"This System is Going to Collapse Soon," Warns [Comandante] Marcos

[phusion]

http://www.narconews.com/Issue40/article1589.html

JALAPA, VERACRUZ, FEBRUARY 2: “This is going to fall,” said Subcomandante Marcos, referring to the social and political system favored by capitalism in its most advanced stage. He said this with urgency. The “Other Campaign” proposes a new path, one that is “unprecedented” but will be the only way to avoid going down with the system.

<snip>

We are not opposed to those who fight for power; in fact, many political organizations that are with the Other Campaign intend to struggle for power. What we are proposing is that right now, instead of looking up – because everyone is telling us, look up, look up, or else we won’t know what to do – we are going to unite with all those people to see if we can build something else.

“We are seeing effervescence below that doesn’t put its faith in anything from above. There is a great social effervescence that is not looking toward electoral politics and that is making the political campaigns look innocuous. Neither Madrazo, nor Calderón, nor López Obrador is rising, and it is not our fault, it is because of what they have managed to build in all these years. That is not apathy. We are looking at an effervescent movement, one that could explode at anytime with no coordination, no support.”

<snip>

“No. We are all human beings, but some are sons of bitches and some aren’t. That is the truth. They built up their wealth on the misery, death and exploitation of others. What we want is to organize, speak and raise the consciousness of that sector in order to fight together. Because if we don’t, if we leave them alone, they are going to end up destroying everything. They have already demonstrated that. If we don’t do something now there won’t be anything left to struggle for,” Marcos concluded.

[marmar]

1. Veracruz, Mexico? Veracruz, somewhere else?

:shrug:

The dateline's a little incomplete.

[Canuckistanian]

2. Marcos a "socioeconomic canary in the coalmine"?

I tend to agree with him. "Something else" will eventually take over. And it won't have a familiar name.

[AndyTiedye]

4. "Something Else" Already Has Taken Over, And it Has a Familiar Name

It starts with an "F".

[Canuckistanian]

5. No, I'm talking about something in the future

AFTER the "F"-word. My guess is, that circumstances will render the current system moot and even dangerous.

Think "peak oil" and "global warming" taken to extremes.

I just hope to God it won't take a WW3 to make it happen.

[AndyTiedye]

6. "Peak Oil" Is Why They Went To Such Extremes to Take Over Now

They figure that if they can control all of the remaining oil, they can rule the world.

[yurbud]

9. Depends on how Russia & China respond to what we do in Iran

[GrumpyGreg]

3. It is Mexico--it is also a confusing article.

[AndyTiedye]

7. It Is Not Capitalism When Robber Barons Buy the Government

Once that happens, there is no longer a free market.

This article speaks of the government passing laws and changing
their constitution to strip small landholders of their land.
Surely a real capitalist would simply BUY the land,
rather than relying on the government to steal it for him.
Doesn't sound like much respect for property rights there.
That may be despotism, it may be fascism, but it's not capitalism.

More on this later...

[400Years]

8. capitalism requires that somebody gets fucked over

in fact the very concept of property ownership demands it.

these lands belong to everybody and that must be eliminated if the concept of private property is to be established. without "private property" you cannot have capitalism.

[raccoon]

10. I think you've got something there. nt

[Lisa0825]

11. Exactly!

I am taking political economy right now, and just read an article about how the First World created and depends upon the existence of a Third World.

[raccoon]

12. Can you give us the title & author? I'd like to look it up. nt

[Lisa0825]

13. Anthropology in the World System

by Ted Lewellen. The section is on "dependency theory" and is also outlined in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dependency_theory

It can be summed up by this quote from the book "Global Rift:" (phrase in parentheses is mine)

The Underdevelopment of the Third World and the development of the First World are not isolated and discrete phenomena. rather they are organically and functionally interrelated. Underdevelopment is not a primal or orginal condition to be outgrown by following the industrialization course pioneered by Western nations (reference to modernization theory). The latter are overdeveloped today to the same degree that the peripheral lands are underdeveloped. the states of developedness and underdevelopedness are but two sides of the same coin.

[raccoon]

15. Thanks! nt

[K-W]

14. Actually that is PRECISELY what capitalism is.

Capitalism is, loosely, the rule of capital. Capital dominating government is very much capitalism.

"Free Market" is a catchphrase invented to replace the out of favor "laissez faire capitalism" as a theory that justifies excluding people from planning thier own economy. There is nothing even remotely free about our markets.

You need to do a great deal of reading into the history of capitalism if you think it is odd for capitalists to use the government to secure property. And if you think capitalists care about the 'property rights' of the poor/working class I have a bridge to sell you.

[K-W]

16. I wish I could share his optimism. EOM