How Erdogan could inspire the elites to dictate the most brutal form of neoliberalism

globinfo freexchange

Tayyip Erdogan attempts to drive Turkey away from its secular characteristics towards an Islamic, nationalistic, ultra-conservative Turkey. In other words, towards a theocratic regime that will be based upon extreme nationalism. Make no mistake: the bill will be paid again by the common people. Local plutocracy not only will be left untouched, on the contrary, it will be benefited from the cruel repression, as always.

We are now witnessing a fierce battle in all levels globally, where big corporations are trying to build greater monopolies, eliminate competitors, establish the oncoming Feudalism 2.0 against labor and ordinary citizens. Concerning Turkey, it seems that Tayyip Erdogan failed to secure, for the moment, a slice from the pie of the energy resources for the Turkish corporate establishment. Some Western giants took advantage (and probably pursued) the collapse of the recent talks for the Cyprus problem.

Recently, the Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades “blamed Turkey for the collapse of the latest United Nations-mediated effort to reunify Cyprus”, however, “As for drilling for hydrocarbons off Cyprus, which the French-Italian energy consortium of Total and Eni started in the middle of last week, Anastasiades indicated that the drilling would continue, despite Turkish objections.”, which proves that the Western companies are more than happy with the collapse of the talks because they will not be obliged to share the new energy fields with the Turks.

Despite these huge contradictions and cruel competition in the economic level, the neoliberal establishment of the West may find a suitable model in the way Erdogan acts inside Turkey, in order to dictate the most brutal form of neoliberalism inside Western societies.

On the occasion of the first anniversary of last year’s failed coup attempt in Turkey, “Turkish authorities have sacked nearly 7,400 civil servants for alleged links to terror groups”, while the “total number of state employees dismissed for alleged terror links reaches 110,000”. The massive layoffs under the pretext of terrorism tends to become an epidemic in Turkey.

Well, this is the exact picture that the neoliberal fundamentalists would adore!

Erdogan gives the shortcut to the elites in order to reach faster the desirable conditions as they are having trouble to persuade societies in the West. Some dangerous 'radicals' of the left appear to enjoy a rising popularity, especially from the youth, inside the motherlands of neoliberalism, while mainstream media propaganda doesn't seem to work efficiently anymore.

Layoffs under the pretext of terrorism carry at least three big advantages in favor of the neoliberal fundamentalists:

• Layoffs could occur in big scale, especially in the public sector, without the workers being able to go to the courts, defend themselves.

• Those that will lose their jobs would not be able to assert the slightest compensation. Corporate monsters will certainly love this.

• Under increased suppression, workers will be under constant psychological terror, in order to accept more and more cuts in wages and benefits.

Well, the increased repression measures in the West under the pretext of terrorism is already a fact. If you think that the establishment will not be able to put charges selectively, in order to crush any resistance movement against the brutal neoliberal onslaught, just take a look of what's happening in neoliberalism's number one experimental field right now: Greece.

The case of Irianna forced even Greek government officials to criticize justice. Briefly, “Anger and Rage followed the court’s rejection of Irianna’s appeal for her 13 years jail sentence to be suspended on 18 July 2017, an order for imprisonment solely based on an almost non-existent partial DNA sample, that according to the judges proved that she belonged to a radical anarchist group. [...] The real reason that Irianna, a 29 years old academic, has been convicted in the first place was that before she was even accused by the police, she stood by her partner, when he was accused of being a member of an urban guerrilla group. Despite the fact that her partner was later found innocent of all charges, the Athens Court of Appeal retaliated against her for her loyalty to him, and in essence criminalized her social relations. According to this absurd legal judgment, anyone can be blamed and condemned for anything. You just have to be friends with someone, who is a friend of someone else and so forth …”

So, there will be no problem for the neoliberal establishment to become as brutal, unfair and repressive, as needed, in order to bring Erdogan's model inside Western soil.

Besides, the first experiment of neoliberalism begun with the aid of a brutal dictatorship. The U.S.-backed military coup in Chile that ousted the democratically-elected Salvador Allende in 1973, led to a 17-year dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet. Chile then became the first lab-rat of neoliberalism. Milton Friedman and the Chicago Boys will advise dictator Pinochet to kill the state and privatize everything. Chile was occupied by big cartels, US interests companies, people suffered from poverty and from Pinochet's cruel regime.

Do you consider accidental that Augusto Pinochet and Margaret Thatcher were best buddies?