So much for democracy in the EZ. All of Bill's stuff is great, but a lot of it is somewhat technical and not of interest to all. This one is a must-read.
Read it at New Economic Perspectives
Ex-ECB Head Proposes Giving Greece the Benton Harbor, Michigan Treatment
by William K. Black — Associate Professor of Economics and Law, University of Missouri at Kansas City
TPTB are no longer even reticent about their objective — rule by central bankers in place of democracy. This is totally bizarre.
Bill concludes: "I am not arguing this makes Snyder or Trichet a fascist. My argument is that they embrace authoritarian “solutions” that glorify the all-dominant leader. Authoritarian leaders tend to impose disastrous policies, such as austerity, because they do not have to listen to others. They invariably insist that “there is no alternative” (TINA) to their self-destructive policies."
No, it is not the fascism of Mussolini or Hitler, but rather a new "soft fascism" (soft unless one runs afoul of it). It's a form of centralized control that does not yet have a label, although it's a blending of neoliberalism, neoconservatism, neocolonialism, and neo-imperialism with technological characteristics like total surveillance that is making a bid to control globalization through international institutions and multinational firms.
TPTB are no longer even reticent about their objective — rule by central bankers in place of democracy. This is totally bizarre.
Bill concludes: "I am not arguing this makes Snyder or Trichet a fascist. My argument is that they embrace authoritarian “solutions” that glorify the all-dominant leader. Authoritarian leaders tend to impose disastrous policies, such as austerity, because they do not have to listen to others. They invariably insist that “there is no alternative” (TINA) to their self-destructive policies."
No, it is not the fascism of Mussolini or Hitler, but rather a new "soft fascism" (soft unless one runs afoul of it). It's a form of centralized control that does not yet have a label, although it's a blending of neoliberalism, neoconservatism, neocolonialism, and neo-imperialism with technological characteristics like total surveillance that is making a bid to control globalization through international institutions and multinational firms.
11 comments:
Fascism Lite!
Shouldn't that be "glorify the all-dominant LENDER"?
How about "El Banquismo" - for rule by banks.
I am far more worried about what is happening in Benton Harbor than I am about Europe. I know there are good reasons to be concerned about Europe and they are well covered in Bill's article and Tom's comments and many other posts referenced here. And, I am worried about Europe, too.
But Benton Harbor is here in the US and is part of the takeover of representative government on all levels at the behest of the oligarchs. I'm not really a conspiracy buff, but with the elimination of civil rights and constitutional protections in legislation like the Patriot Act, the NDAA, CISPA and the militarization of local law enforcement, we are in serious trouble. IIRC the US government is still operating under a "Continuity of Government Plan", originally developed by Dick Cheney and activated on 9/11, that effectively instituted Martial Law.
The German public holds a peculiar notion that it is their money that the ECB manages and that the "peripheral" nations are raiding the German cookie jar. When you read German popular newspapers like, Der Spiegel, the German public views the entire EZ as their pet project that they let others participate in. The ECB, European Commission and European Parliament remain obscenely subservient to the large nations and dominant over the small. Certainly NOT democracy.
John, it's the same thing. Democracy is under assault all across the West. It's a comprehensive, organized, international movement by concentrated and mobile international capital. The goal is to turn democratic government into subordinate and economically dependent institutions that are permitted to administrate a few affairs at the pleasure of capital.
Dan --
YES!
Sounds good in French too: "Le Banquisme"
fuck this is not pretty.
Agreed John and Dan.
These mother fuckers are seriously amping their game up before 2012 closes up. I smell desperation in the powers that be...they are realizing their hand is not as strong as they thought. The fact is that as more and more intelligent and talented people get un and under-employed, the more OUT OF THE BOX they become and start thinking new ideas and new ways of living, b/c the fact is that humans will never, NEVER, give up. We will always soldier on, innovate, and find new ways out. And there are always multiple ways out of any debacle. The only hope the powers that be have is that all of humanity stops desiring to live and create and innovate. That's all they've got, and they already know it won't work. Humans are like water...if you attempt to tighten your grip, you only squeeze it free (just like Princess Leia tells Vader in A New Hope). ;)
If we ever needed to create a new currency, or multiple currencies in smaller locales and communities...what economic school of thought could do it better than MMT? Perhaps we could start considering making various types of economic models for independent communities and self-reliant monetary systems? It would be an MMT take on the Austrian Robinson Crusoe obsession. I'd bet it would be pretty darn popular too, considering public demand for self-reliance these days, etc.
Tom (and everyone else):
read this article, you'll like it ALOT I'm sure.
http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/64-64/11504-a-victory-for-all-of-us
Did you know that Section 1021 of the NDAA has been deemed as unconstitutional? Yup. Check it out. And I love this quote from the article, b/c it is so true and so perceptive. This is Jesus, Socrates, Thomas Moore, etc., etc., etc. All great social achievements come from small, dedicated, wise groups of people!!!!
“You do not become a ‘dissident’ just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career,” Vaclav Havel said when he was battling the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. “You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society. ... The dissident does not operate in the realm of genuine power at all. He is not seeking power. He has no desire for office and does not gather votes. He does not attempt to charm the public. He offers nothing and promises nothing. He can offer, if anything, only his own skin—and he offers it solely because he has no other way of affirming the truth he stands for. His actions simply articulate his dignity as a citizen, regardless of the cost.”
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