Capitalism is the most unnatural system of living ever invented by man. It was initially imposed on an unwilling population by force, and it has to be maintained by constant lies and deceit. Force is always ready in the background, to be used when an inevitable crisis occurs.
The Industrial Revolution ushered in modern day capitalism. It caused so much hardship and unrest that the ruling class in Britain resorted to force to crush popular opposition. In the first half of the 19th century trade unions, free assembly and free speech were banned. When you study history and economics at school or university they don't tell you the real story. The Luddites are painted as dummies who feared machines. The Luddites in fact were sane people who fought for their way of life. They spun and wove cloth in their cottages. They were in charge of their livelihood. Factories owners wanted to turn them into wage slaves. Laws were passed raising the output levels required in the cottage industries to impossible levels. This was to force their closure and make the people work in factories. The men naturally did not want to become slaves, so they resisted. In some cases they burnt down factories. The state massed some 18,000 troops to suppress them. Women and children were more pliable, so they had to work up to 18 hours a day in factories.
September 11 and capitalist terror
Global capitalism is in crisis. That is why we had September 11 and why we have a so-called "war on terrorism." Let's get some background to current events. After World War II capitalism entered a new phase, the age of "consumerism." Developments in technology meant a vast increase in production and new products. However, people were familiar a limited supply of goods. They did not have a consumption mentality, which had to be rigorously imposed by advertising. Television gave a big boost to capitalism. An ad-man in the early 1950s gleefully said that TV was a selling machine in every lounge room. Of course we all need food, clothing and shelter. But our natural material needs are quite modest, too much so for capitalism. Capitalism needs to relentlessly expand markets. Therefore, false needs are created by advertising. Billions of dollars a year are spent convincing people to buy things they don't really want or need. Natural resources are gobbled up and the planet laid waste. No thought is given to the future.
Society has never been so materialistic as under consumerism. The focus is on mere things, at the expense of the extremely important non-material side of life. Relationships, ethics, spirituality and all the truly human aspects of life are under attack. People have become corrupted by consumerism. The advertisers constantly push the message, "be greedy, be selfish." There have been two generations subjected to this barrage, and something had to give. The moral fabric of society has been torn apart. Economic rationalism is simply an ideology of greed and selfishness. Those with power are grabbing more than a fair share of wealth. In the US a high level manager used to get about ten times the income of the average wage. Now they can get over 400 times the average. The public sector is being devastated simply because of greed, whereby wealth is stolen and put into private hands. The robbers barons of old are with us, not wearing suits of armor, but business suits.
Capitalism has become so rapacious, and it has such destructive tools, that it destroying the planet. People know this and are resisting. Capitalism has reached an unsustainable state. The problems it creates are threatening its very existence. Capitalism cannot change its ways. As long as it exists it must exploit and repress. When markets fail, as they must, capitalism turns to force in an effort to hold things together. Wars are an integral part of patriarchal capitalism (the only kind of capitalism).
After the Soviet Union fell in 1989, the world should have become a "better place." Wasn't communism the enemy, causing all the evil in the world? Capitalism had triumphed and we were on the threshold of a golden age. Peace and prosperity for all! The empty words of capitalist propaganda. Resources are running out, especially oil. The planet is being destroyed The people are restless, they are fighting globalization. With the commies gone, now we can rule the world, thought the global capitalists. What we need is a new enemy to scare people and justify war. Think of all those lovely profits we get from war And the power!! Control, control!! We must have control.
Hitler and the big business behind him knew about power. Germany was in crisis. In 1933 the Nazis arranged the burning of the Reichstag, the German parliament. Hitler blamed the communists, and used it as a pretext to take away democratic rights. The fire was a major element in assisting Hitler and the Nazis to turn Germany into a totalitarian state. The US falsely claimed a North Vietnamese attack on a US ship in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964. This was a pretext to invade Vietnam. (What was a US warship doing so far from home anyway?) Capitalists know about lies. One of their major tools, advertising, is a tissue of lies. They live and breath lies. Hitler also showed that the big lie is a great help. Tell such whoppers that people will be overwhelmed by the audacity.
Others have analyzed September 11. I would just like to observe that if it was an "terrorist"
attack, it was certainly not by amateurs. If such people had carried out the attack, why have there been no more?(The Bali bombing was obviously orchestrated by the Indonesian military. They would like to destabilize the country and assume power again.) Further, it was very convenient that someone was present at the vital moment to take graphic videos shots.
The corporate ruling class were so quick to identity an "enemy." Suddenly there are all these "terrorist" everywhere. They just appeared like mushrooms overnight. No explanation of their genesis. No discussion or analysis of issues. They are simply "evil" men who want to overthrow western civilization."Western civilization" is doing a very good job of destroying itself, it doesn't need any help. Bush & co. have set up a propaganda bureau to spread lies. Truth is the first casualty of war.
Why the repressive legislation in the wake of September 11? Democracy is taken away in order to preserve democracy! This is reminiscent of the US general who said in Vietnam, "We had to destroy the village in order to save it." The trappings of a police state have been introduced: unlimited detention without rights, secret trials, etc. Why is this so? The answer is obvious. To frame people for state sponsored terrorism. To repress those active against global capitalism. Global capitalism is resorting to brute force to maintain its corrupt system.
War of course is on the agenda. The reasons for war now are:
1. Grab scarce resources, such as oil.
2. Rule the world now the commies have fallen.
3. Must have a new enemy. Much oil is in Islamic countries. Remember the Crusades of old.
4. Nothing like war as a diversionary tactic. Takes attention away from the real issues.
5. Excellent for making money. Super profits to be made.
6. The old scapegoat technique: blame someone else for the problems you have created.
As Abraham Lincoln said, "you can't fool all the people all the time." Saddam Hussein was a grubby dictator supported initially by the US. In the 1980s he killed thousands of Iraqis and Kurds using US supplied helicopters and weapons. There was not a word against him then. But there is no honor amongst thieves, he had to go, and go he did. Global capitalism in utterly ruthless and will stop at nothing to get its way. Bluster all they like about "terrorism" and "weapons of mass destruction," the people see through their lies.
Global capitalism is global terrorism
Capitalism itself is a terrorist system. As Karl Marx wrote, capitalism comes into the world with blood on its hands. Capitalism has a history of brutality. Genocide of native populations. The two most destructive wars in history, with over 100 million killed in world War 11. Rape of Mother Earth. Destruction of plant and animal species. The factory system is simply slavery. Millions die every year thanks to the capitalist way of life, or should we say way of death? From motor vehicle accidents, tobacco and other legal unhealthy products, shootings, etc. Cancer is on the increase, due to contaminated food and environment. Mental health is in poor shape. Intensive farming of animals is terrorism against God's innocent creatures. Commercial exploitation of infants, children and young people is no less than psychological terrorism. The capitalists know all about terrorism because they practice it themselves. This is why they are so keen to label others, the scapegoats, as terrorists.
Capitalism is increasingly using force to control people in Western countries. Democracy is under extreme threat and is being dismantled. The old technique of blame the victim is being used. Never have so many been put in jail. Don't worry about helping the casualties of globalism, lock them up. Close mental hospitals to "save money." The unfortunates can find someone to look after them, or we'll just lock them up. Out of sight out of mind. Kids are a problem. Feed them garbage through the mass media. Don't change the culture or environment, change the individual. Give them drugs. Blame it on their genes. There's big money to be made manipulating individuals to make them fit in. Capitalism has no intention of solving the problems it creates, it only makes matters worse. Capitalism itself is the problem.
The two most famous books predicting the future state of society are Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell. In the former the population is controlled by drugs and genetics. In the latter force and propaganda are used. In reality we are facing the methods of both books being used to control societies.
Future prospects
"Feudal capitalism" is developing. A small number of super-rich rule, backed up by the armed services and police. A general collapse of the whole system is pending. There is a convergence of crises looming. Oil supplies will peak about 2008, then start to run out.Transport will be thown into chaos. Fresh water is starting to become scarce. Climate change is a time bomb, ticking away relentlessly. Widespread use of GM crops will play havoc with the food supply. Not to mention the outbreak of more plagues. More wars fought over control of dwindling resources. It is a bleak prospect.
People usually don't make major change to their lives unless it is forced upon them. Global capitalism and the chaos it causes is giving direct experience that materialism does not work. The system is collapsing, and it is not pleasant. We have to change our way of living, and the sooner we learn the better. But it will be a long, hard process.