Skip to main content

The time has come for neoliberalism to expose its true nature as a kind of refined fascism


In an interesting interview, Afshin Rattansi spoke with William Robinson, author of The Global Police State. They discussed how capitalism's crises have fuelled the rise of the global police state. The drastic inequality and poverty that has become a theme of modern capitalism which necessitates the global police state. Also, whether there is class warfare on the poor and the growing industry of militarism and oppression.
 
As Robinson points out:

The global police state has been on full display in the United States in the uprising that took place in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. But the largest story here, of course, is the mega cities of the world. Not just the hot war zones such as in the middle east. 
 
The mega cities of the world are now the theaters for this global police state. And it's where these inequalities are so incredibly acute. And so all of the panoply of what i'm referring to as global police state is unleashed in these mega cities. And I keep on wanting to emphasize here that part of that is to hold down the mass of humanity from questioning this system.
 
As we wrote back in 2014, when the arms industry will fully automate the new weapons, private armies will only serve as assistance to fully automated war machines. We already see the test fields of the weapons of future˙ the drones in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.

It's not accidental that the arms industries demonstrate new weapons designed to be used inside urban areas for suppression of potential riots. There will be no "outside enemy" in the future. The threat for the dominant system will come from the interior, the big urban centers. Soldier-robots will protect worker-robots and resources.
 
Robinson continues: 
 
The first dimension of the global police state is this repressive element. The second is simply that it's enormously profitable to invest in wars and repression and so forth. The third dimension is this threat of what I refer to as 21st century fascism. But the confusion here, is that's just like the extreme far right wing - these far right-wing neo-fascist parties in Europe, or Modi in India, or Trump in the United States. On the contrary, these repressive systems and the investment in them is Democratic and Republican in the United States. It's completely bipartisan. The liberal elites have been deeply invested in global police state.


In short, the liberal elites are now activating a global authoritarian system in full mode for profit and also in an effort to maintain the neoliberal order.
 
As David Harvey pointed out in one of his most recent interviews:
 
                         When the neoliberal ethic was first being proposed, it was very much being proposed to the generation of 68 and saying to that generation, 'Look, you want individual liberty and freedom. OK, we'll give it to you in this neoliberal form, which is a very political, economic form, and you have to forget other issues, like social justice and the like.' So, it seeped its way into the discourse of much of the Left and this creates a sort of tolerance for some neoliberal practices. 

It seems that the time has come for neoliberalism to take back individual liberties and freedoms too through this global police state. And this is a necessary transition in order to maintain power because its narratives have been exposed as completely fraudulent. People, and especially young generations, are losing faith on neoliberal orthodoxy because the reality they experience is completely different of what they expected under free-market capitalism.
 
The time has come for neoliberalism to expose its true nature as a kind of refined fascism.

The mess we witness globally, especially in the extensively neoliberalized economies of the West, is not due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has just exposed an extremely unstable form of capitalism a little bit more.

At this critical moment, we witnessing a weak attempt from the real global Left to revive and form a serious power. These first attempts are evident through grassroots movements and some level of political action.

Yet, the liberal elites have to deal also with another problem.

As we wrote recently, both Donald Trump and Boris Johnson represent the capitalist faction which senses an existential threat from the globalized capital represented politically by the neoliberal center. Inside the capitalist civil war, both Trump and Johnson are essentially the tools of a tough bargain between capitalists. Capitalists around Trump and Johnson are using these phoney fascists to sabotage, for example some international treaties, like NAFTA, which are critical for the complete domination of the globalized capital. They present these actions as a "patriotic" stance to lure conservative voters who are angry and feel that globalization is the key cause for the loss of jobs. 

In this triple conflict the liberal elites have to deal with the potential Leftist threat and with the far right. The far right sees the Left as the greatest threat and at the same time has to fight the liberal elites on behalf of the capitalist faction it represents. The real left has to deal with both the liberal elites and the far right.

In this increasingly chaotic situation the real Left is, for now, in the most disadvantageous position. First, because the grassroots movements are poorly organized and not aligned globally. Second, because the real Left has no serious financial support as it is not connected with any capitalist interests. Third, because both the liberal elites and the far right (as representatives of the capitalist factions), are seeing the real Left as the primary threat which must be dealt at all costs.
 
Obviously, only the real Left represents the interests of the majority through proposals like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. The other two are fighting to maintain, or gain more privileges for the capitalist class they represent. They are only manipulating people in an effort to secure political power.

It remains to be seen whether the real Left will manage to become strong enough in order to seriously challenge the neoliberal and the far-right monsters across the globe.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Netanyahu Is Getting His War Between The U.S. & Iran!

The Jimmy Dore Show   Little progress is being made in negotiations between the United States and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program, and that may be by design. The U.S. is demanding a complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, which is a non-starter for the Iranians. Meanwhile, the U.S. appears to have reneged on a promise to get a ceasefire and humanitarian aid into Gaza in exchange for the release of the last American hostage, so Hamas — and by extension Iran — feel the U.S. cannot be trusted in negotiations. Jimmy Dore and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss how Israel appears to be orchestrating a U.S. attack on Iran that few Americans have any interest in.    Related: Trump makes key move to beat Biden in their race to start a war with Iran

Trump in SHOCK: Putin & China FLIP His Grave Mistake into STUNNING Victory

Danny Haiphong   Putin & China just gave Trump a rude BRICS awakening, and this bombshell will change everything for generations to come. Geopolitical analyst Ben Norton details the truth about Trump's biggest failure against the rising power of BRICS led by Russia and China, and why the US's role as super power is now in serious question.     Related: Trump's tariffs: A unique opportunity for BRICS and the Global South to fully escape from dollar tyranny

Trump's attempt to divide Russia & China is failing, badly

Geopolitical Economy Report   Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the US divide-and-conquer strategy is failing. In a meeting in Moscow celebrating the 80th anniversary of their nations' victory in World War Two, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin reaffirmed that "China-Russia relations have reached the highest level in history" and will "jointly resist any attempts to interfere with and disrupt the traditional friendship and deep mutual trust between China and Russia". Ben Norton explains.     Related:   Why China supports Russia

Inside Iran's Savak torture museum

The Grayzone   Caution: This report contains depictions of simulated violence that may upset some viewers. Max Blumenthal tours one of the most disturbing museums on the planet. Set in Tehran's former Ebrat Prison run by the anti-sabotage unit of Shah Reza Pahlavi's Savak intelligence services, the museum is filled with shockingly graphic exhibits featuring lifelike mannequins recreating the hideous torture tactics deployed to repress dissidents rebelling against Iran's monarchy. Many mannequins on display represent notorious torturers who either fled or were executed after the Islamic revolution in 1979, while others are modeled after famous prisoners locked away in Ebrat like the current Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamanei.  

"Kidnapped in Int'l Waters": Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Aid Ship, Detains Greta Thunberg & Others

Democracy Now!   Eleven peace activists and one journalist on board the Gaza Freedom Flotilla ship, the "Madleen," were detained by Israeli soldiers as their ship carrying vital humanitarian aid for starving Palestinians approached Gaza.    The ship was intercepted by Israeli forces in the middle of the night in international waters. Its supplies were seized and communications jammed. The unarmed activists will likely be transported to Israeli detention or "immediately deported," says Ann Wright, a U.S. military veteran who has participated in four Freedom Flotilla journeys and now serves on the steering committee of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. She calls on citizens of countries around the world to push for the activists' release and an end to Israel's war on Gaza. 

14,000 babies could die if aid doesn’t enter Gaza in 48 hours, UN warns

Some 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in 48 hours if aid does not reach them in time, the UN’s humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, told the BBC today. Though Israel said it would allow “basic aid” into Gaza, only five trucks entered the enclave yesterday, two carrying shrouds to help bury Palestinians killed in Israel’s bombs. Others were in Gaza, but were being held by occupation forces and had not reached Palestinians. This was the first delivery of aid since 2 March, when Israel completely sealed the enclave. This, Fletcher explained, is a “drop in the ocean” and totally inadequate for a population of over 2.3 million, and for which no aid has been allowed to enter for 80 days.    “Tonnes of food is blocked at the [Gaza] border” by Israel, Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said yesterday. This comes just weeks after the UN agency of Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians eat only one mea...

Latest on Los Angeles anti-ICE protests in US

CGTN     Views of downtown Los Angeles where protests against immigration raids entered their third day on Sunday local time.   Protesters clashed with National Guard troops in downtown Los Angeles during the latest wave of demonstrations against statewide immigration enforcement operations that swept across California over the weekend.  

Never, Ever Let Anyone Forget What They Did To Gaza

by Caitlin Johnstone   I will never forget the Gaza holocaust. I will never let anyone else forget about the Gaza holocaust. No matter what happens or how this thing turns out, I will never let anyone my voice touches forget that our rulers did the most evil things imaginable right in front of us and lied to us about it the entire time. I will never stop doing everything I can with my own small platform to help ensure that the perpetrators of this mass atrocity are brought to justice. I will never stop doing everything I can to help bring down the western empire and to help free Palestine from the Zionist entity. I will never forget those shaking children. Those tiny shredded bodies. Those starved, skeletal forms. The explosions followed by screams. The atrocities followed by western media silence.   I will never forget, and I will never forgive. I will never forgive our leaders. I will never forgive the western press. I will never forgive Israel. I will never forgive the main...

They Will Starve You In A Killing Cage Too

by Nate Bear   Starvation is taking hold in Gaza. Twenty-nine people have starved to death in the last few days.  Death by starvation is horrific, the body feeding on itself, first consuming carbohydrates and fats, and then moving on to the protein parts of tissue. Once these are used up, vital organs and tissues start to fail as they aren’t being nourished by essential nutrients. The heart, lungs, muscles, ovaries, testes and brain physically shrink and shrivel. The kidneys start to fail. Eventually the body begins scavenging muscle, including the heart muscle. When this starts to happen, death is hours away, preceded by hallucinations, severe mental disturbances and convulsions. With less stored fat and higher metabolic needs, children die first. Starving parents hold their dying children, at this point nothing but skin and bone, in their arms. Adults can survive anywhere between twenty and forty days without food. Those already weak, chronically ill or immuno-compromised di...