal value system. Erosion of such
confidence has been taking place just as neoliberal politicians in the past
four decades were promising a better life for millennials and generation Z taking
the hardest hit from downward mobility. The direct historical correlation
between downward social mobility and the rise of authoritarianism points to the
chasm between what the political economy promises and what it actually delivers.
This holds true for all countries, including the advanced capitalist core
operating under the umbrella of a pluralist representative government where the
promise of upward mobility is the elusive goal. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following
the deep recession of 2008, the transition from a liberal model to one that
incorporates characteristic of authoritarian regime has been most striking
especially in countries that underwent austerity whether under the auspices of
the International Monetary Fund-sponsored or nationally imposed. Resulting in income
transfer from the lower income groups to the highest, austerity created popular
resistance that in some cases has been met by policies typically identified
with authoritarian regimes. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Needless
to point out, the socioeconomic elites demanding income redistribution from the
bottom up fully supported austerity measures as part of recovering capital lost
during the recession. Consequently, the focus of bourgeois politicians was
whether to further legitimize the authoritarian model as a means of managing
the neoliberal political economy, or maintain vestiges of pluralism and a
social safety net that projects the image of a democratic society. Ultimately,
the core issue was the manner with which to manage growing inequality amid
downward social mobility, while maintaining a popular voting base. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Contrary
to popular belief, which the right wing media and apologists of authoritarianism
promote, it is not the working class as much as the middle class that supports
authoritarianism amid downward mobility. This was the case with the transition
from liberal democracy to Fascism in Italy in the early 1920s and in Germany in
the early 1930s. As the middle class realized that downward socioeconomic
mobility entails descending to the level of the working class, the reaction was
to rhetorically castigate the capitalist elites and globalization, while
seeking solutions in an authoritarian political party to rescue them from the
downward cycle through repressive measures at the expense of the working class
and dissidents advocating more equitable income distribution. Anti-globalization
in the form of nationalism became the rallying cry of authoritarian politicians
in the quest to mobilize popular support amid disillusionment with the
political class.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
realization that a liberal pluralist society no longer yields upward mobility
entails insecurity about the future and disillusionment with the core value
system of Western liberalism on the part of the middle class and workers alike,
regardless of whether their political identity is with the right center or left.
Inability to maintain living standards amid rising cost of living, and insecurity
about the future drives the petit bourgeoisie to embrace the mythology of right
wing rhetoric promising upward mobility through authoritarian measures.
Populist right wing politicians and advocates of authoritarianism deflect the
public’s attention by offering culture wars as a substitute for policy that
would reverse downward social mobility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following
the lead of right wing politicians and media, the middle class blames “liberal
elites” for pursuing globalization, and the exploited working class for
demanding social justice through varieties of ways including unionization,
equal pay for equal work, etc. Besides failing to assess accurately the
contradiction of capitalism’s creation of social injustice, the middle class aspiration
to become a capitalist, combined with the fear that it could reduced to working
class status are elements that authoritarian politicians and propagandists
exploit. They offer voters “someone to hate”, namely, marginalized social
groups and a select few billionaire advocates of globalization, with China as
the new Cold War enemy on which to default calamities befalling the working
class. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Besides
a segment of the middle class supporting authoritarianism as a political
solution amid downward social mobility, a minority of the working class has a
similar reaction with a different focus. Invariably “labor aristocracy”, that
is, the higher paid working class, espouses the same position as the petite
bourgeoisie on authoritarianism, thus projecting the image that workers make up
the popular base of the right wing. Lower-paid workers generally support centrist
or progressive policies, while the lumpenproletariat remains apathetic, thus
susceptible to right wing propaganda. More characteristic of the higher paid
working class than the middle class, anti-immigration and anti-minority
attitudes, which authoritarian politicians and right wing media propagate to
deflect focus from the political economy responsible for downward social
mobility, become the catalyst for mobilizing mass support. </span></span></p>
<p class="g-pstyle0" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view">The higher
the level of downward mobility, chronic rather than ephemeral owing to cyclical
economic contractions, the more intense the xenophobic, racist, and misogynist
attitudes on the part of higher-paid white workers who feel threatened by the
marginalized low-wage migrant and minority workers. In addition, low-wage
laborers in Asia and Latin America are the other enemy, rather than the multinationals
exploiting such labor. Not just right wing media and politicians, but
mainstream liberal politicians and media analysts contribute to this phenomenon
by focusing on culture wars rather than global capitalism undercutting the
working class in all countries, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, etc. </span></p>
<p class="g-pstyle0" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view">The
tendencies of the petit bourgeois and upper working class elements is to oppose
the liberal pluralist institutional structure which they see as an obstacle to
upward mobility. In addition, they argue against the multilateral world order
and in favor of a strong nationalist identity. Ironically, the goal of
progressive and reactionary workers and the middle class converges in so far as
both sides advocate upward mobility. However, they differ sharply on the means
of achieving it and who is at fault for the underlying problem. Progressives
see social justice as the overarching solution for society, while reactionaries
support hierarchical authoritarianism that would serve narrow class interests. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Downward
Mobility and the Rise of Authoritarianism in the US</span></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
the recession of 2008, sharp downward social mobility coincided with the rise
of right wing populism in a number of countries, among them India, Brazil, Hungary,
Austria, Poland, and US. The recession took place against the background of
chronic widening income gap globally. China was a notable exception owing
largely to the government stimulating internal demand to compensate for the drop
in exports – balancing the export-oriented growth strategy with income
distribution designed to lift millions out of poverty. India also made inroads
on the global social mobility rankings, but not nearly at the level of China
that ranks 45 as compared to 76 out of 82 countries, below Brazil and slightly
above Pakistan. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
developed and semi-developed countries, expectations for horizontal economic
growth translating into upward social mobility never materialized, despite corporate
bailout economic recovery. On the contrary, downward mobility was the new
reality with which to contend amid vertical economic growth. During the
presidential election of 2012, Obama candidly admitted that economic recovery
from the recession was in full swing but the richest 1% benefited, while the
bottom 70% suffered continued decline of income. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Whether
under the auspices of the Internal Monetary Fund (IMF) or imposed by individual
governments, since 2008 austerity measures contributed to capital
concentration, while hastening downward mobility as government focused on
corporate bailout and varieties of corporate subsidies. Reacting to anger from
the middle class and workers, traditional conservative political parties around
the world, including the US Republican Party, moved to the camp of right wing
populism at the local level gradually capturing national leadership. Going as
far as to embrace aspects of classical interwar Fascism, they further inculcated
skepticism into the political consciousness of the public regarding the
legitimacy of the liberal institutional structure intertwined with
globalization. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Rhetorically
oppose globalization, while embracing national capitalism, right wing political
parties presented themselves as advocates of the middle class and struggling workers
whose income had stayed the same in real terms for decades. Injecting
skepticism about globalization-based liberal world order, the right wing often
wrapped rhetoric in outlandish conspiracy theories about the liberal political
and social elites trying to create a world government. The result of such
propaganda was a weakened centrist bourgeois consensus and polarization not
just the political arena, but all institutions. Combined with the socioeconomic
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s right wing presidency encouraged right
wing populism at home and globally. The symbolism of his populist right wing
presidency contributed to wider global skepticism about the social order and
elites that transcend national boundaries whose goal is one world government. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">More
than a century after US Socialist Party leader Eugene Debs declared that the
existing social order founded on inequality was immoral and unsustainable, the
Republican Party had fully embraced aspects of Fascist ideology, questioning
mainstream institutions as part of the “deep state”, liberal elites whose
interests were linked to China, and progressive dissidents trying to impose
egalitarianism and erase American identity of rugged individualism as depicted
in the mythology of exceptionalism about the inherent superiority of the white
Anglo-Saxon Protestant capitalist. The goal behind the Republican Party’s move
to the authoritarian camp was and remains to maintain a mostly white popular
base and win elections amid a sharp rise in socioeconomic inequality, with the
help of voter suppression laws among other means such as redistricting laws.
Instigating culture wars, legislating voter exclusion at the state level, and
publicly supporting white supremacy groups, the new reactionary Republican
Party invokes religion, nationalism, and militarism as cloaks of traditional
conservative values to obfuscate and distract from the underlying class
struggle. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Considering
that downward social mobility is continuing without prospects of reversing
course, the right wing populist electoral challenge is to capture a popular
base among the middle class and workers. For its part, the Democratic Party has
addressed rising socioeconomic inequality by defending the bourgeois institutional
structure, pledging to defend the pluralist society and restore some social
safety net measures. To protect the privileged capitalist class while
suppressing aspirations of the working class and the dwindling debt-ridden middle
class, both political parties are committed to corporate welfare capitalism
under different political models. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Both
parties distance their ideological and policy positions from the progressive
social justice platform; both use the military industrial complex as leverage
to maintain a domestic culture of fear of the “foreign enemy”, while maintaining
a global competitive edge rapidly eroding. The Republican Party no longer makes
any pretenses about its commitment to authoritarianism. For its part, the
Democratic Party is desperately fighting to conserve the status quo ante with a
heavy emphasis on “identity groups” including blacks, Muslims, Hispanics, LGBTQ
and others, as a substitute for social justice that would encompass all and
address the growing income inequality and downward social mobility.</span></span></p>
<p class="feed-shared-main-content--highlighted-comment" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view">As income distribution becomes more uneven amid capital
concentration, right wing populist support from the middle class and a segment
of the working class will continue to grow in the US and other countries. In
part, this is because the left is weaker and more divided than the right.
Vacillating between pluralist liberals like President Joe Biden and progressive
candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders, the latter with no chance of winning,
the progressives are invariably co-opted by the bourgeois center which needs progressive
popular support to win but largely ignores the progressive agenda. </span></p>
<p class="feed-shared-main-content--highlighted-comment" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view">Despite division within the rightist camp between traditional
conservatives and advocates of authoritarianism, the right is stronger than the
bourgeois-co-opted left. This is not only the case in the US but in most
countries, as elections have become a dilemma of “the lesser evil”. While there
is division within the conservative camp, it reflects the division among some
capitalists concerned about losing a segment of the diverse consumer base if
society alienates liberals and progressives who make up the majority of the population.
Liberal politicians use the issue of pluralism to emphasize that it is not
smart business to alienate both workers and consumers in a world economy where
race, ethnicity, gender, religion and lifestyle must be considered. </span></p>
<p class="feed-shared-main-content--highlighted-comment" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="ember-view">Although at ease about their stability within a pluralist
liberal regime and with globalization, most corporations vehemently oppose the
progressives that demand social justice, upward mobility, equality, and a
functioning democracy where government is accountable to the people instead of
Wall Street. The divided liberal-progressive popular base is a key reason for
the stronger right wing political movement, especially given the active or
tacit support of capitalist behind the right wing. This entails the constant
move of the entire political arena to the right amid continuing downward social
mobility. In the next economic downturn, the US already has a political party
with the ideological and political makings of a native-style Fascist Party. Given
the expanding local and state-base of the populist right wing, it will be very easy
for any number of Republicans to rise to power as Fascist in ideology and
policies, while claiming to represent democracy. </span></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-14025767930110759972021-05-29T11:45:00.001-07:002021-05-29T11:45:04.308-07:00PROSPECT FOR AMERICAN DEMOCRACY OR FASCISM<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Introduction:
Framing the Debate</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
1920s were the formative years for Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany,
largely a reaction to a combination of factors from the devastation of the
Great War to the fear of the Bolshevik Revolution by European capitalists. One
hundred years later, the historical antecedents in the US are not the same as
in interwar Europe. However, massive capital concentration and downward social
mobility resulting in political polarization, as characterized interwar Europe,
are present and will only become more evident as the decade unfolds. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">US
political polarization and prospect of democracy in the 21<sup>st</sup> century
has been the subject of analysis and debate. Analysts from the pluralist
neoliberal mainstream have argued that the two-party system is resilient and
will survive the assault from the far right struggling to find its identity.
Right wing populist apologists maintain that the struggle for a monolithic
society and rejection of pluralism and globalism will continue. Some liberal pluralism/globalism
apologists insist that a right wing orientation is inevitable given the deep
historic, cultural, and institutional roots of white supremacy, a culture of
violence and police/state militarism. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
the 1990s, apologists of the neoliberal political economy were celebrating </span><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The End of History
and the Last Man</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">.
Fukuyama’s book about the triumph of Western liberalism and neoliberalism amid
the collapse of the Soviet bloc that would somehow entail paradise on earth for
all humanity led by the US as the beacon of democracy. Two decades later, the
unfolding of events have proved the hollowness of “the End of History” thesis. <span style="color: #2a2a2a;">In a 2005 article entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Power and liberal order: America's postwar world order in transition”,</i>
G. John Ikenberry wrote that: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%;">American global power – military, economic,
technological, cultural, political – is one of the great realities of our age.
Never before has one country been so powerful or unrivaled. The United States
emerged from the Cold War as the world's only superpower and grew faster than
Europe and Japan in the decade that followed. American bases and naval forces
encircle the globe. Russia and China remain only regional powers and have
ceased to offer ideological challenges to the West.”</span></i></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disregarding
not only the rise of China as the new hegemonic economic power, but also the
underlying common thread of the class struggle in the US, many analysts hoped
that Soviet bloc and Chinese integration into the Western capitalist orbit
would somehow translate into permanent US global hegemony, which in turn would
entail upward social mobility for Americans. None of these assumptions (predictions)
have come true for they were never based on sound analysis of how the
neoliberal political economy impacts the working class and middle class. The
continued downward spiral of socioeconomic mobility has contributed to the
legitimacy of Fascist tendencies within the Republican Party, as it has the
political arena in other countries, from India, Brazil, Hungary, to name a few.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Focused
on “culture wars” (</span>conflict between identity politics groups - racial,
ethnic, gender, religious, environmental, lifestyle, etc., and the struggle for
dominance of values, beliefs, and practices)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
liberal analysts, as apologists for the status quo, deemphasize the class
struggle manifesting itself in the erosion of working class and middle class
living standards, while focusing on identity politics as a framework of sociopolitical
analysis. The reformist school of thought argues that nothing is inevitable,
assuming the government is able to contain the pro-Fascist movement by a
combination of law enforcement and policies that address the root causes of cultural/political
polarization with some modest social welfare reform policies. For their part,
skeptics question the degree to which the US was ever a democracy or merely
confusing democracy with the consumer society. Considering its apartheid past
and low priority when it comes to social justice, this groups doubts a
progressive path modeled after FDR’s New Deal is sustainable, thus Fascism
becomes more likely in the future. A catalyst to political socialization,
inequality and absence of social justice necessarily gives rise to popular
resistance. As part of a populist movement to support some form of
authoritarianism, with characteristics of interwar Fascism, the extreme right
wing political and socioeconomic elites have successful in mobilizing a segment
of the popular resistance under the umbrella of the Republican Party. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
this essay I maintain that the rise of far right extremism in the US is the
inevitable outgrowth of the contradictions of the neoliberal political economy
promising prosperity for all and delivering wealth concentration to the richest
1%, thus forcing the capitalist class to support authoritarian political
solutions to maintain the growing socioeconomic polarized society. Considering
there is no threat of Communism in the 2020s as there was in the 1920s, the Fascists’
only target of attack as a catalyst to mobilize popular support is the liberal
bourgeois social contract. This right wing attack on the social contract will
intensify, providing greater impetus to pro-Fascist elements amid greater rising
wealth inequality and economic decline given the “financialism” focus of the US
economy and fierce global competition for capital accumulation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">American
Traits of Fascism</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many Trump critics, academics and former high-level government
officials have no problem labeling Trump’s movement “Fascist”, while others
insist on reserving the term exclusively for Mussolini’s Italy, and Nazism for
Hitler’s Germany. Unprecedented for a former president, on 10 December 2017
Barak Obama warned Americans not to follow a Nazi path. A clear reference to
president Trump and the Republican Party leading America in that direction with
rhetoric and policies that encourage ‘culture war’ (<b><i>kulturkampf</i></b> –
struggle between varieties of right wingers from evangelicals to neo-Nazis
against secular liberals), Obama emphasized socioeconomic polarization as the
root of political polarization. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fascism is an eclectic ideology, while the movement evolving into
political party and the latter to a regime was unique to interwar Europe.
However, movements, political parties, and regimes with Fascist aspects have
existed in many parts of the world even after WWII. Emerging from its class
structure based on slavery before 1860 and hegemonic culture that marginalized
racial, ethnic and religious minorities, Native Americans, and women, the
prevalent traits of American Fascism were enmeshed with conservative values of
nationalism, anti-intellectualism, disdain for secularism, and values based on
egalitarianism and communitarianism. In its evolving phase of glaring
contradictions during the last four decades, neoliberalism has precipitated
Fascist traits that Republicans legitimized and glorified.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rejecting the claim of
any similarities between neoliberalism and Fascism, neoliberal apologists take
pride that their apparent goal is to weaken the state, by which they mean transfer
assets from the corporate welfare state to corporate welfare. By contrast,
Fascists advocated a powerful state – <i>everything within the state,
nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.</i> American
neoliberals, pluralists and rightwing populists, have created a societal model
not just in one nation like Mussolini and Hitler but globally with the result
of: <i>“everything within neoliberalism, nothing against neoliberalism,
nothing outside neoliberalism.”</i></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The corporate welfare state has been
an instrument of more rapid income redistribution from the working class and
middle class to the richest Americans. Ironically, Trump who legitimized
Fascist aspects of the GOP used the same populist rhetoric and some tactics against
the liberal bourgeois parliamentary state as Fascists in the interwar era. Just
as Hitler and Mussolini claimed to represent workers but enriched capitalists,
so did Trump. Nevertheless, Trump’s followers who attacked the Capitol were
attacking the liberal bourgeois state as an instrument of corruption and oppression
that must be replaced with an authoritarian state.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trump-Inspired
Right Wing Insurrection</span></i></b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Never has the US experienced a popular attack on
Congress, or inspired by a sitting president refusing to accept the election
result while using popular agitation as pressure to undermine the institutions
he was sworn to uphold. In the course of the last two centuries, individual
acts of violence against Congress by outsiders and elected officials intended
to highlight specific causes cannot be compared to what took place on 6 January
2021. With the complicity of Trump’s political operatives, and financed by some
of Republican wealthy donors, the well-organized violent demonstration against
Congress marked a turning point. Allied with the president and Republican
senators and congressmen, the right wing populists were willing to violate
constitutional boundaries and use a violence that left seven people dead and a
number wounded. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Right wing populist apologists of the events argue
that it was not an attack on democracy, but on liberal political and financial
elites whose interests Congress serves. Even after the insurrection, the vast
majority in the Republican Party refused to renounce the Fascist nature of what
took place. Some even blamed progressive groups like Antifa, the anti-Fascist
protest organization and Democrats for engaging in a conspiracy to persecute the
disparate right wing elements wrapped around the Confederate flag. Others,
contended that the Democrats tried to deprive insurrectionists of their constitutional
freedom of political expression. A few Republicans denounced the insurrection
and blamed the fringe elements and/or Trump lone rather than the Republican Party.
In a recent interview, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell excuses his role
by stating that: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Trump Tricked Me Into Backing His Coup”</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The storming of the Capitol compelled the
Democratic Party and a few Republicans to demand loyalty to institutionalism,
so that America will be restored as the beacon of “democracy” in the eyes of
its own citizens and the world. Three days after the Trump-inspired
insurrection, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Foreign Policy</i> magazine
published an article arguing that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Trump’s
movement is uniquely American fascism, built on a century of American
imperialism.”</i> Indeed, there is a convergence between domestic and foreign
policy. From the Polk administration’s Manifest Destiny to Trump’s “Make
America Great Again”, the US has a consistent history of interventionism as a
means of seizing what belongs to other nations.</p>
<p class="speakable-paragraph" style="text-align: justify;">Besides the convergence
of imperialism and nationalism, which the US has practiced under both Republic
and Democratic administrations for two centuries, there are many domestic
political, economic and cultural forces that help to explain America’s descent
into the embrace of aspects of Fascism. In the presidential election of 1964,
Barry Goldwater lost by a landslide, launched a war against moderate Republicans
and legitimized the right wing that some critics labeled as Nazi. In 1980,
Reagan picked up where Goldwater left off, creating a right wing party while he
institutionalized neoliberalism and strengthened “Military Keynesianism”.
During the Obama presidency, the Tea Party movement took the Republican Party
farther to the extreme right, laying the foundation for Trump to openly embrace
strategies and policies that even some Republicans argue border on Fascism.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the absence of relying heavily on the populist
base that pre-dates Trump, and which the socioeconomic elites, media, religious
and political leaders cultivated, while Trump and the Republicans at all levels
of government legitimized, the GOP realized it cannot win presidential
elections, or maintain control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Hence, to survive, it moved farther to the extreme right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rooted in the suppressed class struggle camouflaged
by culture wars and identity politics, political polarization was inevitable
amid the weakening of the institutionalist bipartisan center.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the absence of grassroots support from the
marginalized and vilified progressive wing, the Democratic Party cannot win
national elections. Unlike the populist right wing the GOP, which took over the
party, the progressives remain a marginalized minority in the Democratic Party.
However, they remain in the party for they have no other means to stop the
Republicans from institutionalizing authoritarianism. Considering the
Republican Party is operating under the thin veil of representative democracy,
while incorporating aspects of Fascist ideology, tactics and policies, the
Democratic Party evolved into the new conservative Party even before Trump’s
election. The Democrats’ goal has always been to co-opt the left wing without
making concessions, other than minor ones on wages, health care, and symbolic
gestures on identity politics to satisfy the disparate interest groups from
women to minorities. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The neo-Fascist movement that Trump legitimized
is simultaneously hastening a full-fledged police/militarist state that would
entail the continued erosion of "liberal-bourgeois democracy". While
many in the anti-Trump camp demand the police/militarized state to defend the
status quo after 6 January 2021, it is difficult for them to envision a future
Republican administration will be tilting heavily toward Fascism, or that it
will not hesitate to use the same police-state measures to crush any movement
demanding social justice. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As difficult and painful as this may be to accept
for some liberals and progressives alike, fighting Fascism with
police/militarist methods, instead of undertaking systemic reforms to a
political solution, entails hastening authoritarianism. Some countries have
banned extreme right wing political parties and/or use the judicial system to
punish violators. This is impossible in the US because the extreme right wing
is the Republican Party. Hence, the almost certain inevitability of an even
more formalized police-surveillance-state. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The ample empirical evidence of the polarized
political system reflecting the socioeconomic structure point to the
inevitability of more formalized authoritarianism in some form, especially
after the next deep economic recession. This will not be necessarily what
existed under the Third Reich or in Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, both emerging out
of the misery of economic depressions. More likely, it will be a regime
combining elements of historical American conservative traditions and culture
rooted in marginalization of minorities; fear of the working class demanding
social justice; paranoia that religious rights and gun rights will be abolished
and that American traditions rooted in racism, xenophobia, sexism, religious bigotry,
and the preservation of a hierarchical society will end. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Structural
Causes of Fascism in Ascendancy</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Morphed by the neoliberal political
economy, under Trump’s right wing populism, and pluralist administrations under
Clinton and Obama, American Fascism will grow and become institutionalized as
contradictions of the political system undercut the almost non-existent
bipartisan consensus. In 1943, FDR’s Vice President Henry Wallace argued that
it was hypocritical to condone race riots while condemning Nazi Germany. He
added: </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Some
people call these powerful groups ‘isolationists,’ others call them
‘reactionaries,’ and still others call them ‘American Fascists.’” </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">What Henry Wallace
described characterizes the current Republican Party.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Many journalists, politicians and scholars refuse
to accept the reality of the GOP as a party with Fascist traits, arguing
instead that it is only a matter of “purging” it from the fringe elements. In
an essay entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"The long New
Right", </i>political scientists Daniel Schlozman and Sam Rosenfeld decry
the manner that the Republican leadership is permitting pro-QAnon
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to stigmatize the party. A long-standing fifty-year
practice of allowing extreme right wingers, the Republicans permitted Senator
Joe McCarthy’s anti-communist crusade in the early 1950s; Goldwater’s right
wing crusade in 1964; the Tea Party more recently, and now the Trump loyalists
with links to various neo-Nazi organizations among other extremists. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Contrary to the thesis of Schlozman and Rosenfeld
claiming that the GOP has failed to police the far right fringe elements in the
post-WWII era, evidence shows that those “fringe elements” are mainstream and
the former mainstream are now the fringe. Nor is the GOP a cult, as many
liberal and conservative critics have characterized it in an attempt to
understand how it fits into a historical context and as part of the political
culture. The same Republican Party from McCarthy and Goldwater, to Reagan and
Trump has evolved into a Fascist phase because it enjoys the support of a
segment of the corporate elites, media, police, military, and religious institutions,
all interested in mobilizing popular support for an authoritarian regime.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">At the root of “Trumpism” whose legacy is
intertwined with the Republican Party are deep structural problems not only
with the two-party system but all institutions and the hegemonic culture –
value system, mores, and worldview that becomes generally accepted as the norm
by society. At the top of this growing of authoritarianism iceberg, Wall Street
is manipulating the entire economy under the “<b>Financialism”</b> model (from
1980s to present, rising debt-to-equity ratios and financial services, in part
rooted in speculation, are equated with the wealth of the nation, while the
productive sectors of the economy are minimized). The goal is to maximize
profits for the richest 1%, while capital concentration comes at the expense of
rising income inequality. This is made possible by pro-Wall Street monetary,
fiscal and regulatory policies of both political parties. The result has been
downward social mobility polarizing society; driving some from the lower middle
class and working class into embrace authoritarianism in the name of “saving
America” from socialists, secularists, and liberals diluting the purity of the
culture.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
today’s America, the top 0.1% of the population has as much wealth as the
bottom 90%, representing the sort of inequality typical of Third World
countries. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Considering
that the election of 2020 cost $14 billion provided by far by billionaires and
multi-millionaires, everyone except those who choose not to be informed about
the American political system believe that the social contract is anything
other than oligarchy that funds political campaigns and uses lobbyists to prevail
on policy benefiting its interests against the general welfare. If oligarchy is
"democracy", the US is a democracy; something not lost either on
those in the Republican Party populist base or the Democrats’ progressive base.
Not only has it not disappeared from securing policy benefiting wealthy donors,
but their money has become more influential than at any time in history, even
when compared with the 1880s, 1920s and 1980s. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Besides a Wall Street-based rigged (financialism)
economy responsible for socioeconomic inequality, educational institutions,
even religious and charity organizations, also mired in scandals and
corruption, are contributing to the indoctrination of the right wing populist
mass base. Using social media, they inculcate into the minds of the populist
right that downward pressure of the middle class and workers stems from liberal
anti-religious policies and cultural/lifestyle issues such as gay rights. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Symptomatic of structural problems in the neoliberal
political economy that make it appear more like a Third World country, downward
social mobility has accelerated since the deep recession of 2008. This even by
the admission of many Trump loyalists in the last four years who agreed about
the need to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Make America Great Again”</i>
by building a wall on the border of Mexico; keep out Muslims, give $2 trillion
in tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans; and deregulate the economy for higher
concentration of profits. Meanwhile, the government provided more corporate
subsidies for everything from high tech to biotech companies, even amid the
COVID-19 pandemic that raised poverty and unemployment. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Cynicism and conspiracy theories are widespread
with the help of the corporate-owned social media and mainstream media. Based
on citizen’s trust in government and institutions, the US is resembling a
combination of a banana republic or a non-Western nation where crony capitalism
is formalized under some form of authoritarian regime. Given the mass
psychology of fear and distraction from the oligarchic enemy operating behind
governments and politicians shielding them from their responsibility of eroding
bourgeois democracy and social justice, authoritarianism is the last resort to
maintain the status quo of social injustice.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">America’s Decline
and “Third-Worldism”</span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
March 2014, Rolling Stone magazine published an article entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Six Ways America is Like<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a Third World Country”</i>, listing criminal
justice, gun violence, health care, education, inequality, and infrastructure.
In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Global
Rift: The Third World Comes of Age</i></b>, (1981) L. S. Stavrianos argued that
structurally the US had manifestations of “Third Worldism” evolving slowly in
the course of the Vietnam War. Difficult to accept that a country in the core
of the capitalist world system is showing signs of Third World authoritarian
nations, many defenders of neoliberalism dismiss it as absurd, others are
cynical about it, and still others admit something must be done to reverse
course. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
still in the core of the world economy in terms of nominal GDP value and the
dollar’s leverage as the preeminent reserve currency, the US is rapidly losing
ground to China. While China was rapidly integrating as many countries as
possible into its economy during the last three decades, the US was pursuing a
parallel course of parasitic financialism and militarism. At the same time, the
nature of capitalism chasing the lowest production cost and highest return on
investment at the expense of workers and the middle class has also contributed
to structural problems that have shaped the polarized nature of the political
arena.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
US was at the zenith of its political, military, and economic power during the
Truman administration. While many countries were re-industrializing in the
second half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, the US was spending liberally on
the defense/intelligence/foreign policy network (military Keynesianism) amid
various wars, Vietnam among the most costly. Military Keynesianism</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> entailed pouring
disproportionate resources to defense as a means<span class="hgkelc"> of
stimulating economic growth in the civilian sector, while using its superior
defense as a deterrent against the USSR and China.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result was to
weaken the civilian economy at the same time of continuing to support capital
concentration at the expense of a vibrant middle class and working class. The
false sense of euphoria that the US would become even stronger economically
after the collapse of the Soviet bloc never materialized, as it coincided with
the rise of neoliberalism entailing even greater capital concentration and
inequality at a time that China was rising to global prominence. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">China’s
rapid economic rise, based not on nominal value of GDP, but purchasing power
parity (PPP) and its future prospect in comparison to the US, coincided with a
commensurate decline of the US as the core country of the capitalist world
system; this despite the fall of the Soviet bloc and its thorough integration
into the world economy. On the surface, it appears that US gradual economic
decline in comparison to China is divorced from a broader internal institutional
degradation. The corrupt Trump administration was symptomatic of institutional
corrosion stemming from contradictions in the political economy. To mobilize
popular support, Trump demonized the pluralist/diversity political leaders and institutions,
promising the American Dream for all, but catering to the wealthiest in society.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trump’s
populist neoliberal model that encouraged and legitimized existing Fascist
tendencies in the Republican Party delivered what Wall Street wanted amid
immense competition from China already surpassing the US in integrating much of
the world into its economic orbit. A manifestation of a much deeper crisis than
it appears at the political level on which the media and most analysts focus,
rather than viewing it as a symptom of internal structural decay, the
legitimacy of Fascism using the Republican Party as a vehicle was an inevitable
consequence of a hastened polarized socioeconomic structure amid the
simultaneous rise of economic rival China. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
ideological, political or nationalist considerations, many analysts see
‘Trumpism’ as a temporary political anomaly; a unique case of a personality
cult whose movement eventually disappears with the cult leader; at best, the Republican
Party temporarily split between institutionalists who need the mask to conceal
Fascist tendencies, and Trumpists proud to show their face as a means of
mobilizing support from billionaires and among lower middle class and working
class voters. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
it is valid to draw comparisons between Trumpism and Fascism, the comparison
also explains how the political system operating within a larger institutional
context is lapsing toward "Third Worldism"; a process that has been taking
place slowly in the past four decades and at the root of the problem. People cannot
agree on what has gone wrong in US democracy, just as they cannot agree on a
solution to satisfy both the masses and the entrenched elites financing the
political parties. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
March 2018, Tyler Cowen wrote in <b><i>Politico</i></b> <i>“Fascism Can’t
Happen Here”</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘because the American
government is so large and unwieldy’</i>. The same argument was made about Italy
in the early 1920s and Germany in the early 1930s. The author insists that
fascists cannot control the bureaucracy, an assertion based on the assumption that
the police and military as well as other civil service professionals would
support the status quo against Fascism. Department of Homeland Security and FBI
investigations show that former and active police and military personnel were
in fact among those who stormed the capitol building, and that right wing “terrorism”
attracts from the ranks that the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Politico</i></b> article insisted are beyond
reproach.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Disagreeing
on modalities and scale, progressives and establishment Democrats are convinced
that reversing the path to more formalized aspects of Fascism and rising “Third
Worldism” rests with a stronger centrist and/or center-left political system
with only modest policy changes to the status quo. In short, while preserving
the weakened social welfare safety net, the goal is to strengthen bourgeois
democracy under the neoliberal model of “</span>Financialism”<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> where all focus is on accommodative monetary, fiscal, and
regulatory policy to keep a strong stock market. Along with Military
Keynesianism, financialism under the neoliberal economy has contributed to
‘Third Worldism’ and brought Trump to the political arena as society’s
self-proclaimed savior only too anxious to carry out neoliberal policies to
their extreme by commoditizing everything, including foreign and defense policy.
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Suggestions
that a systemic problem can be fixed with superficial reforms within a
corrosive institutional structure precipitates the inevitable path toward
‘Third Worldism’ inexorably intertwined with authoritarianism. In a recent book
entitled <i>Donald Trump and the Prospect for American Democracy</i>, Arthur
Paulson argues that America is not as democratic as it projects its image at
home and abroad. Furthermore, economic inequality makes it even less so, given
that social justice is not a priority. If we use social justice and economic
equality criteria of Scandinavian countries, Western Europe, New Zealand or
even Canada, the US, where consumerism is equated with democracy, is not democratic.
Complicating its complex downward path toward ‘Third Worldism’ and
authoritarianism, the US is still in the core of the world economy and the
preeminent military power using such power as economic leverage rather than
addressing domestic structural social and economic problems. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is almost a universal
recognition among Americans that the US has the potential for economic success
shared more equitably across all socioeconomic groups (the American Dream), but
the regime catering to the privileged elite is driving the country toward
‘Third Worldism’ and polarization. Whether Republican or Democrat, most people
support status quo, not realizing that its dysfunction is at the root of the
slide toward “Third Worldism” and Fascism. No matter the erosion of ‘bourgeois
democracy’, rising inequality and declining social justice, many academics, the
media, politicians from both parties, and community leaders will continue to
praise the status quo to keep the masses coopted behind the two parties. As
divided as they are about policy differences and governing modalities within
the larger tents of the two-party system, entrenched socioeconomic elites
behind the political establishment agree on the goal of maintaining the status
quo. Therein are the seeds of continued institutional decline that opens the
door for the consolidation of Fascism.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">America’s decline as a
pluralistic bourgeois society with a modest social safety net will continue in
the post-Trump era, especially if Republicans take control of congress in 2022
and the presidency in 2024. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Where
is the US headed politically depends a great deal on the degree that
socioeconomic elites will continue to perpetuate conditions that exacerbate inequality
manifesting itself in political polarization, but expressed as “culture wars”.
From the Truman administration to Obama, the US presented itself as an open
pluralist society that valued freedom of opportunity in the marketplace equated
with democracy, thus a commoditized definition of freedom and a capitalist
definition of democracy. </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of political party, many people know
that absence of social justice drives people to conclude that the institutional
structure exists to serve the very few, while marginalizing most. This
widespread belief among Americans weakens any political party’s claim to
legitimacy, especially amid political polarization that clearly illustrates the
dispute about what ought to replace a dysfunctional social contract. This public
perception is reflected in the latest edition of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Edelman Trust Barometer</i> which has the US dropping 37% in trust
across all institutions and trust in government 33% vs. 84 for China;
statistics reflecting the nadir in public confidence in the entire institutional
structure and social contract.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">fter four years of the Trump presidency, the Biden team
presents the image of the US as a model “democracy” which other countries must
emulate. Toward that goal, Biden plans an international democracy conference;
ironic considering that most Republicans have stripped off the mask from their
party tor the world to see its Fascist essence. Meanwhile, not just political
observers and many scholars, but ordinary people in the US and around the world
are wondering if the US will remain a wounded bourgeois democracy or eventually
move to some sort of a Fascist state. Under a leader more competent than Trump and
one less focused on using the office to enrich himself and his family; under a
politically ambitious president who enjoys wider support among police and
military and has broader support from corporate media, religious and select
academics, but above all the financial backing of big business, Fascism in
America is far more likely than democracy.</span></p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-7748189224989923302021-05-13T10:55:00.001-07:002021-05-13T11:27:36.934-07:00TOP TEN MAGA MERCH ITEMS FOR REAL PATRIOTIC AMERICANS<p> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Forget t-shirts with guns or coffee mugs featuring
Trump's face. Here is my list of TEN items for the right
wing enthusiast who knows s/he is right, and all the rest are wrong.</i></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Red,
White and Blue eye glasses designed to see only real Americans and block out
Commie Chinese-loving, gun-hating liberals.</i></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</i></b></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A pair of star-spangled boots to kick out Muslims,
Mexicans, gays, and all the scum on that long list of undesirables polluting
the purity of our culture that God Almighty reserved for real American
Christians.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A
pair of blue jean overalls with an inscription on the seat of the pants that
reads: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Science will not stop me from
exercising my freedom to refuse masks, vaccines and anything I damn well please
until I’m good and dead.”</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Military-issue
backpack wrapped in the Confederate flag. It also doubles for safari hunting
when you get that urge to gun down a large or small critter on the endangered
list.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A helmet
and baseball bat combo that reads: “Trump is still my President as God is my
Savior”. This will send the right message to leftist terrorists demanding civil
rights. </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b></span><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A t-shirt
that reads: After a shot of whiskey, I drink recreational plutonium, because
real Americans are radioactive with patriotism and love to glow in the dark.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">7.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> A cell phone that instantly explodes, if
the incoming call is from liberal-commie-homo-feminist-immigrant-Muslim-tolerating
sissies who think God is a woman.</i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">8. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A German Shepherd wrapped with the
Confederate flag and a Swastika on its hind legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">9. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A pickup truck made-in-America by real
Americans with the gun rack on the rear window. Red, white and blue bumper
stickers let them foreign-vehicle driving Commie-Democrats know what’s waiting
for them for polluting our great Jesus-loving country. </i></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in;"><span class="break-words"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">10. <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Patriotic adult diapers for the man or woman
who knows he/she is full of it but still wants to keep it under wraps.</i></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</i></b></p>
WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-76231369667992677082021-05-10T13:41:00.004-07:002021-05-10T13:41:35.271-07:00CHERRY-PICKING HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY: US Condemns China’s Uighur Policy, while Providing Billions in Foreign Aid to Israel Condemned for Apartheid Policies<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
US has a long-standing double standard when it comes to condemning nations for
human rights violations, including state-terrorist acts, if it considers them
enemies. At the same time, the US strongly supports and in some cases provides
billions in foreign aid, guaranteed loans, weapons sales, and preferential trade
treatment to countries with which it has close historic ties, regardless of
their human right records. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During
the Trump and Biden administrations, the US made a strong case against China
over its policy toward the Uighur Muslim minority, a case that both political
parties agree boils down to egregious repression by the state deserving international
condemnation and international sanctions of various sorts. In June 2020,
President Trump used the Uighur issue in the far Western province of Xinjiang to
push through legislation calling for sanctions. Almost every member of U.S.
Congress voted for the sanctions bill. At the same time, the US under both
Trump and Biden called on the rest of the world to use Chinese policy in Xinjiang
as the raison d’ etre for a global containment policy of China. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
early May 2021, during the holy Muslim holiday of Ramadan, the Israeli
government encouraged mass evictions of Palestinians. In some cases, Israeli
settlers plainly told the Palestinians whose homes they were taking, that some
Israeli would steal their home sooner or later. Against the background of such
home evictions, an </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Israeli raid of the Al Aqsa Mosque
compound and occupied East Jerusalem became a battleground scene with Israeli
police wounding more than 250 Palestinians, as of 10 May 2021, and killing
several civilians, including children. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Israeli government demanded that
the US stay out of the Israeli repression of Palestinians, but a few progressive
Democrats have argued that US taxpayer money should not be supporting
apartheid. Breaking with the party's progressive wing and siding with conservative
Democrats and Republicans, Biden promised to stand by Israel at the UN Security
Council meeting scheduled to take place on Monday, 10 May 2021. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The double-standard is obvious for
the world to see how the US condemns any repression and/or human right
violations taking place in China’s Xinjiang province where the Muslim minority
is concentrated, while rewarding Israel with billions in economic and military
assistance to repress the Palestinian Muslim minority. </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The irony of all this is that Biden
administration remains committed to calling a global conference on democracy.
Never mind the nation-wide Republican effort of voter suppression; and let’s
ignore institutionalized police racism targeting blacks across the US; just as
long as there is a global conference that the US leads on democracy to show the
world it can still use the issue against China, Russia, Iran, among other
nations on its enemy list. </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If
there are Democrats questioning what kind of Democracy the US has become after
the Trump presidency; if some in the media are asking the same questions and
even some Wall Street firms are wondering about the US drifting into the domain
of authoritarianism, how much credibility would the US have at international
conference on democracy? Does Biden expect Putin and XI to stay silent on US
cherry-picking human rights policy? Does he really expect the Russians and the
Chinese not to mention institutionalized racism in the US and Washington
diplomatic and financial support of Israel’s repressive policies toward
Palestinians? Just for the record, the US is not listed on any international
human rights organization or public opinion polls as one of the viable
democracies like those in the Scandinavian region, or even Canada and New
Zealand. On the contrary, it is listed on all international public opinion
polls as a militaristic country whose global military presence speaks far
louder than the hollow rhetoric about a commitment to human rights either
abroad or at home. Writing during the transition from the feudal/manorial
system to capitalism and the rise of a new opportunistic style political
leader, Nicolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” point that symbolism was important,
if not everything, still has relevance today, but should there be no limits in
the politics of delusional rhetoric that becomes an integral part of hypocritical
public policy?</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></i></p>
<p> </p>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032766499940118267.post-91094564070243962332021-04-01T15:40:00.001-07:002021-04-01T15:40:23.120-07:00RACE and CLASS in AMERICA: A synoptic perspective <p> </p><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Introduction</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">College
students study race and class in sociology courses or in Black Studies
programs, although it should be part of the core curriculum for all incoming college
freshmen who need to understand the history of this multi-racial, multi-ethnic,
multi-religious society. The issue of race identity vs. class identity in the
US is as old as the institution of slavery followed by an apartheid society
from the end of the Civil War to the Supreme Court decision of 1896 in Plessy
v. Fergusson, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and down to the early 21<sup>st</sup>
century with lingering cultural and institutional racism manifesting itself in
everything from the criminal justice system to public schools and public health.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
sociological and political issue of race transcending class and vice versa is
controversial depending on one’s ideological perspective. White liberals and black
nationalists subordinate class to race, while varieties of socialists for the
most part, although hardly unanimous, argue that class transcends race and it
must be so in order to address the broader problems of social justice. The
dominant culture and institutional structure that includes government at all
levels and everything from the educational system and churches to media have always
subordinated class to race. It is hardly surprising to this day that this is
what the majority reflect in public opinion polls as well, considering that
America is much less class conscious than other developed nations despite the
lack of social justice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2016/01/30/racial-attitudes-differ-more-on-ideology-than-class/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2016/01/30/racial-attitudes-differ-more-on-ideology-than-class/</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">; also
see Barbara Fields, “</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ideology
and Race in American History” in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Region,
Race, and Reconstruction</i></b><i>, </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">ed.
by J</span>. Morgan Kousser and James M. McPherson (1982).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Congressional
Black Caucus and the Politics of Conformity </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In
February 2016, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) decided to endorse Hillary
Clinton on the basis of her record of support for blacks arousing the curiosity
of many who immediately looked into the financial backing of the CBC to
determine who exactly was paying for the endorsement. Beyond the obvious
Washington corporate lobbyists linked to the CBC, there are several salient
questions that need some analysis, including class consciousness vs. race
consciousness in America, and why is it that there is a blurring of the two. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Is the
political economy best served currently by both black and white elites and the
white dominant culture and institutional structure perpetuating racial
divisions over class divisions? Is identity in America based on skin color,
ethnicity, religion and gender rather than class? Does race consciousness mean
the same thing in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century when a black president has
been elected twice as it did in the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century when black
abolitionist Frederick Douglass lived in a society where race and class were
the same under the institution of slavery? Is the CBC following a long-standing
tradition of black churches that conform within the white establishment?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Historically,
black clergy have kept the congregation focused on spiritual matters within the
black community isolated from the white mainstream; some have gone along with
the white establishment both conservative and liberal so they can keep their
turf; others as during the 1950s and 1960s became politicized and demanded
reforms within the system or declared Black Nationalism as the solution. Does
the fact that CBC exist indicate societal racism that needs a political power
broker? If so, what does this reveal about race vs. class identity and why the
former transcends the latter in America when it is not the case in other
multi-racial societies?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The
racial identity vs. class identity issue emerged in the forefront of the
presidential election of 2016 when two white people in the Democrat Party –
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders - were competing for the voting bloc of
African-Americans who supported overwhelmingly Barak Obama in his bid to the
White House. Despite the fact that the Republican Party had a black
presidential candidate (Ben Carson), in February 2016 the Congressional Black
Caucus chose to support the former Sec/State Hillary Clinton, arguing she
represents the interests of black people, presumably all of them and not just
the 35,000 black millionaires in a population of about 39 million blacks or 13%
of the total in the US.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/US_real_median_household_income_1967_-_2011.PNG"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/US_real_median_household_income_1967_-_2011.PNG</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">; </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is important to note that big
capital was as solidly behind the decision of the Black Caucus as it has been
behind the Clinton campaign. There is something seriously wrong and highly
hypocritical when the Black Caucus claims to represent all black people, but
its funding sources come from the largest US-based multinational corporations
influencing its decision to endorse Clinton rather than Sanders. </span><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/12/who_endorsed_hillary_clinton_the_congressional"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.democracynow.org/2016/2/12/who_endorsed_hillary_clinton_the_congressional</span></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“Members of the CBC PAC board include Daron Watts, a </span></i><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobbyist.php?id=Y0000025185L"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">lobbyist</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> for Purdue Pharma, the maker of the
highly addictive opioid OxyContin; Mike Mckay and Chaka Burgess, both </span></i><a href="http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=12CCD935-42AB-480B-A826-2D94668EEF71&filingTypeID=78"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">lobbyists</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> for Navient, the student loan giant
that was spun off of Sallie Mae; former Rep. Albert Wynn, D-Md., a
lobbyist who </span></i><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/lobbyist.php?id=Y0000039377L&year=2015"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">represents</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> a range of clients, including work
last year on behalf of Lorillard Tobacco, the maker of Newport cigarettes;
and William A. Kirk, who </span></i><a href="http://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=3014F582-C56D-4253-AFCA-2A0CEA73B03B&filingTypeID=78"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">lobbies</span></i></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> for a cigar industry trade group on
a range of tobacco regulations.” </span></i></div>
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<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/</span></i></b></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A Historical Overview of Race and Class</span></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Although the promise of capitalism
is that it is color-blind and a system that provides equal opportunities for
all to attain upward social mobility, the empirical reality not just in the US
but across the globe has been anything but the promise. The market system has
always taken advantage of race, gender, and ethnicity to divide the working
class and middle class and to benefit by paying lower wages to those groups in
society that are discriminated. Just as there have been lower wages for women,
similarly the white-black wage ratio has also been lower working to the benefit
of the employer using race to realize higher profits, thus contributing to the strengthening
of US capitalism. Racial stereotypes that the media and the dominant culture
perpetuate – blacks are prone to crime, collecting welfare, and draining the
social welfare system – help to maintain racial divisions that keep a large
percentage of the minority community in a permanent state of social
subservience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Nicola Ginsburgh, “Race
and class in the US” </span><a href="http://isj.org.uk/issue-134"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Issue: 134</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (</span><a href="http://isj.org.uk/race-and-class-in-the-us/" title="6:02 pm"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">27th March 2012</span></a><span class="posted-on"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">) </span></span><a href="http://isj.org.uk/race-and-class-in-the-us/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">http://isj.org.uk/race-and-class-in-the-us/</span></a><span class="posted-on"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Capital
accumulation would not be possible in the absence of the active role of the
state. This is where politicians enter into the picture of promoting
co-optation so that capitalists encounter the least possible resistance to
their goals. Following a long-standing tradition of yielding to white bourgeois
co-optation, which has been an effective mechanism of sociopolitical control of
the minority population, the Black Caucus invoked race above class to endorse
Hillary Clinton. That she is running on a platform to maintain the neoliberal
status quo that has kept blacks in the lowest income category of any social
group in America in the last half century, including under Obama was not
mentioned because the same big capital contributors to Clinton are also contributors
to the CBC bought and paid for. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Without
mentioning big money contributors behind the endorsement, the Black Caucus
argued that Hilary and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were
involved in the Civil Right Movement of the 1960s and Hillary best represents
the “Obama legacy” whereas her opponent has been critical of America’s first
black president for caving to Wall Street and the establishment. Two-thirds of
Americans believe that the class divide is a more serious issue than immigration
or race relations, given that the elusive American Dream has become just a
dream for the vast majority, causing polarization in society in across all
social realms including race relations. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.learnvest.com/2012/07/how-attainable-is-the-american-dream-really/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">http://www.learnvest.com/2012/07/how-attainable-is-the-american-dream-really/</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Historically
the American Dream – upward social mobility from the working class to the
middle class - was never as easily attainable for blacks as it was for whites.
Before the Civil War, the American Dream was more or less the domain of the
white Anglo-Saxon Protestant elite, but it was hardly much different from the
end of the Civil War to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">that outlawed discrimination based on race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.
While there was a gradual opening for upward social mobility to blacks, it was
hardly comparable to the rate of whites. More significant, the vast majority of
the black population continued to make up a disproportionate part of America’s
poor, lacking decent health and education. Although the Civil Right Act
officially put an end to </span>the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Fergusson
(1896) of “separate but equal”, it hardly ended the practice throughout the
country of an apartheid society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an article entitled “</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Race transcends class in this country: A response to Seekings and
Nattrass”</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, South
African university professor Xolela Mangcu <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">argues that in his apartheid society race transcends class because
people see color first and foremost even after he would have to announce his
social status. Moreover, regardless of class differences, black people feel a
sense of solidarity because of their common struggle against apartheid society.
</span></span><a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-04-06-race-transcends-class-in-this-country-a-response-to-seekings-and-nattrass/#.VsBhP-Y_DIW"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">http</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">://</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">www</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">dailymaverick</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">co</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">za</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">opinionista</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">/2015-04-06-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">race</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">transcends</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">class</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">in</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">this</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">country</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">a</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">response</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">to</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">seekings</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">and</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">nattrass</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">/#.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">VsBhP</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Y</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">_</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">DIW</span></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As
shocking as many people may find it, there are some similarities between South
Africa and the US, though clearly the US is the military leader of the world
and still a powerful economy despite the global challenge that China has
presented in a remarkably short period of time. Because of the institution of
slavery that relegated black people in the southern states to the status of
property that whites owned, and because of Jim Crow laws at the state and local
level enforcing segregation and apartheid conditions, a hierarchy evolved based
not just on class but also race. Almost like a caste system, blacks were at the
bottom of the hierarchy, followed non-Western European immigrant workers from of
any ethnicity regardless of color, and then white workers. Not surprisingly,
the slowly evolving black middle class also fell into the same race-based
hierarchy, considering that many cities have historic black middle class neighborhoods,
just as they do of other ethnic groups. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The endeavors
of civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 1960s, including Martin Luther King to
have race eliminated as criteria and to have blacks accepted on the same
meritocracy-based criteria as whites was actually conceived by Europeans during
the Age of Reason in the 18<sup>th</sup> century when the US was born as a
republic. While the Founding Fathers incorporated the value system of the
Enlightenment in the Constitution and laws, they excluded minorities and women.
The white European bourgeois philosophy and values of the 18<sup>th</sup>
century are deeply ingrained in American society that places the individual
above the collective, thus protecting the individual property owner and slave
owner. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In a
recent article entitled<i> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“</b></i></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Martin Luther King Jr. Transcended Color and Class and So Can You,”</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">liberal Huffington Post reflects the ideal of 18<sup>th</sup> century Enlightenment
liberal thinking against any communitarian values.<i> “</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In reality, no one can set another free.
True equality arises from within. When you become it and live it, your
demonstration of strength of character creates your ticket to freedom. Each one
of us contains all the power we require to set ourselves free. Ultimately, it's
an inside job.”</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> The suggestion
that Martin Luther King transcended class and race is as absurd as the one that
freedom comes from within. Of course, he was the first to admit as much. </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This 18<sup>th</sup>
century liberal ideal assumes that the individual has choice in the matter of
transcending race and class, when in fact the institutional structure
determines racism and classism. No one decided to become a slave while all
along thinking in her/his mind he/she is free. Slaves did not have the ability
to free themselves from the institution simply by imagining they were free.
This is only something that religion promoted to provide slaves with a spiritual
outlet for their predicament in daily material life and something that white
masters promoted along with black preachers, although for different reasons,
resulting in maintaining the status quo. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> </span><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christine-horner/martin-luther-king-transc_b_7980342.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">http</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">://</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">www</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">huffingtonpost</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">com</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">christine</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">horner</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">martin</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">luther</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">king</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">-</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">transc</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">_</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">b</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">_7980342.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">html</span></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Racism at the City
Level: Chicago</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">American
history is rich with examples of black leaders conforming to the white
establishment and endorsing the political enemies of workers and especially black
workers en masse. Some such cases have been very egregious that backfired on
the black community. For example, the black leadership in Chicago chose to
support Rahm Emanuel, another Obama protégé committed to neoliberal policies
and conducting policy to strengthen the richest citizens of the city. The black
elites and black community leaders for the most part rejected Jesus Garcia, the
candidate running on a populist progressive platform with a broad appeal to the
middle class and workers. Despite the fact that Emmanuel had a record of
covering up for institutional racism in the police department and refusing to
make any changes at the leadership level, black leaders asked their followers
to vote for Emanuel because they assumed a Latino mayor would be less friendly
toward the minority community than a mayor linked to Obama. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/507983/humility-black-partnerships-forge-win-rahm-emanuel">http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/507983/humility-black-partnerships-forge-win-rahm-emanuel</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This was
two years after Emanuel had ordered that </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">53 public schools and 61 buildings primarily in
minority neighborhoods be shut down so the city could save $1 billion. This was
carried out as part of a neoliberal agenda where Emmanuel was privatizing
public services and using funds saved by shutting down schools so the city could
then transfer funds for a variety of corporate welfare projects to local
businesses. Moreover, he proposed building a public school near an
environmental toxic site to save money. Nevertheless, blacks voted for him
instead of his Hispanic opponent, despite his record of supporting a racist
police force, and pursuing a racist policy toward public education. Although these
neoliberal policies impacted largely the black community, they are at the core
class and not race issues despite the hit the black community took because it
was the easy target to the white establishment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/rahm-emanuel-school-toxic_n_3941302.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/rahm-emanuel-school-toxic_n_3941302.html</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">; </span><a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/kelly-truth-squad/2015/02/the-next-50-chicago-public-schools-rahm-emanuel-will-close/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.chicagonow.com/kelly-truth-squad/2015/02/the-next-50-chicago-public-schools-rahm-emanuel-will-close/</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">; <a href="http://inequality.org/privatization-chicago/">http://inequality.org/privatization-chicago/</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Black Nationalism and the Liberal
Integrationist Model </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Both at the local level as Chicago
politics suggests as well as the national level the issue of race benefits
capital but it only continues unabated because politicians black and white
perpetuate the interests of capital over class and race, the latter which they
use to subordinate the class struggle clearly evident in subtle and blatant
forms. Unfortunately, Black Nationalism in the 20<sup>th</sup> century has
actually helped to inculcate into the minds to black people that race
consciousness transcends class consciousness. This is certainly since the era
of Marcus Garvey and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Universal Negro
Improvement Association</i> in the 1920s and down to the late 20<sup>th </sup>century
with various black leaders advocating nationalism, albeit often for
opportunistic self-serving reasons as in the case of some black Muslims. (William
L. Van Deburg, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Modern Black Nationalism: From<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Marcus Garvey to Louis Farrakhan</i></b> (1996). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Despite the reality that in all people’s
everyday material lives class transcends race, Black Nationalist leaders have
tried to sell illusions not very different than those the church has been
selling to the faithful who need spiritual comfort against the incredible odds
in the real world. By the same token, the liberal integrationist model which
has presented itself as the antithesis of Black Nationalism has also
contributed to distracting from class consciousness in the black community. The
liberal integrationist models rooted in local and national Democrat Party
politics and coming out of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s were in
essence detrimental to the upward socioeconomic mobility of blacks, always as
judged by results clearly evident half a century later. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In fact, those liberal
integrationist experiments of the 1960s and 1970s (segregated housing that
entailed ghetto living, permanent welfare, substandard health and education,
etc.) were in essence intended to provide the minimal social safety net while
at the same time absorbing a tiny percentage of the black elites into the institutional
mainstream. Meanwhile, nothing changed for the vast majority of the population
that remains at the very bottom of the socioeconomic ladder judged by income
and personal wealth statistics. It is these black elites that the Congressional
Black Caucus represents today as it has historically, rather than the unarmed
black teenager shot by cops every other week in cold blood in one of America’s
cities. Gary Peller,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Critical Race Consciousness:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The
Puzzle of Representation.</b> </i>(2012).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The underlying problem is social
justice. Both Malcolm X and Martin Luther King recognized toward the end of
their lives when they too finally went beyond the issue of race and on to the
much larger issue of class and the structure of the political economy and
dominant culture. The alienation of blacks in contemporary society is not so
different than it is for Hispanics and other non-European immigrants, or poor
whites. The lumpenproletariat, of which a large segment blacks have been
related by the political economy, are in the same boat as their brethren of
other races and ethnicities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are all
operating under a system geared toward capital accumulation and bent on using
race, gender, ethnicity and religion, especially targeting Muslims since 9/11,
to divide the masses. This is hardly a new strategy, considering we see it on
the part of the Europeans in the 19<sup>th</sup> and 20<sup>th</sup> century
and their behavior toward colonial people as Franz Fanon among others has
argued trying to understand the root causes of class and race alienation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Alienation, Race, Gender and Class </span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Like
sexism and xenophobia, racism breeds alienation not only because of the
exclusion from the mainstream but because the people on the receiving end
internalize the identity assigned to them by the hegemonic culture rooted in
discrimination. As George Lulacs, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>History
and Class Consciousness</i></b> (1972) pointed out in the 1920s, the issue of
alienation is catalytic in capitalist society, an issue on which Existentialist
thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre dueled in their writings especially as
alienation was dominant in bourgeois life. Not only do we see very clear
evidence of alienation among the petit bourgeoisie in America across all ethnic
and religious groups despite their protestations to the contrary that
capitalism effaces such alienation, the problem is becoming even more
pronounced in a techno-society that continues to alienate human beings from
each other as individuals and social classes striving to assert their identity
and pulled in different directions by forces intended to distract them from the
problem of social justice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Against
such a culture of alienation even more prevalent today than when George Lucacs
was writing a century ago, it is hardly surprising that racial, ethnic,
religious, and other “communal” identities transcend class identify, especially
for the lumpenproletariat. After all, who wants to identify with the working class?
Whereas the American middle class was the essence of the American Dream a half
century ago, that class is now considerably weakened, debt-ridden and hardly
carries the same prestige it did during the early Cold War. Is it any wonder
that working class people with high school diplomas support a billionaire
right-wing populist presidential candidate Donald Trump who represents their
fears and aspirations, their prejudices and anxieties, even when he invokes
xenophobia, sexism and racism? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">What a
better way to co-opt a segment of the disgruntled masses and keep them divided
than to have such right wing populists who point to working people of a
different race, ethnicity and religion? This is exactly what ultra right-wing
politicians did in the interwar era of Fascism and Nazism rooted in
discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender and religion. Public
opinion makers – think tanks and media, politicians and community leaders - mold
mass psychology to accept alienation as normal, to reject class consciousness
and to identify with communal groups of similar background instead of seeing
the absence of social justice in its universal framework impacting the working
class and middle class regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There are
many sociological and historical studies analyzing the issue of race
transcending class in America that goes hand in hand with gender transcending
class, and ethnicity, and religion. These are all traits of a capitalist
society where the political and social elites co-opt a small percentage of the
leadership of the minority groups, keep these groups separate and use them to
forge political and social consensus that serves a political economy aimed at
preserving the privileges of the wealthy that includes a small percentage of
blacks and other minorities, as well as women. Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton,
a millionaire who represents Wall Street, used her gender as an issue to co-opt
women voters just as the Black Caucus used the issue of race to co-opt black
voters for Clinton. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Divisive
tactics based on race, religion and ethnicity were commonly used by European
colonialists to co-opt the native population and to keep it divided, whether in
Africa, India and the rest of Asia, especially in the 19<sup>th</sup> and early
20<sup>th</sup> century. In short, the tactics of European imperialists remain
alive and well in 21<sup>st</sup> century US. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Throughout history, the
social and political elites in the US have endeavored to suppress any attempt
at raising class consciousness, while exacerbating race, gender, ethnic and
religious consciousness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It is
hardly surprising that class consciousness is subordinate to race, gender,
ethnicity, and religious consciousness in a society where the entire
institutional structure from educational system to community social clubs have
no references to class because it is an anathema to even mention the class structure
although it is staring at people in the face when they go from the ghetto to
the gated community. It is a testament to the success of the elites in
co-opting the disgruntled masses in the late 1960s and early 1970s by
fragmenting their causes, breaking down their solidarity by focusing on specific
groups that included feminists, blacks, Hispanics, gay rights activists and
environmentalists, and all separate and never in solidarity with each other. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Angela
Davis <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Women, Race and Class</i></b>,
1983; <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>also see Paula S.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rothenberg, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Race Class and Gender in the US</i></b>, 2004)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Civil Rights, Cold
War and Cryptic Jim Crow</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As the
white establishment as the co-opted black elites always sing the praises of the
civil rights movement, which did go a very long way in addressing some of the
most egregious segregation problems and it did result in modest upward mobility.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the civil rights movement had some
limited success, would any one argue that it eliminated institutional racism in
America? If not, to what degree is this the fault of the white establishment and
the black political elites that enjoy influence over black ministers and
community leaders? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">The Obama
legacy on which Hillary Clinton is running for president in 2016 is much closer
to the Clinton one in so far as it continued the neo-liberal tradition that
strengthened the richest Americans than it did the bottom 90%; among those
bottom 90% blacks doing very poorly under Obama with youth unemployment at 50%
and income disparity that suggests very clearly institutional racism as a
mechanism that strengthens capital. Given the material lives of the vast
majority of black people, the Black Caucus is about as relevant to black
peoples’ lives as Gloria Steinem and her generation of upper middle class
feminists to the lives of working class women of all ethnic backgrounds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In many multi-racial
societies, class transcends race but not in the US where the elites of all
ethnic groups and races have joined historically to suppress the concept of
class as radical, socialist or Marxist. By contrast, race isolated as an issue
is acceptable because it speaks to the possibilities of co-optation of a
segment of minorities into the white institutional structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this respect, the US is not very different
from South Africa, but very different from the Muslim North African and Middle
East countries where class most definitely transcends race. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In a pluralistic society that claims
to be Enlightenment-inspired merit-based but in reality steeped in racism and
xenophobia diversity is essential to prove that the system works and must be
sustained as is. During the early Cold War when the US was engaged in a global
struggle for ideological and political influence with the Communist countries,
domestically it practiced apartheid while preaching the virtues of democracy to
the rest of the world. The Civil Rights movement emerged from the Cold War
political climate and became necessary to silence critics about the limits of
American democracy. John Kennedy recognized as much but so did Lyndon Johnson.
In the early 21<sup>st</sup> century America has come full circle with the
anti-Islam campaign under the name “war on terror” elaborately
institutionalized to replace the Cold War. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Mary L. Dudziak, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cold War Civil Rights: Race and
the Image of American Democracy.</i></b> 2011) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Although the internal dynamics of a
society drive domestic policy, in the case of the US foreign policy under Pax
Americana bent on global policing if not hegemony invites attitudes of inevitable
superiority as history suggests in the long standing Protestant tradition of providence
and Manifest Destiny. Just as racial discrimination was part of the conquest at
the expense of Native Americans, Latin Americans from the Polk to the McKinley administration,
there was a parallel race discrimination against blacks that is continuing despite
Affirmative Action as one way to address it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Diversity and Affirmative Action emerged from
the Civil Rights movement that was in no small measure intended to improve
America’s image abroad, but also to come to terms with the substantial
demographic changes as minorities were becoming a larger percentage of society.
Although loosely applied in many cases, Affirmative Action has helped to bring
more blacks in college and that has been a catalyst to upward social mobility
in a merit-based society. That some whites view Affirmative Action in higher
education as preferential treatment for blacks or reverse discrimination as they
argue in courts, including the Supreme Court, fails to take into account the
centuries of excluding blacks from higher education on the basis of skin color
without any regard to meritocracy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Education is itself a commodity for
purchase by the wealthiest, considering that the children of the wealthy have
access to the best schools, and the very wealthy are contributors to
universities where their children attend classes. In other words, as a microcosmic
reflection of the larger society, higher education is based primarily on class
and secondarily on race, considering that the rich black students graduating
from expensive private or affluent suburban schools can hardly be placed in the
same category as the inner city public high school graduate where preparation
for college is a luxury instead of a priority. (Ira Katznelson, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When
Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in
Twentieth-Century America</i></b>. 2006)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the workplace Affirmative Action
been used as a meritocracy mechanism for professional jobs that benefit the
black college-educated middle class now dwindling at an even greater rate than
the white middle class under neoliberal policies of corporate welfare since the
Reagan era at all levels of government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Other than skin color, which they use for their own personal gain, what
exactly do black corporate executives have in common with an unemployed young
man in Detroit? Similarly, white CEOs have more in common with their black
counterparts than with unemployed white youths in rural Louisiana. Solidarity
exists among the black and white capitalist but not necessarily among the black
and white unemployed youth of working class background. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the era of a two-term black
president, in the era of self-proclaimed pluralism, America is just as steeped
in repression rooted in racism directed at working class blacks as it was
before the Civil Rights movement. This becomes very clear when one looks at the
American justice system and prisons filled with minorities. Moreover, the
courts are institutionally biased against minorities. For example, George
Zimmerman, the “neighborhood watch” volunteer shot and killed 17-year-old
Trayvon Martin in February of 2012, but the court acquitted him. In most cases
police killing unarmed black youth, prosecution and imprisonment of the police
officer and police reform to end racism is rare. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Michelle Alexander, <i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.</b>
2015;</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><a href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/07/16/pers-j16.html"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/07/16/pers-j16.html</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">One could ask what the white and
black political and social elites are doing about this</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> new form of racism and absence of social justice</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> at a time that they have the
audacity to preach human rights and civil rights to the rest of the world. If
Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were to return today they would be shocked
that America remains so utterly oblivious to improving social justice for all
people, especially minorities. These civil right leaders of the 1960s would </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">probably not </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">be shocked that the Congressional Black Caucus is on the payroll of
multinational corporations that contribute by the millions to buy influence.
Because the minority political leaders as well as most community and church
leaders feel that racial equality comes within the capitalist system, their
goal is greater integration within the system not the struggle against it</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">. A clear recognition that</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> the capitalist system is the source of
inequality and social injustice as much in the black community as in all others</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> will be the beginning of social action</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">. </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Major Owens<b>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Peacock Elite,
A Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus</i></b>, 2011) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://theintercept.com/2016/02/11/congressional-black-caucus-hillary/</span></a><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/us/politics/14cbc.html?_r=0"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/14/us/politics/14cbc.html?_r=0</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Neither Black Nationalism nor
liberal bourgeois schemes intended to assuage the entire minority community by
absorbing a small percentage into the institutional mainstream while providing
a weak social safety net f</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">or the rest have succeeded
in e</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">liminating
poverty and ending institutional racism. Grassroots organizing and class
solidarity is the only hope blacks, Hispanics and all working people</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">.</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
Following political and community leaders on the payroll of corporations, or
merely dependent on business funding for their activities will only perpetuate
the status quo. </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It is not unrealistic to expect </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">institutions under the existing
political economy </span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">to continue enjoying</span></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> various ways of co-opting the
leadership of the black community and quelling any demands for social justice.
As America’s demographics are rapidly changing and the current minorities (13%
black 17% Hispanic) will become the majority in 25 years or so, systemic change
will come collectively by a cross section of people coming together to address
the structural causes of injustice that rest with the social order under the current
political economy.</span></i>WORLD EVENTS, CULTURE AND CIVILIZATIONhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00484481252951314773noreply@blogger.com0