MONEY, THE NEW OLD POLITICAL POWER
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Published Litchfield County Times February 23, 2012 as “Money Has Usurped Force as the Means to Achieve and Wield Power”
http://countytimes.com/articles/2012/02/23/opinion/op-ed/doc4f468282483ba127845974.txt
Used to be when you wanted power you used force, usually the brute force of arms. If you were unhappy with your rulers you conspired to bring on revolutions, though some call them wars of independence. If democracy displeases you or is just plain not working you stage a coup preferably with the help of the military or in some cases by the military itself. If some other country oppose your world view or otherwise gets in the way of your just cause you declare war. Force was what you used when you wanted power.
In a democratic country, up to recently, those who aspired to power used politics and the ballot box to achieve that end, not force. On both a local and national level it was election to office is what gave you power. In order to get elected you needed votes. Those votes were usually bought with ideas, platforms or hard earned accomplishments. Voters had to approve of what you promised and proposed to do.
Internationally that rule has generally prevailed. Your country achieved power by virtue of causes and rights espoused, actions undertaken. True there were and unfortunately still are countries that achieve power through force of arms. But in this day and age they are few and far between. The cost of war has escalated to a point that countries just can’t afford them. See Iraq and Afghanistan.
All this has changed. It’s a new ball game. Money, be it municipal bonds, contributions to super PAC’s or sovereign debt, is the weapon of choice. Power is now won not by blood, sweat and tears but by the unfettered force of money. Accountants, bean counters and central bankers are the new warrior class.
Votes and ballots are what elect politicians. Today you have to buy the votes. The cost of modern electioneering and campaigning has escalated to obscene levels. Those who seek power have realized that they can wield power through surrogates, elected officials who will do their bidding. You buy politicians who depend on contributions, money in other words, to gain election or remain in office. Once in place, they will do what you want them to do usually to your financial benefit deflecting any criticism and giving rise to “It was them, not me” defense. Beats getting your hands dirty while wielding power.
President Obama it is said will raise one billion dollars for the coming Presidential election, with the Republicans not far behind. Two billion dollars for just the Presidential election and, lest we forget, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars for the primaries, Senate and House races, gubernatorial elections, state legislative contests, down to local runs for the Zoning and Appeals Board. In the United States we now have the very best politicians that money can buy not for the benefit of the people but for the benefit of those who have bought them. But that said, the rest of the world is not far behind and unfortunately is fast catching up. France’s l’affaire Bettencourt had an accountant hand out envelopes stuffed with €100,000 to politicians including, it is said, President Sarkozy
Internationally back when France and Germany tried to control all of Europe by force both Napoleon and Hitler tried to do so. Successful for a short period of time they soon foundered due to the combined forces opposing them. Bloody and costly failed attempts because neither Hitler nor Napoleon controlled the levers of money, money that does not recognize national borders. Had they also controlled their enemies finances we would be living in a very different world indeed.
Today Germany and France, while integral parts of the European Union, are still sovereign nations. They pursue selfish interests to the detriment of the rest of Europe. To lure Greece into the Euro zone they showered her with subsidies and easily loans. Greece with the abandon of a drunken sailor spent itself recklessly into bankruptcy, with the rest of Europe turning a blind eye to Greece’s flaunting of mandated fiscal restraints.
Greek politicians used cheap borrowed money to buy votes giving constituents benefits in excess of revenues. They gave themselves expensive perks, a free Mercedes, double pensions and $425 for attending meetings. The perfect recipe for a financial meltdown, a meltdown engineered by Germany’s, amongst others, financial institutions. Siemens, a leading German company, bribed Greek politicians with €230 million to buy €1.6 billion worth of unneeded submarines. Let the good times roll until the shit hits the fan.
Now that Greece is financially on the ropes, a “rescue” package has been engineered, we are told. In the name of austerity and fiscal responsibility the Greek economy will be destroyed. Soon German and other foreign vultures will come swooping in buying up distressed properties and valuable state assets for pennies on the dollars, or cents on the Euro. Germany with the Euro, money in other words, has conquered Greece which Hitler failed to do and will soon make Greece subject to Germany’s interests.
Money has usurped force as the means to achieve and wield power. Left unchecked money’s influence will continue to grow. It is high time that the use of money in national and international politics is reviewed and its abuses curtailed. To do less will enslave all of us in a system not of our choosing at best and at worse mired in a world-wide depression.
Reader Comments (1)
Maybe it's time to re-invent the Glass-Steagall Act. Actually, no maybes about it; Mr. Clinton, what were you thinking?
Thanks for this wonderful piece, which should be required reading for every American!