Capitalist Imperialism

By all rights, that's what we should call globalization. The usual explanation of globalization focuses on the influence of technology and the benefits of free markets, but completely ignores how capitalism's basic principles have expanded on the exploitation of labor and resources.

We should have learned a lesson from Margaret Thatcher when she claimed that "There Is No Alternative" for the market economy. Spreading the idea that "markets know best" marked the beginning of the wave of privatization and financialization of every aspect of our lifes; it was the end of everything we previously held in common. Launching us into the era of global neoliberalism meant that governments all over the world adopted this idea; country after country saw the demise of the "common good", and in its place the rise of privately owned businesses in areas that were previously run by officials who were democratically held accountable. When neoliberals say that "government is the problem" they actually mean to say that democracy is the problem. Which, from their point of view, is true.

Just think about it; what is the difference between feudalism and capitalism? That's a serious question, one that's not asked nearly enough. A Lord owns a piece of land, and allows the commoners to work a patch of it, under the condition that they can only keep part of the harvest, versus an owner of a factory who allows workers to work there under the condition they can only keep a small part of what they produce. Somehow the latter is seen as radically different, when it's not. Free market capitalism fanboys will however cry foul when the democratically elected government applies the same principle. They'll say things like: "Mondays and Tuesdays you work for the government!", ignoring the fact that you work for the owners of the factory all days; those owners are our modern feudal lords. And the work you do in the factory is "voluntary" in exactly the same way the commoners worked "voluntarily" for the feudal lords; you work or you die from hunger. The key is in who owns the means of production, and it doesn't matter whether it's a piece of land, a factory or both.

Marxists and socialists understand this. They understand that society is shaped primarily by the way we organize production of the stuff we need to survive and thrive. Whatever social relations and culture is built on top of it, it's the economic base that's at the root of its shape. Capitalism did nothing to change the way our method of production is organized undemocratically and strictly hierarchically. We spend one third of our lifes at the workplace, that's one third of our lifes working the land of the lord. We work for the profits of the owners of the means of production, and our labor is as much part of the market as the stuff we produce. And that, the labor market, is globalization's primary driver.

Globalization is always explained as inevitable by its proponents. "There is no alternative", remember? Come to think of it, and this is something I've written about a lot, the machinations of the capitalist market economy are always explained as, and associated with, a force of nature. Capitalism, it's said, is not perfect, but suits "human nature" best. In my book that's nonsense and can only be believed if you're convinced that we're all just out to serve ourselves and want to be ruled. If you've seen the Marvel film "Avengers" and remember Loki's little speech to the crowd, you'll know what I mean. Profits and growth are based on the exploitation of labor, and globalization is nothing more than an expansion of that principle. All we've done is move our production facilities to the global south to take advantage of cheap labor and the absence of environmental and labor laws.

In the global north this has given capitalists an excuse for not raising wages. Instead we're now able to buy cheap products made in some foreign country, with cheap labor. Globalization is the same exploitation of labor by feudal lords and owners of factories, but on a larger scale. We're relatively rich because we've exported much of that exploitation. Our wages aren't raised, because we have cheap Iphones made in sweatshops in the far east with resources mind with cheap labor in the global south. All the pretty stories about the internet, mobile phones, modern transportation and the expansion of free market democracy driving the "inevitable" process of globalization are all just a cover-up for the real story of capitalist expansionism. Watch the below linked video for a deep dive into this subject; it also touches on the mindless equivocations between free markets and democracy.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy!