Capitalism as we know it is failing. This is especially true of hyper-capitalism as seen in the USA and to some extent in the UK. It is failing to provide for all and increasingly provides only for the rich.
The red tide now approaching has been seen before but each time it was turned back by a capitalism telling lies about riches for all.
Capitalism as it stands now will NEVER even provide the basics of life for all. If there was any wish to even attempt to do so a universal basic income would have been initiated long before now.
Capitalism as we have seen it over our lifetimes is a Ponzi scheme that works only for a certain number who entrench themselves by one means or another, do very well out of climbing that greasy pole... then kick away the ladder beneath them.
Is there anyone left in the western world that doesn’t see this now? Even those still holding onto some form of employment, squeezed for every ounce of energy, timed to the second and stressed to the limit... even they see how things stand now whether they have just enough to pay their bills or not.
The ‘Pink Tide’ in Latin America led by Hugo Chavez, Christina Kirchner, Lula da Silva and Evo Morales in the late Nineties to mid Twenties saw socialist governments rise to power. Other Latin American nations followed but economic factors including the crash of 2007-08 saw right-wing parties come to power through various dubious means supported in general by significant numbers voting with their wallets rather than with their consciences once again.
However tides do turn, they ebb and flow and now conditions are right for the tide of socialism to be return once more.
A coup in Bolivia saw Evo Morales driven from the country and a right-wing regime take power. This has recently been reversed and Morales has returned with a socialist grouping back in power.
In Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has hung on despite enormous efforts made by the USA, UK and many other nations within the western orbit to unseat him. An estimated forty thousand Venezuelans died as a result of the sanctions and financial barriers placed before the nation however there has been no capitulation to the forces of hyper-capitalism or the greed-driven neoconservatives of Washington and London.
In Britain the enthusiastic welcoming of Jeremy Corbyn by an inspired movement of primarily young Britons created a sea change and wave of idealism that threatened the established conservative order. A smear campaign across British mainstream media labeling Corbyn an anti-Semite along with a fifth column within his own party effectively destroyed the hopes of a generation for a better, more sustainable, peace-loving and compassionate Britain... for now.
Returning to Latin America there is great potential for the left across several nations including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Nicaragua of course remains steadfastly socialist led by President Daniel Ortega of Sandanista fame.
In Brazil we can see the gradual decay of the Bolsonaro presidency and government with Lula da Silva poised to return to power in a renewed wave of enthusiasm for socialism after the ending of the Trump-like insanity of the Bolsonaro years.
While China continues to exemplify the massive success which can be obtained by mixing socialist planning with ethical entrepreneurial activity in a hybrid economy creating benefit for all there can be little doubt that this mix is the sustainable wave of the future.
Europe will soon experience the retreat of U.S. influence and its devotion to exploitative hyper-capitalism as China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative makes ever deeper inroads increasing not only her economic influence but that of her diplomatic influence also.
We will see wave after wave of initiatives worldwide in future that seek to reduce the effect of hyper-capitalism which has brought to us distinctly ‘Us and Them’ societies where the gap between the majority and the super-wealthy minority has reached epic proportions.
As wealth flows ever faster and in ever-larger quantities upward, as services and manufacturing become ever more automated and conducted online, as disposable income shrinks and in many cases disappears entirely, as life chances narrow and all the many stresses now involved in gaining a livable income, pay check to paycheck rise... the call for more socially responsive governments will be heard ever more frequently.
Capitalism is not only failing fast, it is being SEEN to fail by ever more observers.
The Covid-19 pandemic has cast capitalist societies in a very harsh light, particularly so in the most devotedly hyper-capitalist nation of all, the USA.
The threat of climate change now looms large and it cannot possibly have been lost on the vast majority that a unified, efficient, effective centrally-planned approach, as seen in China brought results where the scattered, incoherent and highly divisive and chaotic approach by the USA, the UK and other western states did not.
We are on the cusp of what may well be the most momentous epoch in our history as a species. If we fail to organize ourselves in important ways where the distribution of life chances, a livable income and the de-stressing of lives are prioritized and not subject to the whims of elites only interested in themselves... we invite a dire future indeed.
The answer is a broadening of access to a solid foundation in life, a guaranteed income and the various necessities of health care, education, housing and all other basics there for all, reliably present at all times. Only in this way will we be collectively ready to face the future with hope for survival and a decent life for future generations in our hearts.
Socialism, thinking socially as much as personally, creating safe and accessible societies for all, encouraging agreement rather than discord and welcoming the red wave rising now in both East and West... will herald a new and brighter horizon for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment