Dissident Voice

April 8, 2003

A perverted form of socialism has taken over America while the citizens who normally are fiercely opposed to socialism have just stood by and watched and paid. The lower and middle classes are robbed for the benefit of the upper and nobody or very few has lifted a finger to protest it. The well known principles of capitalism have been either taken to its most extreme or sold out, depending on your definition of the word capitalism. The "free market" has been turned into a welfare-organization for corporations with good connections to the administration. Corporate socialism bleeds the country to death!

We have seen, on a frightening regular basis, how the American government has used tax-money to give subsidies to companies that for different reasons were unable to run by normal, capitalist market-economy standards. A few airlines hit by a slump pocket some billions. A few car-makers don't produce cars good enough to compete on the open market and are showered with billions of gold. Other companies of many sorts, unable to function on an open market, need regular infusions of taxpayer money to stay out of trouble. The capitalist theory says that a company unable to run at a profit is not healthy and will as a result go bust, favoring the well-run and efficient companies. Not so in US. Sick individuals may be left to die, but sick companies are held under their arms, given regular transfusions and sent to expensive retreats.

The industry that takes the most advantage of Americans' hard-earned tax-money is the weapons industry. The manufacturers of jet-fighters, carriers, cruise missiles, computers, helicopters, robots, artillery, tanks, and all the other non-beneficial hardware that can be imagined, stand to profit hugely from the ignorance and silence of the American tax-payers as the government spends grotesque amounts of money on padded contracts, unnecessary equipment and immediately steps in with new contracts for any company that risks bankruptcy. Huge amounts, not needed to protect American citizens or defend the nation, and to the detriment of much more needed areas like education, welfare, national health and communal services. Contractors, like the Carlyle group and Halliburton with close connections to the highest leaders of the land are awarded enormously profitable contracts. The main burden is carried by the lower and middle classes. The profits are reaped by the few and wealthy.

The neo-con theory that some of the profits of the wealthy trickles down to benefit the middle and lower classes is proving itself a disaster for the country. In reality it's not so much of a trickle but sporadic drops that only serve to confirms the leaks of the theory and nothing else. America has taken the words from Karl Marx's famous socialist manifesto "[F]rom each according to his ability, to each according to his need" and turned them on their head to a philosophy that can best be described as "From the workers according to their capacity, to the wealthy according to their greed." If a Marx has devised the American scheme it must have been Groucho and not Karl!

The latest, most obvious and most deadly form of corporate socialism is at this time playing out before a dismayed global audience, in the ruins of an Iraq already brought to its knees by 12 years of devastating sanctions and repeated bombings. The invading countries, US, UK and Australia are, on pretexts that are based on lies and deception, violating international law by waging a war of aggression against a sovereign member of the international community. The stated pretexts of Iraq as a threat to the world, having weapons of mass destruction that endanger us all, and having connections with terrorists have all been refuted, disproved and revealed as incorrect and had to give way to the latest pretext for war: liberating the Iraqi people. We can see the war in all its horror on TV-screens round the clock. Most comments regard tactics and military progress and the simple truth is buried far beneath the burning buildings.

The mighty military machine that is used to crush Iraq is funded by, mainly, American tax-money. Every rocket, missile, bomb and machine is paid for by American tax-money. The costs for the war is financed by American tax-money. The reconstruction and rebuilding of the country, after the killing has stopped, will be paid for by American tax-money. The killing will be done by American and British soldiers cum taxpayers. The dying will likewise be done by American and British soldiers/taxpayers and above all by Iraqis. To obtain control over Iraq's oil-riches and to stop Iraq trading its oil in Euros, which might endanger the continued dominance of the dollars they are stashing away in their bank-vaults, some American men in high positions are willing to send out their own young men and women to kill and die!

The oil that will flow to US oil giants after the war will benefit a few rich individuals. The reconstruction profits by Halliburton and others will benefit a few rich individuals. The new Iraqi "government" will take its orders from a few rich American individuals. Poor civilian Iraqi men, women and children will pay with their lives and suffer in the thousands for the illegal war and American tax-payers will finance it with money and blood. The profits will be pocketed by men thousands of miles away who don't risk either life or money. The American way of socialism is a true winner for the plutocrats. To hell with the rest of humanity, including less rich countrymen!

The amazing thing is not that this devious scheme of perverted socialism works so well for a very limited number of rich and affluent American individuals "embedded" in government circles since the sinister days of Ronald Reagan. The amazing thing is that so many millions of decent Americans don't care about it and are willing suffer under it and to give their lives to uphold it.

Don't they see it? Are they all watching Fox News? Are they all out shopping?

In the meantime, the unelected president G.W. Bush keeps deceiving America in his role as a latter day Robin Hood turned rogue, and he and his friends laugh all the way to the bank. No suffering for them!

Jerre Skog is a Swedish writer, musician and independent observer living in Germany. His writings, politics and satire, can be found on www.skog.de and comments are welcome at jerre@skog.de