I finally finished reading the 428 page historical report by Mr. Kevin Phillips and my initial reaction is to wonder how different the outcome of the 2004 election might have been if this work had received the recognition it deserved! [Wealth and Democracy was published in 2003.]
For those of you who missed my first diary regarding this work, a diary that only touched on one of the book’s central themes, let me bring you up to speed.
Wealth and Democracy is a sweeping work that examines historical events from the discovery (and subsequent rape) of the New World to present day with an eye towards finance and the role it played in shaping not one but four distinct ‘empires’.
Early on Mr. Phillips admits unabashedly to being a Republican which caused me to mentally brace myself to wade through the kind of tortured logic we are used to from modern conservatives.
I admit to being ashamed of my initial prejudice because no where in this book does Mr. Phillips varnish the truth.
To say this book is a ‘breath of fresh air’ doesn’t do it justice. In this work the truth hits you between the eyes with a sledgehammer...repeatedly.
Yes, good citizen, in this case being exposed to so many naked truths can leave you ‘dazed’.
If you have any illusions about the world and how it works this book is guaranteed to pop your bubble.
To which I would add the additional disclaimer that this book provided me with a sense of vindication, that I had been right all along.
Now that we have disclosed the reviewer’s prejudices we can proceed with the review itself.
The first bubble to be punctured is the notion of waxing wealthy through one’s own efforts. If all it took was hard work then we’d all be able to do it, that much is a given.
Wealth flows from privilege and the unhindered ability to manipulate the law. Some might quibble with the word manipulate, preferring to say ‘influence’ but influence and manipulate are pretty much synonymous.
To illustrate this point it wasn’t until the mid 19th century that industrial fortunes began to rival inherited ones.
Which brings us to yet another relatively ‘modern’ development, stock markets.
This development allowed the (already) rich to profit from new money making ventures without the mess that would be created by everyone establishing their own franchise to take advantage of the new technology.
This might be considered ‘democracy’ in action if it weren’t predicated on the fact that if you can’t afford to pony up then you can’t play at all.
One of the most disturbing recurrent themes in this work is how ‘public’ funds are used to establish every one of these ‘private’ ventures.
If there were a first rule of investing it would be don’t buy shares in something the government doesn’t have its finger in.
Next the author looks at the end result of this mad rush for ‘a piece of the action’.
Those who possess great wealth expend their efforts not just to preserve the wealth they’ve already gained but work tirelessly to grow their fortunes...through any means possible.
This brings us to globalization and the ‘curious’ realization that every empire that ever existed ‘globalized’ at some point...and every time it prefaced the downfall of the empire.
The ‘investor class’ ultimately ‘abandons’ the host country searching ever farther afield for greater yields.
Did you know that in the late 19th century there was much concern in England over the flood of goods with ‘made in the USA’ on them? The source of this concern was the disturbing fact that the ‘world’s workshop’ had less and less to do...apparently it was no longer ‘competitive’.
The critical link here is how the investor class has consistently displayed loyalty to no one but themselves...a stunning lack of ‘social responsibility’ that persists to this day.
Speaking of today, the author concludes his work with the great ‘un-democracy’ or the escalating ‘democracy deficit’.
Despite being ‘demonetized’ gold still rules and those with the figurative gold persist in being the ones making the rules.
The author points out that while we have been ‘distracted’ by scandal after scandal, quietly and well out of public view a new global government is being formed.
The WTO, the IMF and the World Court all have one thing in common...every one of them is populated with appointed officials.
So what says you...the so what is that these non elected bodies have suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere been granted the power to override the decisions made by duly elected governments.
More disturbing is if the people of said nation don’t like it, they can go suck rocks.
The US doesn’t, at this time, recognize the World Court but the operative words here are ‘at this time’.
Underneath this now solid framework of world government we find the world’s central banks.
Underneath the world’s central banks we find the world’s great fortunes.
The author doesn’t play connect the dots, he merely lays them bare for you to see.
Start with a group of people who have no loyalty to any nation or society, add in a super government populated with appointees that are answerable to no one but their masters and what have you got?
Nothing, good citizen, YOU have nothing while they control it all.
Feel free to disagree or brush aside this analysis but do yourself a favor and READ THIS BOOK!
Then you can decide for yourself.
I got my copy from the local library. If you’re library doesn’t have it they can order it for you.
Mr. Phillips does an admirable job of laying out the pieces of this complicated puzzle but it’s up to the reader to put the pieces together.
Um, I’m trying to wrap this up for you in a way that’s easy to understand.
Think about John Edward’s ‘two Americas’ but expand it to two civilizations or societies.
The uber rich have taken control of all the levers of power and are (as they always have) running things for their own benefit.
The rest of us are ‘excess baggage’.
The excess baggage that (in most cases physically) generates their wealth.
You’re ‘say’ in how you will live has been removed...not that you’d actually notice given how ‘lack of wealth’ effectively creates its own ‘democracy deficit’.
I’ll cut to the chase here and state for the record how damaging it is for a society to allow those in control to ‘insulate’ themselves from the consequences of their actions.
If there was one thing I wish I could drum into people’s heads it would be this: If you aren’t one of them you have no standing in THEIR courts...beyond that of excess baggage/troublemaker.
Not our courts or the courts but THEIR courts!
Whosoever controls the law controls you.
Control of the law must be removed from hands that are all too willing to use it to advance their own ends.
For justice and equality to prevail the law must stand alone, out of the reach of those who would manipulate them.
Simply put good citizen we can’t afford to have two societies with one riding on the backs of the other.
United we stand.
Thanks for letting me inside your head,
Gegner