mothra wrote on Apr 21
st, 2017 at 6:20pm:
How ethnocentric of me. I was merely considering the inequality within western countries, and overlooking the factors that contribute to how cheaply i can buy a T-shirt for my kid at K-mart.
As you say, the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by people in the developing world ... be it from deforestation and land degradation for our meat and palm sugar; the evolution of pathogens from unsustainable land management and the ecological imbalance that is associated with our practices; climate change; or the very real and tangible subjugation and exploitation of individuals and collectives to feed the western machines.
As to the inequality within western countries though, it is getting manifestly worse and worse. The Millennials are facing a future of tremendous uncertainty and i predict a return to more overt classism, which although never having left us is at least managed to an extent by a nominal social services system. This system is under severe threat however. And as the population ages without the luxury of a free-holding on a house or two to cash in for a room in a nursing home we are, i fear, heading for dangerous days.
Yes, Mothra, but
both these things challenge the prevailling order. We are, remember, still in the shadow of the biggest financial crisis since the great Depression. The Arab Spring was a response to growing inequality and the bloated wealth of Western puppet rulers, which led to a massive information crackdown in countries like China, Iran and Russia. Russia, in particular, learned how to play the game internationally, funding propaganda in both the mainstream and social media. They've since branched out into European and US politics.
The political outliers in the West learned from this. Trump in the US, and to a lesser extent Farange in the UK , found they could capitalise on the propaganda networks of the far right. They used the narratives of political protesters with one purpose only: their own ascent to power. Trump was so surprised, he discovered that once in office, he'd need to pretend to do what he promised. Farange was so surprised, he disappeared.
Inequality has always been with us, but it's how the differences in wealth are portrayed that makes all the difference. Marie Antoinette never did say let them eat cake, just as Catherine the Great was never fcked to death by a horse. Capitalism has thrived to date by changing with the times: first through noblesse oblige and, more recently, through the aspirational displays of wealth made by those like Trump on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
American government is not corrupt. The middle classes aren't poor. The EU is not a blight on its nations' sovereignty. If you compare this with politics in the Philippines or Malaysia or India, or in reality, most of the world,, the reality of corruption, poverty and inequality hits you in the face.
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