Neoliberalism, the Class War, and the Silent Coup

I just now finished watching long excerpts of Obama's State of the Union Address and discussion of same on Democracy Now.  While realizing that all such speeches basically are little but propaganda, I have to say that the current President's effort was over the top in that regard.  It was the most disgusting display of half-truths and unadulterated propaganda that I've seen in quite awhile...actually, since Bush.  Obama:  "All our troops are out of Iraq"... that's not even a half-truth; it's a blatant lie.  Not only do we still have a few thousand combat troops as "trainers" there, the para-military arm of the CIA also has people there.  Obama:  "Our economy has been growing steadily for four years"...maybe, but only with low-paying jobs for the majority of working Americans and billions for Oligarchs.

The worst thing that Obama touted and promoted was Neoliberalism.  Of course, he didn't use that term.  Instead, he talked about Trade Agreements and how they would benefit "small business"; the implication was that jobs would be created.  This is exactly the same unnamed Neoliberalism concocted, promoted, and implemented by Reagan, Thatcher, and later, Clinton in the '80s and '90s.  It's global in nature.  It's all for the benefit of mega corporations, and involves the oligarchical tools of the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, and so-called "Free Trade Agreements".  Rules are written which trump national laws, implement a totally non-democratic economic policy, benefit Big Business, and screw over Third World countries.  It's backed by economic and military threats from the USA and the UK.

Most all educated people in the developed nations of the world, except the USA, are familiar with Neoliberalism to one degree or another.  At a fundamental level, it means the privatization of government services and the creation of a worldwide economic structure run by unelected business elites.  It's David Rockefeller's wet dream.  Here in this country, it's rarely ever even mentioned.  That's because both branches of the Big Business Party, meaning the Democrats and the Republicans, completely support the whole concept.  They appear to believe that it's a good thing... it is... for the Oligarchy.  I've discussed it in some depth elsewhere in this blog.  If interested, use the Search function at the upper left corner of this page and look for:  Globalization (Parts I, II, and III).

Obama didn't mention them by name, but it was crystal clear that he was promoting both the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade Agreement (TATA).  Either one absolutely dwarfs NAFTA and CAFTA...think how they affected our economy.  Jobs and manufacturing went South of the border.  Our President wants so-called "fast-track" authority to approve TPP and later, TATA.  Both will accelerate the transfer of wealth from the Middle Class to the Upper One Percent.  The only jobs that will be created most likely will be low-paying and menial, and even more manufacturing will shift to offshore locations.  Don't buy the propaganda.  If the TPP and TATA are adopted---or worse, approved and signed as Treaties---our grandchildren will be adults in a USA that will be even more of a Feudal Society than it is today...much, much more.

So, are you beginning to see how propaganda from the Oligarchy operates in this country?  Ask yourself why it is that most folks in the developed world know about Neoliberalism, but it's rarely ever mentioned here.  It's despised by most commoners (for good reason), but we know nothing of that...unless we broaden our sources of information.  Jeremy Scahill, whose film Dirty Wars has been nominated for an Oscar, discussed it in some depth on the 1-29-14 broadcast of Democracy Now...but how many viewers of Fox News or CBS News ever take in an alternative point of view?  Not many, I would venture to guess.  Scahill is of the opinion that, in a very real sense, mega corporations have launched a silent coup in this land.  I agree, and they've done it with their Cronies in DC...from both so-called "Parties".

Again, both Democrats and Republicans promote Neoliberalism.  Obama helped to prove that in his State of the Union Address.  So-called "Conservatives", who really are NeoConservatives, help to prove it on an almost daily basis.  This concept is the most important political issue of our times, but it's rarely ever discussed because "voters"  purposely are distracted by hot-button issues that have nothing to do with jobs and the economy.  Wake up, America...please.

Just my opinion.

USA Democracy, State-Corporate Complex, & Bernays Propaganda [and a Note on Chris Hayes]

First, a note on my previous post and Chris Hayes.  After viewing about an hour's worth of MSNBC Chris Hayes clips on YouTube, I've concluded that Mr. Hayes appears to have two different personas.  When he's a guest on Democracy Now and other non-corporate venues, talking about Twilight of the Elites, his message hits the mark & he definitely has credibility.  On his own show on the prostitute corporate medium MSNBC, he's mostly an apologist for Obama...and fails to recognize (or perhaps conceals the recognition) that Obama is part of the Meritocracy that he deplores so in his book.  That's my take on it, anyway.
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Let's begin by recognizing the unfortunate fact that the USA is no longer a Constitutional Republic.  About half of everything that the Fed Gov't (at the highest levels) does is unquestionably unconstitutional.  In large part, both Democrats and Republicans ignore the Constitution and instead pass laws or issue Executive Orders that they believe trump the Supreme Law of the Land.  Once in a blue moon, to their credit, they do get things right.  For example, just recently a Congressional Panel determined that the NSA's bulk collection of data is illegal.  That's rare.  Of course, don't look for anything significant to be done about that finding.

Despite the propaganda from the Gov't and Corporate Media, and despite the belief of most of our population, let's also recognize that neither is our form of gov't a Democracy...at least, not a genuine Democracy.

Not long after WW I, Walter Lippmann, writing about politics in America, described the general public as "ignorant, meddlesome outsiders" who should only be "spectators" in the political process and leave such matters to the ones who know what they're doing...in other words, the smart, informed people...the Meritocracy.  Lippmann was part of the intelligentsia at the time; he was known as the "Dean of American Journalism"...and was a so-called "Progressive".  So much for American style Democracy, at least, from his point of view (which was quite influential).

In 1928, Edward Bernays found a publisher for his book, Propaganda: Molding the Public Mind.  In it, he made the case that propaganda is essential to the successful functioning of any Democracy.  He said that the true rulers of the country are the ones who control the propaganda; the elites bought the proposition lock, stock, & barrel.  Bernays later was recognized as the Founder of the Public Relations industry.  His type of propaganda played a major role in our Govt's overthrow (in the '50s) of the democratically elected President of Guatemala.

The State-Corporate Complex flourished in the '50s and '60s...and beyond.  Ike warned us about it, but We the People pretty much ignored his warning.  The molding of the public mind was in full swing by then, with one of the promotions being that we lived in a "Democracy".  The elites' version of democracy is this:  every two years or so, the "ignorant, meddlesome outsiders", aka, the "spectators" truck on over to a designated site and pull one of two levers...and then go home.  Each lever represents a candidate chosen, groomed, and financed by the Meritocracy...and sold to the public via Edward Bernays style propaganda.  The public doesn't really know where either candidate stands politically...because all info given to the public is based on polls, studies, & focus groups that determine just what it is that the public wants to hear.  Adjustments are made for the phony differences between the two candidates.

By the '80s, voters weren't even really "spectators" anymore...because the Reagan and Thatcher administrations became private and secretive.  How many of you know about the Reagan-Thatcher concoction known as the "Washington Consensus"...it had a major impact on the world.  It promoted Neoliberalism around the globe, much to the dismay of most third world countries.  Not too many folks "spectated" that one.

By the '90s, transnational corporations (via institutions such as the GATT, WTO, IMF, and World Bank---that are completely secretive & absolutist--- as well as so-called "Free Trade Agreements") were creating a completely non-democratic, worldwide economic structure whose rules trumped U.S. laws.  That's continuing on steroids today.  So much for American style Democracy.

During all of this time, right through to the present, the American public (and the world public) is fed a steady diet of propaganda which basically and simply says, this is all good for you...and it will "create jobs".  What a deceit and a scam.

So, what's to be done about it?  Well, the first step is to stop drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid.  I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face.  :)

Just my opinion.