We invade nations militarily in the name of democracy and humanitarianism or especially if they “threaten our national security.” When what we are really doing is making “the world safe for the Fortune 500.” We select those countries that could not possible be a threat to our national security because they are smaller and weaker. However, their natural resources are the main attraction , namely oil, mercury, platinum, zinc, aluminum and the like. And, of course, cheap labor is a strong lure.
We propagandize our own people to believe that democracy and capitalism are linked and we spread that gospel around the globe. We disregard the many countries that are capitalistic and undemocratic, such as Thailand, Pakistan, South Africa, Indonesia, Columbia and many others. They are all “free market” third world counties and none are prosperous. Through the free market system we have destroyed social democracy in Eastern Europe and installed capitalistic democracy. As a result, the people no longer have food subsidies nor price controls. Health plan benefits are cut and guaranteed employment is gone. The free market has privatized land, farming and factories. There are major increases in corruption, crime, alcoholism and drug addiction. The Russian Mafia has spread throughout Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States. Investors are getting wealthier, while the poor grow in number and get poorer. Living standards have dropped by half, thanks to free market globalization.
According to the last census, in the U.S., a free market capitalist nation, 48 million are living at the poverty level or below, while the Wall St. plutocrats are accumulating unbelievable wealth.
Due to the super exploitation by imperialistic capitalism, millions of third world people are living in urban slums enduring disease and hunger. The land was taken by western agribusiness to raise export crops for the corporations profit. As a result, there is no land for the locals to raise beans and rice for home consumption. Millions of children are suffering from mental illness, malnutrition and catastrophic stress caused by life in the slums. The adults are demoralized, depressed and physically ill from malnutrition and stress. Child labor is widespread for a few cents per hour. According to one report in India there are 55 million underage children working for pennies.
The neo-imperialists today are no longer interested in acquiring colonies. Rather the aim is to acquire wealth through the channel of the client state. A client state opens itself to investment by foreign capitalists at a very favorable rate of profit. The country is administered by native rulers so that the corporate investor is not burdened with the costs of administration and is free to take the profits and run. The native rulers are very generous to the corporate investor in return for large amounts of financial aid available to those who govern. However, this type of government encourages rampant corruption and fraud.
But, if a charismatic reformer comes along, then political situation can change. A good example is Chavez in Venezuela, Morales in Bolivia and the popular uprisings, as we speak, in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan. Unfortunately, in the United States today, if the system takes away your job and your house, you just “roll over”.
As one observer said,
“We live in a world that is out of joint, as if it has been struck by an enormous earthquake so that the roads are no longer flat, nor the buildings straight.”
References:
Davis
Kerr
Parenti
Wikipedia
