Gone are the days of freedom and democracy as the American oligarchy
have created the conditions for the rise of worldwide corporatocracy.
According to some academics, the world is in the third stage
of globalization. In a lecture presented at Auburn University, the first
stage of globalization was the discovery and subsequent colonization
of foreign lands, mostly by Europeans in the 1400s and continuing
forward. The second stage occurred somewhere after the invention of the
steam engine and the railroads. The third stage began after the marriage
of cheap computers and public internet, somewhere in the mid 1990s.
With this in mind, as globalization has progressed, a similar trend has
been occurring simultaneously in the political/business world.
As people slowly changed from recognizing and fighting for local
principalities, to the rise of the nation state and now to the
supranational state via the creation of monetary unions like the EU or
military blocs, such as NATO, the net effect is that borders have been
destroyed and once distinct cultures have merged or are merging.
Everything everywhere is slowing becoming homogenized and
standardized. Want to watch the new Avengers movie? It’s coming soon
to a movie theater to you! (in a language you speak) Thirsty? Have a
Coke! (it’s sold in the same standardized units worldwide) Need some
military training or weapons? America can provide the best trainers or
weapons money can buy.
In his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins pulls
back the curtain to reveal how exactly the globalization machinery
works. The people working behind the scenes do so mostly in secret and
work for mostly boring names with lots of acronyms.
In an interview with monthlyreview.org, John Perkins said:
“They inhabit a stateless global archipelago
of privilege — a collection of private schools, tax havens, and gated
residential communities with little or no connection to the
outside world. They are people to whom nations are as meaningless
as they are to the global corporations and to the international
aristocracy they serve.”
He went on to say: “The system of contemporary capitalist
globalization operates for the exclusive benefit of a global plutocracy
that has no national boundaries or loyalties. Oligarchy, (an interesting
word that in western media is usually used as a propaganda technique
to distinguish the “us vs them” paradigm), has been applied exclusively
to the modern-day capitalist barons of Russia, is no less real in the
triad of the United States, Japan, and Europe.”
Think of the Rockefeller family in America or the Rothschild family in Europe.
In fact, a Washington Times headline cited a Princeton university
study in the headline: “America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or
republic.” That article went on to note: “The U.S. government now
represents the rich and powerful, not the average citizen.”
An interesting thing in that study noted: “When a majority
of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized
interests, they generally lose.”
So, here is where the TTIP and the TTP come in. TTIP, which stands
for Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTP,
Trans-Pacific Partnership, are regional trade and investment treaties.
This doesn’t sound too bad, right? Trade and business are, in theory,
enough to bring countries together, thus preventing war.
As a quick reminder, here are all of the countries involved so far —
TTIP: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
However, to look at it another way, Wikipedia notes: “The United
States and European Union together represent 60% of global GDP, 33%
of world trade in goods and 42% of world trade in services. A free trade
area between the two would represent potentially the largest regional
free-trade agreement in history, covering 46% of world GDP.”
TTP covers- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.
The Washington Post notes: “(Pacific Rim countries) are responsible
for 40 percent of the world’s GDP and 26 percent of the world’s trade.
Putting this all together, one can clearly see that by passing these
treaties, America becomes the center of the world, so to speak. So,
what’s so wrong with that, some might say?
A recent story in the New York Times noted-“(the treaties) are a
blatant attack on labor, farmers, food safety, public health and even
national sovereignty.” But, how can that be? Senator Charles E. Schumer
of New York, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat said- “This is really
troubling,” It seems to indicate that savvy, deep-pocketed foreign
conglomerates could challenge a broad range of laws we pass at every
level of government, such as made-in-America laws or anti-tobacco laws.”
The New York Times continued by saying- “the public has no access
to its contents, and even members of Congress don’t know much. (On the
other hand, “cleared advisers,” mostly corporate lawyers, have full
access.” See, that’s how they roll. Doing deals in the dead of the
night, behind closed doors.
As further proof of the secrecy surrounding this deal, United States Senator Ron Wyden wrote:
“The majority of Congress is being kept in the
dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives
of U.S. corporations—like Halliburton, Chevron, PHRMA, Comcast, and the
Motion Picture Association of America—are being consulted and made privy
to details of the agreement. […] More than two months after receiving
the proper security credentials, my staff is still barred from viewing
the details of the proposals that USTR is advancing. We hear that the
process by which TPP is being negotiated has been a model
of transparency. I disagree with that statement.”
Pretty amazing, right? Even a US Senator isn’t allowed to read some of the “finer print”.
We do know a little bit though. For instance, On March 26, 2015
WikiLeaks released the TPP’s Investment Chapter, which noted: “the
accord would grant the power to global corporations to sue governments
in tribunals organized by the World Bank or the United Nations to obtain
taxpayer compensation for loss of expected future profits due
to government actions.”
Basically, corporations will be able to force anyone opposing them
to do whatever they, in a backroom deal. The New York Times summed this
up by writing: “The TPP is little more than enhanced corporation power
branded as free trade. It gives corporations the right to challenge
government regulations and seek compensation if they think they’ve been
treated unfairly by any of the 12 Pacific Rim nations in the deal.”
The New York Times noted: “The agreement would even allow countries
to challenge one another’s laws, so that “equivalency” may simply mean
that the least powerful regulations become the norm. The United States
would have no special standing: If our laws are seen as restraining
trade or limiting profits, they could be challenged in special courts,
per the TPP’s “investor state” clause. Philip Morris is suing Uruguay
over that country’s antismoking laws under just such circumstances”.
Making matters even complicated, a bill was recently introduced that
would give the US President Barak Obama “fast-track authority” regarding
the TPP. If it passes, Congress could vote only up or down on the deal,
not amend it. That means that it can’t be changed, only agreed upon or
not. Which probably means that corporate lobbyists are working overtime
now, in an attempt to line up the votes. If it was such a good deal
for the people, why all of the secrecy? Why all of the need to rush it
through Congress without an open debate?
To quote George Orwell’s 1984- “There will be no curiosity, no
enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be
destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will
be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly
growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill
of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If
you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human
face — forever.” And that, dear listeners, is the future if these
treaties are passed. Think of it like this- the entire world will be
literally changed forever by the stroke of a pen if Obama signs the
trade treaties. Corporations will win, and the little guy will lose,
forever. With these treaties, the world is moving towards the final
stage of globalization — away from “democracy” to “corporatocracy”.
So, what do you think dear listeners, does the TIPP and TPP signal the rise of the one world government?
Bill
