Turn That Trickle Into A Flood

During the most recent Canadian Federal election this past May, Stephen Harper's main campaign message was that, of all the possible choices, he was the only one capable of being Canada's "economic steward." Harper claimed that it was his small 'c' conservatism that had allowed Canada to avoid the worst of the global recession. He wanted to convince Canadians that a vote for another "unstable" minority government was a vote for economic catastrophe. It was up to the other parties to refute this wild claim. They couldn't. And, sadly, many who voted for Harper did so for this reason alone. Many were not necessarily excited about his broader agenda, but they were terrified that anyone else in charge (especially, gasp!, those financially irresponsible NDP-ers) would spell an even tougher time making ends meet than they were already having.

The fear of financial break-down that Harper so successfully manipulated effectively opened the door to what will undoubtedly come to be known as the most reckless and damaging majority government Canada has known. We are witnessing long-standing Canadian institutions, many founded on intrinsically Canadian principles (eg: regulation as a way to keep things fair for everyone, not as a block to business as it is most often painted as), either torn down or systematically starved of funds.

I remember, at the time, there were some brave critics pointing out that Harper's seemingly blemish-free economic record was actually not his to celebrate. In fact, Canadians could thank their country's banking regulations, laid out in the Bank Act of 1991. These regulations outlawed much of the speculation activity which had caused the American disaster and prevented Canada from getting dragged into the sub-prime mire.

But, of course, irrationality and misinformation won the day.

Now, here we are at the precipice of a new recession. There are some seriously crazy things happening in Europe and the United States, places that have been, at least for a very long time, the economic engines of the global liberal status quo. But now, substantial fault-lines are emerging; cracks beginning to show. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has claimed that the Euro-crisis is very serious threat to global economic security. And in his speeches and press conferences, he espouses the same old argument that those neoliberals always use, "cut spending, cut programs, cut corporate taxes, and all will be solved."

But, Flaherty has just announced that the Conservative government will not be able to meet their projected budget goals. One can only speculate that this will mean Flaherty will make the case for even more extreme cost cutting measures.And, once again, the neoliberal austerity measures will fail to target the real causes of the financial crisis.

Harper promised more jobs not less. He promised economic prosperity, not uncertainty. The truth is, nothing he and his cronies can do will really shield us from a global economic meltdown. I am just sad that so many Canadians bought his argument that he could. Now, we are stuck with not only another looming recession or worse, but a government infected with hubris and diligently removing the rug from underneath Canada's once-enviable democracy.

It all makes sense to me now. When a neoliberal says "trickle down," he really means trickle. If the 1% were really serious about finding a solution to the global economic woes, they would turn that trickle into a flood!

Can We Trust Democracy?

I almost laughed out loud this morning when I read this CBC article*, which reported that there are those who feel the Greek Prime Minister is nothing less than a complete lunatic for suggesting that the people of Greece should decide whether or not to go ahead with the drastic cost cutting measures currently on the table.

In the context of the on-going anti-capitalist protests, the headline,"European markets dive after Greek referendum pledge," might also read: "European investors, ie. very rich people, chaff at the very idea of democracy."

Think about it, when it comes to wars, illegal occupations, invasions, and other bloody-minded projects, all we hear is "democracy this" and "democracy that." Democracy, supporting it, creating it, exporting it, is the chief justification for some of the most heinous human rights violations of our time. Iraq was supposedly a mission to democratize. Canada took a leading role in NATO's Libyan mission so that it could 'liberate' Libyans and sow the seeds of democracy. But when it comes to real democracy, when 'the people' get a first-hand opportunity to really decide the outcome of a critical juncture, the money-lenders are terrified.

What this means, of course, is if the markets are driven by confidence (as we hear so much these days), and a potential referendum is enough to cause European markets to destabilize, to become 'un-confident', then, one is forced to consider the true nature of the relationship between democracy and financial capital. This particular example (and one need not look to far to find others) seems to suggest that true democracy makes capitalism extremely nervous.

But how is this so? Is this not contrary to the rhetoric we have heard time and again? That free markets and popular democracy benefit everyone? The problem is with capital's basic logic: it hates uncertainty. It is difficult for investors to sink their money into projects that seem unstable. This is why capital tries so desperately to be in control of things and will do anything (ie: police brutality, endorsing sociopathic dictators, etc.) to be the boss of everything.

But the ultimate point here is that you can't have it both ways. You can't boast about a vigorous democracy out of one side of your mouth (and wage war to export it to other parts of the world) and then claim it is dangerous and unsettling out of the other side.

And while we do need professionals, experts, and other people well-informed and experienced in obscure and complicated subjects, we also need a rock-solid ethical base from which to extend our democratic limbs. These days, alas, this base is increasingly rot with self-interest, greed, misinformation, and ignorance.

True democracy is inconvenient for capital. So it goes out of its way to commandeer the language of democracy while usurping its true value and tarnishing its name so that it may further corrupt the very system it purports to symbolize.

True democracy is unpredictable. It is often messy and chaotic. But chaos and uncertainty is also the place where real inspiration comes from and where true humanity lies.

Someone should tell those investment capitalists that old Yiddish joke: "What's they funniest joke you can tell God?

I have a plan."

*When I first linked to this article yesterday morning, the headline read how it is in the above blog posting. Today, however, it reads something different. I am not entirely sure the editorial reasoning for changing headlines from day to day for essentially the same story but, in my humble opinion, this is one of the factors that has lead to many criticize the mainstream media. At best, it is misleading. At worst, it is revisionist and cowardly.