Reclaiming Democracy In Canada – And Around The World

In the 1960s, there was a cultural awakening which spread rapidly around the world, and Chomsky is right in calling it both a cultural awakening, and also, an outbreak of democracy. The civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the gay rights movement, the native rights movement, the anti-war and peace movement, and the environmental movement, either began or took on a whole new level of grassroots popular power, in the 1960s. This, of course, made the political elite, and the business elite who effectively rule them, shudder and shake with terror and rage. The Pentagon Papers – which were top secret and classified at the time, and which were written in and around 1968, and were leaked by one courageous man, thankfully – spelled out in detail how the power elite, as the great sociologist C. Wright Mills called them – the political elite, the military and paramilitary (the “intelligence” community), and the corporate elite who dominates them both – responded to the outbreak of democracy. They were unsurprisingly dead-set against it, and made it clear and explicit in their top secret planning documents, including the Pentagon Papers, that, as they see it, democracy must be rolled back, and once again constrained, so that the elite could once again rule, as they should, without the hindrance of democracy getting in the way. That was the 1960s. Since that time, the war on democracy has been continuous, highly conscious, and escalating. By now, in the early 21st century, by way of a constellation of methods and strategies, democracy has been thoroughly gutted across the Western world, with a few hundred billionaires in Davos effectively in control. As the leading business journal of the Western world itself admitted, Davos is now “the de facto world government”. Also, by now, after the crash of 2008 and the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the Bernie Sanders campaign (which failed to gain political power, but succeeded greatly in opening up free and critical thought and debate), the great majority of people now realize that we no longer live in a democracy – we live in an oligarchy, a global plutocracy, ruled by the bankers and the billionaire elite. The question is, of course, what are we going to do about it?

I have devoted four decades to research, reflection, and writing on this subject, and my first two books lay out a global and historical analysis, a vision for a better world, and a set of strategies for getting there. What I will focus on here, is the crystallization of the key steps that are necessary to achieve that goal: the goal of a rebirth of democracy, freedom, and constitutional rule, and a better world for all.

What are some of the necessary and unavoidable steps we must take, if we are serious about reclaiming our democracy, our freedom, or our rights – all of which are being systematically destroyed now, in the name of an authoritarian benevolence, which, of course, is always a lie, and always a contradiction in terms?

1. Create a free and diverse, open, transparent, and democratic media. This applies not just to the corporate media, but also to the state-controlled media, and the “public”, “alternative”, “independent” and “progressive” media – all of which, or 99% of which, are heavily dependent on money from big corporations, or from billionaire-controlled foundations: which, of course, means that they are not free or independent media, but are on a short leash, and are also part of the corporate-controlled media empire.

2. Apply strict election financing laws – banning all “donations” (which, for adults, translates as bribes) to elections from any corporation or organization, and limiting contributions to elections to $1,000 a year per person. This requires public financing of elections, which is something that has been tried in Europe, and works very well – much better than allowing the rich and the big corporations to buy elections, and buy politicians, political parties and governments, as they currently do now.

3. Implement proportional democracy. That means that your vote is not wasted by voting for a minority party. That millions more people would vote for an anti-establishment party.

If, for example, the Green Party wins 15% of the popular vote, the NDP receive 15% of the vote, and each of the dominant, establishment parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives, receive 25-29% of the vote – and this is a conservative estimate of the voting shift, since almost everybody mistrusts or hates both the Liberals and Conservatives by now, just as the majority of Americans now mistrust if not hate both the Republicans and the Democrats. The Greens would then get 15% of the seats in government, the NDP would get 15% of the seats, and the Liberals and Conservatives would each get less than 30% of the seats. Neither the Liberals or Conservatives would be able to form a majority government, and the two arch rivals would not likely form a coalition government with each other. The much more likely outcome would be a Green/NDP coalition government, which, while mild and tepid, white-bread and weak-kneed in nature, would at least make some minor reforms in favour of justice, pensions, elder care, child care, public health and education, and environmental protection – all of which, are regressing and have been under heavy attack by both the Liberals and Conservatives, ever since Pierre Elliot Trudeau left office, in 1979.

The British parliamentary system is a very good system in some respects, but it is systematically biased towards favouring established, dominant political parties. Across Europe, proportional representation is the norm. That is a far more democratic system.

If we are serious about democracy, then we must take these first three steps immediately. But there is more that is needed, if democracy is to survive – or, given that it is now effectively dead, we should say, these three steps and more are required to resurrect democracy, and allow it to be reborn.

4. Reject all “trade agreements” and other international agreements which surrender the sovereignty of a democratically elected parliament (or Congress) to foreign powers – namely, the multi-national corporations, and international organizations such as the NAFTA tribunal, the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, the BIS and the WHO. We should note here that these so-called “trade agreements” are really corporate rights agreements. They are less about trade, and more about giving multi-national corporations the power to sue governments for loss of profits, or possible loss of future profits, if, for example, environmental, health or other legislation threatens or harms their profits. This means that all governments, and all politicians who have signed such agreements, which surrender the sovereignty of parliament to foreign powers (multi-national corporations), are, under the explicit terms of Canadian federal law, guilty of treason – which, under Canadian law, is the only crime punishable by death. I am not suggesting we resort to the death penalty, which I am firmly opposed to. I am, however, trying to covey the extreme gravity and severity of the crime of surrendering the sovereignty of Parliament or Congress to any foreign power, including multi-national corporations – or the WHO, BIS, ECB or WTO. We should, at the very least, remove these traitors from government, and elect only political representatives and true leaders who are sworn and committed to upholding both the constitution, and the sovereignty of our democratically elected government and nation.

Why should the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS), or the World Health Organization, effectively set the policies, laws, rules, regulations and norms for Canada, or any sovereign nation? The World Health Organization is controlled by Big Pharma, Washington, and Bill Gates, who are its three primary sources of funds. Anyone who trusts these three, is bordering on clinical insanity. Bill Gates, even more than the other two, took over the WHO, over the past decade. Even the Financial Times, the leading business journal of the Western hemisphere, acknowledges that the World Health Organization doesn’t do anything without prior approval from the Gates Foundation.

The banking elites and other billionaire corporate elites control the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, and the BIS, and Bill Gates controls the WHO. Are we going to allow a handful of ultra-rich plutocrats to control our laws, our rules and regulations, and to determine our policies and our choices? This is neo-feudalism. It is also an oligarchy, a plutocracy, a kleptocracy, and an empire, and it is increasingly authoritarian, in addition. The time to reclaim our democracy, our sovereignty, and our freedom, is now.

The World Economic Forum at Davos has publicly announced their plan for humanity, to be fulfilled, they say, by 2030: “You’ll own nothing – and you’ll be happy.” We, the people, the 99%, will own nothing – that is the plan. Who then, will own everything? The Davos billionaires, of course. As I said, this is the new feudalism. We must dethrone the corporate oligarchs, and take back our power, our freedom, and our democracy, now.

5. Tax financial speculation. We must invoke immediately, a tax on financial speculation, and currency speculation in particular. Without that measure, we will continue to have our current, pathological, anti-democratic norm, which is, that billionaires and hedge funds can continue to attack and devalue, or threaten to attack and devalue, the nation’s currency, and through this financial extortion, bring virtually any government to its knees. BlackRock alone, the biggest hedge fund in the world, which is the tool for managing the wealth of the super-rich, controls $8 trillion. The entire Canadian economy is only $1.7 trillion – and Canada is one of the seven richest countries in the world. We invoke this measure, along with the other vital steps I am outlining here, and BlackRock, and the billionaires, lose their power over us.

6. Keep the nation’s central bank public, and democratically controlled. The Bank of Canada, which is an exception in the world, in that it is a publicly owned central bank, must not only remain a publicly owned central bank, but even more essentially, it must be under the control of the democratically elected federal Canadian government – and not under the control of Davos billionaires, or the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland (which is the central bankers’ central bank). All other nations in the world, if they are intelligent, will follow these most vital and urgently necessary six steps to reclaiming their democracy, or not only will their democracy die, but also their freedom, their constitutions, and their rights, will be shredded, trampled, and burned to the ground – as is already well underway.

7. Apply serious and vigorous anti-trust legislation, especially and most immediately in key sectors: the media, banking and finance, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Agra and Big Oil. Teddy Roosevelt led a successful, populist movement to dethrone and reign in the powerful business oligarchs – most notably Standard Oil, which was and still is controlled by the Rockefeller dynasty: the most powerful family in the Americas, until the geek-barons of Big Tech came to rival and slightly overshadow them. But the anti-trust actions failed, because they did not go far enough. Standard Oil, for example, was broken up into numerous smaller corporations, but over time, the Rockefeller dynasty brought them back together again, like hydra heads merging back to their host body, and Standard Oil was reborn as the Frankenstein monster of Exxon-Mobil, the biggest oil company in the world. We failed then, because we were too timid, too limited in our foresight, and did not go far enough. What we must do, is not simply to (a) break up the big banks, media empires, hedge funds, Big Tech, Big Pharma, Big Agra and Big Oil companies – but also, and further, (b) revoke their corporate charters; then, most critically (c) seize all of their assets, and transform them into networks and federations of decentralized, democratically-controlled, worker-owned co-ops. That kills the beast which is the ruling global corporate oligarchy, because it gets to its dark heart, and cuts it out. Remove the assets of the corporate giants, and they cannot resurrect themselves from the dead. This is the stake through the heart, which is necessary now, if we are to have freedom and democracy, and constitutional rights for all, and not descend into the Orwellian dystopia, into which we are now headed. It is furthermore the most central, most vital, and most urgent of actions, if we are going to see serious action on the growing environmental crisis – or any other social issue.

8. End all subsidies, tax breaks and tax loopholes for big business, the richest 1% and the large corporations. Government can and should support small business, which is the primary engine of the economy, and the primary employer, and can and should support entrepreneurship and new start-ups. What we cannot afford to do, is to continue to give billions of dollars a year – or in the case of the US, trillions of dollars a year – to giant corporations that are already excessively powerful. Aldous Huxley was right: the primary problem in society is the excessive concentration, or centralization, of power. We need to break up the corporate empires, and dethrone them, not feed them and fuel their further cancerous growth with massive subsidies and tax breaks. The crony capitalism and corporatism must end. Take the rich off welfare now. If either constitutional democracy or freedom are to survive, or be reborn, we must stop feeding the corporate oligarchs. That much should be plainly obvious, and undeniable to all.

Furthermore, by implementing a progressive income, profit and wealth tax on the richest 1% and the large corporations, we will not only balance all budgets and eliminate deficit spending, and be able to fully fund critically needed social programs, such as health care, and fund urgently needed environmental programs to make the transition to a green and regenerative society: we will also be able to reduce the greatly excessive tax burden on the middle class, small business and farmers, and eliminate taxes for new start-up businesses and the poor. The social, ecological and economic benefits would be, and will be, enormous. But the preservation of our freedom and democracy that it will also help to safeguard and renew, is priceless. Be bold now, I say, or watch our world burn, along with our freedom, our democracy, and our rights.

9. Implement a pollution tax, to be collected exclusively by local communities and municipalities. This will greatly help the environment while strengthening democracy, and strengthening local economies. Cities, towns, villages and municipalities are facing a growing nexus of problems and crises, including a growing financial and economic crisis. At the same time, we are in the midst of a rapidly escalating environmental emergency. We must create disincentives to pollution, and we must create incentives to switch from polluting technologies and modes of business, transportation, housing, agriculture and energy. By giving local communities and municipalities the power to implement and collect a pollution tax, we answer both of these problems in one stroke. It is true that the billionaire corporate elite want a global governance system with a global carbon tax, collected by the IMF. That would give the oligarchs exactly what they want: more profits and more power. But it is highly questionable if the technocratic, authoritarian answer they are proposing would truly halt the environmental crisis, or whether it would simply create a new, deeply dystopian society of global technocratic fascist rule, with the bankers then even more firmly in control of the world. We are already very close to that reality, and are being driven further into that scenario by the day. We must tax pollution, but we must also reject any global collection of a pollution tax, because that would ensure effective slavery for humanity, or at least, global servitude and the death of freedom and democracy. By allowing local communities to implement and collect a pollution tax, we can accomplish the vital goal of creating a shift away from polluting modes and methods and systems, and towards clean, renewable, sustainable and regenerative modes and systems of business, transportation, housing, agriculture and energy – without creating a global police state in the process, but instead, fostering a rebirth of freedom and constitutional democracy.

A pollution tax, along with a tax on the richest 1% and the big corporations, and a tax on financial speculation, will enable all social and environmental programs to be fully funded. And by making the pollution tax collected solely by local municipal governments, we will see local communities flourish, and lead the way in the transition to a clean, green, sustainable and regenerative, thriving and free society. Local communities will then have the funds to invest in community self-reliance in energy, food and water – which is critically important for adaptability, mitigation and resilience. Local communities will then have the funds for building community gardens, urban and peri-urban organic regenerative farms, community-controlled solar and wind power, excellent bus systems, walking and cycling routes, tiny green home villages, and funds for creating ponds, aquaculture systems, natural flood control and fire resistance, water reservoirs, rainwater catchment systems, grey-water systems, composting systems, wetlands and reforestation, parks, nature trails, community car-share co-ops, bicycle co-ops, child care co-ops and pedestrian malls, and funds for retrofitting every home and building for high energy efficiency and thermal insulation, along with funds for local community economic development and entrepreneurship seed capital. In short, a pollution tax that is collected by local communities and municipalities would positively transform our communities, and our nation, in short order.

For example, I live in a town of 18,000 people, and in North America there is an average of at least one vehicle per capita, disturbingly. That means there are roughly 18,000 fossil fuel burning vehicles in this small town, appallingly. A pollution tax, collected by local governments, on roughly 18,000 fossil fuel burning vehicles, set at 5% of the market value of the vehicle annually, with an estimated average market value per vehicle of just $20,000, would create an annual revenue fund from the locally-collected pollution tax, of $18 million dollars – per year, for one small city. The entire budget of a town of this size is roughly $36 million per year – and most towns, cities and villages are running a large annual deficit, which in the case of typical towns of this size, is easily $10 billion a year. That means, a pollution tax that is collected by the local community could eliminate the annual deficits, and still leave $8 million a year for investment in the community, or an additional 25% in annual revenue available, after eliminating all deficits. The transformative power of this simple, urgently necessary idea, is simply profound. Yes, of course, pollution tax revenues would gradually fall, if they work as a disincentive to pollution, as they are intended to do. And they will work, of course, because when you create economic disincentives, you reduce the social pattern you have disincentivized. But as pollution tax revenues fall, that is a good sign – it means we are making progress in reducing pollution, and creating a clean, green, sustainable and regenerative community and society. It also means that as pollution tax revenues gradually decline, the funds from that revenue stream have already been invested in creating clean, renewable infrastructure, and a thriving, resilient community and society. To turn down this idea would be short-sighted to the point of madness. It is time for such bold thinking, and for such bold action, and there is zero time to delay.

Would you rather have the IMF and the globalist billionaire elite collect a pollution tax, and remove the remains of your freedom, democracy and human rights along with it? Or would you rather have democratically-elected, local communities collect the pollution tax, while retaining our freedoms, our democracy and our rights, and strengthening them all, while strengthening and rebuilding our local communities, and making the shift to a society that is democratic and free, as well as sustainable? We are going to have one or the other. I would say the more pleasant medicine is the locally-empowering option, and the only option that is compatible with freedom and democracy. The path of globalized tax collection for a globalized government, run by and for the ruling business elite, will be more than a disaster, if we allow it to happen – it will make Chairman Mao’s China and Mussolini’s Italy look mild by comparison. Choose wisely, and choose now – as we must.

Community-based, town hall democracy – which Thomas Jefferson also advised and urged – along with referendums on all major issues, is the most direct, robust, and accountable form of democracy. If we truly value either democracy or freedom, to say nothing of thriving, resilient, sustainable green communities, then we will not only accept such a proposal as this, but passionately and resolutely commit to bringing it to fruition. Again, what do we prefer: thriving, green communities, based in democracy and freedom, or a global police state, run by the robber barons and the super-rich plutocrats? These are our choices now. Let us be very thoughtful, and also, decisive, in what we now choose, for that will determine our fate.

10. Respect the sovereignty of the individual over his or her person, body and mind. We cannot expect to have a free or democratic society, or a society based on constitutional rule and human rights, until and unless we recognize personal sovereignty as fundamental, and inviolable. The basis of all human rights and all constitutional rights, is sovereignty over one’s own person and body. That is the basis for the Magna Carta, the Great Seal, which is the foundation of 800 years of Western law, and all constitutional law. If we allow the sovereignty over our bodies to be violated, then all our rights, our democracy and our freedom, are all null and void. The basis for a free and democratic society is that the individual has sovereignty over his or her own body and mind. This is, and must be, non-negotiable. Informed consent is therefore fundamental to our most basic and fundamental human rights. Without that, we have nothing. Without that, we are mere chattel, mere objects, to be used, harvested, yoked, exploited and disposed of, at will be our masters. Life with freedom requires there be no masters and no slaves. That requires that we insist upon retaining our fundamental, God-given right to sovereignty over our own person, body and mind.

11. Tax the rich. Yes, this is both necessary and legitimate. Moreover, the great majority of people support such a move. Put a tax of 90% on all personal income over $1 million a year, and all corporate profits over $1 billion a year. Furthermore, we must now tax not only income and profits, but also accumulated wealth. There must be a reasonable cap on incomes and wealth, otherwise, inequality soars, and the super-rich become so vastly powerful that they effectively become the masters of the nation and of the world, in which case, both freedom and democracy will inevitably die, and oligarchy, neo-feudalism and tyranny will take their place – that is what we have allowed to happen, and now, we must remedy our mistake. We should immediately implement a wealth tax of 90% on all personal wealth over $100 million. (And all of those figures are incredibly lenient, by the way.) If that means redistributing shares in corporations more equally among all citizens, then that is the wisest and most prudent, and just, course of action. That still leaves room for tolerance of those who want to be wealthy in material terms, yet provides urgently needed funds for social programs, environmental protection, and the urgently needed shift to a truly sustainable, free and democratic, regenerative and thriving society. Close all tax loopholes for the richest 1% and large corporations, and implement a forensic audit on all of the biggest 200 corporations operating in Canada, and on all of the nation’s billionaires. This means tracking down all off-shored profits and wealth, and halting capital flight. When the wealth of the nation overwhelmingly accumulates in the hands of the giant corporations, the richest 1%, and in offshore private bank accounts, you can be sure the nation is slowly being drained of its lifeblood. Stop the blood-letting. You can be wealthy, you can be rich, you can be very successful in business or entrepreneurship; but obscene levels of greed and parasitism are not tolerable, and must be stopped.

12. Implement sound fiscal and monetary policies. The founder of the Bank of Canada was right:

“Once a nation parts with control of its currency and credit, it matters not who makes that nation’s laws. Usury, once in control, will wreck any nation. Until the control of the issue of currency and credit is restored to government and recognized as its most conspicuous and sacred responsibility, all talk of the sovereignty of Parliament and of democracy is idle and futile.”

– William Lyon Mackenzie

Sound fiscal and monetary policy necessitates that the central bank of the nation remain publicly owned, as we have said. Secondly, it necessitates that the central bank, the Bank of Canada in this case, be controlled by a democratically-elected Parliament – and not by any foreign powers, such as Moody’s investment firm, Goldman Sachs, Wall Street, the City of London, Davos, the IMF, the BIS, or the global financial elite, who control all of these institutions, along with the big banks, the global economy, and most nations and governments in the world.

Thirdly, in order to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty and independence, a tax must be imposed on financial speculation, and particularly on currency speculation. That protects the nation’s currency, and hence its economy, and hence, its sovereignty and democratic independence, from manipulation by foreign powers – principally, the global financial elite.

Fourth, to have a sound economy, among other necessary actions, it is vital to implement capital controls. That includes, above all, stopping capital flight, and halting the offshoring of profits and wealth in private offshore bank accounts and shell companies. Set a low limit for moving large sums of money or capital offshore. Moving more than a million dollars a year out of the country should require an audit, to establish that such a drain on the nation’s economy is justified. And that, again, is a very lenient figure! But it would be enough to at least stop the hemorrhaging.

Fifth, to have sound fiscal and monetary policy, and sound money, you must, of course, have sound money. This means the nation’s currency must be backed by real world assets, such as gold or silver – or by a combination of real world assets, including gold, silver and Bitcoin. Fiat currency is the policy of printing money out of thin air. No currency can remain stable for long under that policy. The fact that we have survived economically at all, after 50 years of such a policy, is surprising. We are pushing our luck to continue it any longer. Sooner or later the house of cards will implode. Better to build real-world assets to back our nation’s currency now – as China, Russia, and several other nations have done. Instead of selling off our nation’s gold reserves, foolishly and disastrously, we should be increasing them, and building reserves of silver, Bitcoin, and other real world assets, as well. Promoting the use of Bitcoin and local currencies is another important element in a comprehensive strategy to secure a sound and resilient, thriving economy, and this policy should also be implemented immediately.

Sixth, a policy of balanced budgets should be a natural target, and also necessary for stability and prosperity, or independence, is a balance in terms of trade. We can have cycles of government investment in the nation which run a short-term deficit, and later reap the rewards with greater economic prosperity – just as we invest heavily in spring to plant a garden or plant the fields, and reap the harvest later. But a policy of endless, perpetual deficits, creating endlessly growing debt, is a policy designed for failure and collapse. Just look at our neighbours to the south. The US is near to imploding, both for sociological reasons, for political reasons, and also for financial and economic reasons. You cannot offshore all production, and import everything the nation needs, without sooner or later going bankrupt. Buying local and buying Canadian, and investing in our communities and our nation, should be top priorities – for both ecological as well as economic reasons. Globalized supply chains, shipping food and other goods thousands of miles from China, Mexico, California, and from all over the world, when most of them we could make or grow ourselves, is a foolish and disastrous policy and habit, both in terms of ecology, and in terms of economics – and in terms of our sovereignty and democratic independence. If we want to be sovereign, democratic and free, then we must be more self-reliant – not isolationist, but self-reliant. If we have a sound economy – a green, just, and regenerative economy, and a sound economy – it is much more likely that we will be able to preserve our freedom, our democracy, and our independence. If we do not, then we are losing all of these priceless treasures, and rapidly. Buying local, first of all, and above all, and buying Canadian products and services, is truly, vitally important.

Unless we implement all of these steps to creating a sound fiscal and monetary policy, and a sound economic policy, our nation can forget about such lofty ideals as freedom, independence, sovereignty, democracy, or even economic stability, for they will all be sacrificed on the altar of the new global corporate-financial empire.

13. Abolish the absurd legal notion that corporations are persons. This disastrous and illogical policy, built upon a sham and a lie, has allowed corporations to overshadow, and then finally to dominate and control, virtually every nation in the world. End the fiction that corporations are persons, and end their legal status as persons, and their house of cards collapses. For the sake of our planet, for the sake of our future, and our very survival; and for the sake of our health, our children’s health, our democracy, our sovereignty, our human rights and our freedom, this fiction must end now.

14. Uphold the rule of constitutional law, and uphold the inherent, inalienable human rights of all. The UN Charter of Human Rights spells out our basic, inalienable rights very clearly, succinctly, and well. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the United States, the Constitution of Mexico, and the relevant constitutions of nations around the world, should, and must, be upheld, and defended – against all threats, foreign or domestic. This is vital. Democracy without constitutional rights and freedoms in place, and limits on state and government power, becomes just another form of tyranny. And when both democracy and constitutional rights are gutted by an international elite of businessmen and technocrats, and their local political minions, then we have an abomination brewing, and a dystopia has arrived. That is where we stand right now. If we want something better, either for ourselves or for our children, we are going to have to fight for it.

15. Build self-reliance, adaptability and resilience. The world is faced with a nexus of interwoven crises – economic, political, social, psychological (in the “leading” industrialized nations, at least), ecological, and in terms of public health. These crises require of us a clear mind, above all, which requires that we slow down, unplug from the veritable tsunami of “news” and “analysis”, infotainment, “social media”, chronic distraction, restless busyness and entertainment addiction: so that we can pause long enough to think, and to reflect, and also, to do some serious research, and then reflect deeply again, on what we have discovered. None of this is happening, generally speaking, in terms of what is our present norm, although there are exceptions – neither in the realms of the political-mandarin elite, the academics and the intellectuals, or the business elite; nor among the general public. The elite are, in general, of one mind, slavishly conforming in action, speech and thought to the neoliberal globalization orthodoxy of the ruling elite. The power elite, despite frequently vicious in-fighting, in general behave as a pack, and think as a pack. The public, in general, is behaving little better. We have become virtual zombies, sleep-walkers, in our misplaced and malformed, distorted social instinct, which, in its positive side, expresses itself in the instinct toward compassion and mutual aid, and in its dark side, expresses itself as docile conformity to the herd, and an equally disastrous and unthinking deference and obedience to authority. This is the most critical task, if we want a better future, or any future at all: disconnect from the chronic addiction to infotainment, entertainment and distraction; take some breaks, to pause, reflect, research, discuss, and reflect some more. Nothing good will come of a befuddled mind – and that is the norm, for both the ruling elite, and for the masses. That is priority one: clear your mind, disconnect from the noise, in order to reconnect with your own intuition and common sense. If we fail in that, we fail in everything.

Reclaiming our democracy is task number one, because without that, we have no hope of success with regard to any issue, be it justice, equality, the environment, or anything else. This should be plainly obvious to all. But clearly, we cannot accomplish even that most fundamental and urgent of tasks, if we lack the sufficient and necessary clarity of mind. Unplug. Get clear. This is vital.

But there is more that is necessary if we are to address, or even seriously face and contend with, the very serious problems our country, our communities, our families and our world are facing. We need, above all, to regain a basic clarity of mind, which can only come by reconnecting with ourselves. Question authority, question the norm, question the milling, drifting flock. Question everything. Think for yourself. Disconnect, in order to reconnect. Then only will clarity be attained. And only through a regained clarity, confidence, dignity and perspective, is any positive future possible at all. Yet, there is more that is required from us than this most essential first step.

What we also need, if we are to successfully navigate the stormy waters ahead, beyond a basic clarity of mind, confidence and sense of perspective, is resilience. Resilience comes primarily from within. It is a matter of character. And we do not have to be passively, meekly, foolishly fatalistic about it. We can cultivate inner resourcefulness, inner strength, a quiet dignity, confidence, strength of character, courage, tenacity, resolve – all of the things that create inner resilience.

But resilience, of course, although it primarily comes from within, also has an outer component. I am not inclined toward personal anecdotes, but every rule has its exception. Here is a short, relevant story, and an example. When an ice storm hit East-Central Canada, some 25 years ago, in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec, where I was living, most people had to leave their homes, because their homes had no heat, because the power grid went down, and stayed down, in some areas for two weeks. We were fortunate to have a wood-stove for heat, and a year’s supply of well-dried firewood, and a propane cook-stove, and we stayed in our home, without any problems, using candles for light. The environmental emergency which we have now entered – which, even with our best efforts, will in all likelihood continue to produce increasing waves of disruptions and disasters, until we can finally heal the Earth – makes it a matter of basic intelligence and common sense to be prepared for emergencies and for possible disruptions in the distribution of necessities, such as heat, energy, food and water.

I can scarcely believe that I have to explain this most obvious fact, which our grandparents understood viscerally, as a matter of common sense; but, that is, sadly, the unfortunate case. People who exercise forethought tend to fare better in emergencies, hard times, or in almost any kind of change or disruption to their normal way of life. Not exercising forethought is simply childish, irresponsible, and foolish. Being prepared for contingencies, disruptions or emergencies is simply intelligent risk management.

Being prepared for possible emergencies or hard times doesn’t make you are insane – not being prepared for emergencies or hard times, is insane. Creating, or, that is, re-creating, a culture which exercises forethought and foresight, as the norm, is not only prudent, but simply a matter of basic intelligence, and even basic sanity.

My parents’ generation, who were born during World War II, grew up with the habits of frugality with regard to oneself, and generosity and cheerful, willing mutual aid towards others, along with forethought, savings, self-reliance, resilience, and preparedness in case of hard times, as the norm. We have surely progressed culturally in some ways since the 1940s, of course – racism, sexism, xenophobia and intolerance have all declined, violent crime has declined for fifty years, according to police statistics, a healthy questioning of authority and of social norms has increased, broad-mindedness and open-mindedness has increased, activism and volunteerism have increased, and support for war has declined sharply. But on the other hand, we have in some ways regressed. Nobody saves anymore; in fact, the great majority are going ever deeper into debt. Canadians on average spend $1.7 for every dollar of income. Clearly this is a recipe for mass servitude through debt bondage, followed by mass bankruptcy. Thinking about the future, planning beyond a few weeks, is now the exception, rather than the rule. Likewise, forethought and foresight are virtually obliterated in 21st century industrial society, along with memory, any sense of history, perspective, or self-reliance. All of these things must be reclaimed and rebuilt, if we have any sense at all.

In some ways, the Depression-era and war-time era had the better thinking: be frugal with regards to spending on yourself; be generous with others, especially in terms of being cheerfully ready and willing to lend a hand; avoid debt like the plague, and save what you can for the future and for future generations; think about the long term, and plan ahead; exercise foresight and forethought, and always be prepared, in case of hard times; keep a strong measure of self-reliance; and strive to be calm, confident, humble, hard-working and cheerful, even in the midst of difficult times – especially in the midst of difficult times. Not everything that comes later is better. We need to reclaim the best from our past, and combine that with the best of the present. To do otherwise would simply be nonsensical.

Build back better? What I am presenting here is something I have not seen anywhere from the left, the liberal centre, the conservatives or libertarians, or anywhere else: it is a plan that not only has heart, but also, a brain, a spine, and legs – not empty platitudes hanging in the air.

Build back better? The left is focused on pleading with the government for a few more crumbs for the 99%. After the wholesale gutting and evisceration of the middle class, this is not remotely adequate, nor even sensible, nor just. It is feeble-minded, superficial, and represents a mere skittering across the surface of things. Our sense of perspective is shot – completely gone.

Let’s not obsess with changing windows dressings, while our sills are all rotted, and while our foundations are either crumbling, or being actively ripped away. First things first: we must reclaim our democracy, or we will have no hope whatsoever of attaining anything, on any issue whatsoever. And in order to do that, in order to reclaim our democracy, our freedom, and our future, we must first regain and begin to rebuild our mental clarity, confidence, dignity, sense of perspective, inner resilience, forethought – and a strong element of self-reliance. That, of course, does not mean that we should not help one another. Of course we should. But mutual aid does not preclude rational, responsible, adult behaviour and adult attitudes, such as foresight and self-reliance.

On the level of the individual, the family, the community, and our nations, we cannot expect to have a good future, or even to retain our freedom, our sovereignty, or our democracy, if we do not have some measure of self-reliance. If we are dependent, we are vassals, or worse. Let that sink in. That is critical for us to understand.

Again, during WWII, most families had vegetable gardens – either in their yards, in town or cities, or in the countryside outside of the city or town. What we need to cultivate and rebuild, is a strong measure of self-reliance at all levels – not rugged individualism, not “me-first” hyper-individualism, not isolationism, not clannishness, but a degree of self-reliance. Better yet, is community self-reliance. At least in terms of food, water and energy, communities should make it a priority to be self-reliant. Without self-reliance in at least these three critical areas, there can be no true resilience, and we will be leaves in the wind, blown about, in whatever direction, by any storm or strong gust of wind.

On a national level, again, it is clarity of mind, confidence, dignity, perspective, forethought, and resilience – among the people, and not just the mandarins and talking head pundits – which is the highest and most critical priority. But beyond that most essential constellation of national resources, there are certain things which would only be intelligent policy choices and policy priorities. Shipping all of our manufacturing offshore to China and other lower wage countries, was tremendously beneficial to the multi-national corporations and the billionaires who control them, but neoliberal corporate globalization has, of course, de-industrialized Canada, the US and most of the Western world, with the obvious and predictable result that the middle class has been eviscerated, disemboweled and thrown to the gutter to die; while the nations of the once wealthy and prosperous West are now fragile shells of their former selves, unable to weather even a strong gale, much less the coming super-storm which we are likely to face. A little regaining and rebuilding of resilience – or a lot – is now in order. And to do that, we must become much more adaptable, and above all, much more self-reliant: as individuals, families, communities, and nations.

Self-reliance is not the same as isolationism, it must be repeated, and stressed. Isolationism is a legitimate choice, but I do not think it is a wise one. Self-reliance, however, means resilience – and building resilience in uncertain times, is simply a matter of basic sanity, and common sense.

Why do we have, for example, in Canada, one of the most popular furniture stores, Ikea, shipping our furniture from Sweden? Ikea may be “Swedish for common sense”, but the fact that we have no Canadian-owned, Canadian-made furniture store of equal or greater presence, is a sign that Canadians have lost their own common sense. We have some of the largest remaining forests in the world. Through sustainable forestry, we can be building our own furniture, and exporting well-made, sustainably-built, Canadian wood furniture to the world. Instead, we ship raw logs to China and Japan, and are busy clear-cutting our forests to ship raw wood pulp in vast quantities to the US, where US corporations will make the much bigger margins and profits, by turning raw pulp into paper products. Are we mad? We have lived as a colony, first to Britain, then to the United States; and now, Justin “Beiber” Trudeau wants us to become a colony of Beijing. We need to stop and think, and think deeply on this. A little more self-reliance means a lot more resilience. It also means a better ecological footprint. And it means more jobs, and a better economy, for the people and the country.

We could do even better. We could be, and should be, growing vast quantities of industrial hemp and bamboo, to replace wood as the primary building material, paper product source, and source of our textiles, clothing and furniture, preserving our forests, the lungs of the Earth, for use only by selective logging for high-value products, such as veneers and musical instruments; and in doing so, radically reduce our ecological impact, and sequestering carbon, removing enormous quantities of carbon from the atmosphere every year, while also cleaning our atmosphere of pollution, and thus healing our planet – saving ourselves from extinction, and creating a thriving, full employment green economy in the process: bringing high quality furniture, building materials, paper products, clothing and textiles to the world. Are we to remain exporters of raw wood, wood pulp, water and uranium, with a gutted manufacturing base, and a “service economy” primarily based on low-wage, part-time, insecure McJobs, at Wendy’s/Tim Hortons and WalMart? That would be madness. We need to rebuild our economy, our resilience and self-reliance, and our manufacturing base, and do so in ecologically sound ways that benefit all Canadians, and not just the rich. The principles and concrete ideas such as I have outlined here, and elsewhere, show us a clear and workable way to do that, and to do that in very short order. What on Earth are we waiting for?

Here is another example of policies gone wrong, versus policies that make sense. Bombardier, a Canadian company from Quebec, originally a snow-mobile maker, established in 1946, is a now leading manufacturer of trains, trams, subways, and aircraft – or it was, until January of 2021. Bombardier built the subway system for the world’s biggest city, Mexico City, with a population the size of Canada, 35 million. The Bombardier subway system in Mexico city runs reliably, fast, and has 50 lines, connecting every part of the city. In Mexico City, you can get anywhere in the city by subway or bus in 30 minutes. Toronto, the biggest city in Canada, with a population the size of Finland, seven million, has a subway system that routinely breaks down and is disrupted, may or may not get you to work on time, has only three lines, and connects only narrow slivers of the sprawling city. In Toronto, it takes an hour by car to get halfway across the city – three hours or more in rush-hour. Taking the VIA train into or out of the city would be perfect for commuters and travelers, but with regular service interruptions, due to the tar sands bitumen clogging the rail lines, VIA Rail, Canada’s pride in 1951, should now be rebranded as, Very Indeterminate Arrivals. Furthermore, the nations biggest city has a transit system is so grossly inadequate, that millions of people living in the city, commuting to the city, or visiting the city, feel compelled to drive a car, because the trains, buses and transit system are so grossly inadequate – thus causing ever increasing traffic congestion, smog, and planet-killing pollution. What is wrong with this picture? If Bombardier, a Canadian company, can build a world-class, fast, convenient, reliable transit system for the world’s biggest city, why do we have clogged arteries, smog-belching car-centric transportation, and transit and transportation systems in Canada that are, in general, and with few exceptions, as sad, backwards, 60-year out-dated, tragic joke?

Subways are now proven to be an extravagently expensive boondoggle, and they should no longer be built. State of the art bus systems (BRTs) outperform subways, and at a fraction of the cost, and can be made to pay for themselves, in terms of operating costs. The South American city of Curitiba showed the world that a Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT), which they developed and created – and then built the local manufacturing base to manufacture and export to the world – showed the world the most cost-efficient and effective way to provide affordable, fast, reliable, comfortable mobility for a city’s people. The point here was not to promote subways, but to promote intelligently planned mass transportation – to replace the era of the private automobile, which clearly now must draw to an end. We either replace the private automobile as our primary transportation mode, or we die of smog and planet-killing pollution. Reality is calling. We cannot avoid taking the call, any longer.

Bombardier, who until recently, made world-class trains, trams, light rail and Guided Light Transit, was permitted to sell a controlling share of 50.1% to the giant European consortium, Airbus – that was the first mistake of the Canadian government, with regards to Bombardier, which is, our should be viewed as, a strategically important partner in the coming decades ahead. Further, Bombardier announced in January of 2021 that it would no longer build trains, or any ground transportation systems, but would focus instead on building luxury private jets, which it said is more profitable. Sure, selling planet-killing luxury jets to the super-rich is probably more profitable – if you consider the death of the planet and the extinction of humanity an acceptable “externality”, as it is called in business, and in that most dismal “science” that is professional economics. What we need, is a federal government with a spine, and some basic principles which it upholds, and does not waiver from: including the principles of freedom, democracy, sovereignty, constitutional rule and human rights, justice, equality, non-aggression and peace, and a true commitment to creating a resilient and robust, prosperous, sustainable and regenerative economy and society. Those principles would necessitate that the Canadian government, for example, buy 1% of the shares of Bombardier, to make the company Canadian-owned and Canadian-controlled once again; and it would further require and necessitate that the Canadian government simply say to Bombardier, you must help us to rebuild our train system – which used to connect every city and virtually every town in Canada – and help us to build a robust and resilient national transportation infrastructure that places trains, light rail, Guided Light Transit, bus rapid transit systems, along with bicycle lanes, walking paths and walkable cities, as the centre-pieces of a low-ecological impact 21st century transportation system. Why would Bombardier comply? Because if they do – or rather, when they do – they will receive some degree of leniency in terms of the heavy pollution taxes they will be forced to pay for making luxury private jets for the super-rich.

We have, in Canada, an advanced technology sector, a cosmopolitan, highly literate and highly educated society and workforce, a well-developed transportation, communication and energy infrastructure, excellent designers, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists and technologists, as well as artists, writers, musicians, actors, health care professionals, teachers, professors, thinkers and scholars. We could have, for example, self-reliance in essential, generic pharmaceutical drugs, available at low cost to all Canadians – even without a pharma-care plan for the nation, which is also achievable, and also a matter of simple justice. We could do this, if we valued self-reliance, if we valued justice, if we valued compassion, or if we truly valued public health. But all of these values must be sacrificed, and are sacrificed, so that the global drug cartel of Big Pharma, led by the sociopath Bill Gates, can continue to make trillions of dollars a year in drug profits. The corporate world, it should be noted, does not even use the term “health care” anymore. They use, internally at least, the term, “disease management”. And Goldman Sachs recently told its investors that curing illness and healing people is no longer profitable – or at least, is not profitable enough; therefore, we do not aim for that: we aim instead, for the more profitable approach, not of curing the sick, but of profiting from disease management. If that strikes you as vampiric, then congratulations, your common sense is intact. It is vampiric. And we can do better.

These are just three examples – from the forest and resource industry, the transportation and manufacturing sector, and the health and pharmaceutical industry – but the lessons and the principles apply broadly, of course, and they can easily be elaborated – and have been, in my previous books and essays. For now, three examples will suffice to show that there is a better way.

At the level of the individual and the family, the level of the community, and at the national level, it would simply be prudent, and intelligent, to have some significant degree of self-reliance, particularly in terms of the basic necessities for life: food, water, energy and health care. Self-reliance in these areas of course becomes much easier when we cooperate, and invoke the basic human principle and impulse of mutual aid – which is humanity’s greatest strength, and not merely our opposable thumbs.

(See Kropotkin’s, Mutual Aid, which in truth, is a much more important, landmark text in evolutionary biology, than Darwin’s, Origin of Species. Darwin merely told us about our physical-biological ancestry and evolution. Kropotkin told us the history of our social and psychological evolution, and highlighted the traits which makes us exceptionally strong.)

A much higher degree of self-reliance can be achieved, and much more readily and easily, at the level of the community than at the level of the family. And at the regional and national levels, we can achieve even higher degrees of self-reliance in the essentials of life. And doing so not only increases our resilience and security, while strengthening our independence, and thus our sovereignty, our democracy, and our freedom, but it will have positive and powerful benefits in terms of jobs and employment – including full employment, with shortened workweeks and better pay; in terms of creating both prosperity and economic stability; and in terms of thriving and stable, strong communities.

Read, or re-read, Emerson: Self-Reliance. Then read Thoreau’s, Walden, and, On Civil Disobedience. These three pieces of literature are among the most important things we can import from the US, or any nation, or that we can read from any source. Skip the “news” tonight. Read something that is actually worthy of your time. Self-reliance, simplicity, and conscience over obedience, are three principles that we need to embrace, and now, without delay.

After reading Emerson and Thoreau, it would be wise to read, or re-read, Margaret Atwood’s, Payback, and, A Handmaid’s Tale, along with Canadian anthropologist Ronald Wright’s, A Short History of Progress; then, set aside whatever preferences of taste you might have, and listen carefully to two songs by the British heavy metal band, Black Sabbath: Into The Void, and, Children of The Grave, which tells our current story plainly, in no uncertain terms:

“Pollution kills the air, the land, the sea
Man prepares to meet his destiny.“

“Show the world that love is still alive,
you must be brave;
Or you children of today
are children of the grave.“

The stakes could not be higher, and the message can scarcely be given in any clearer form.

*

Two other important points should be included here, as an addendum. If we value freedom and democracy, as we absolutely and profoundly should, then we must ban electronic voting, because it is is virtually guaranteed to lead to election fraud; and require paper ballots strictly, with international grassroots bodies monitoring elections closely to ensure free and fair elections. Secondly, we must ban usury. Usury will wreck any nation, by hyper-concentrating power over time, leading to soaring inequality, and the death of freedom and democracy. That means fractional reserve banking must be banned; and, if we allow interest charges on money lent at all, which is a highly dangerous choice, then at least it must be capped at a very low rate, say 1.5% above the real inflation rate. Credit card companies charging 18% interest for the masses to access money, while billionaires get 1.5%, zero, or even negative interest rates to acess money, is a rigged system of economic predation, that is driving us rapidly into neofeudalism. Let the richest and the poorest access loans at the same low rate, and legally compel it to be so. If we refuse either of these actions, or the others outlined above, then we are not serious about freedom and democracy – that, or we have no understanding of what we are doing.

And while we are adding addenda, I should mention another critical point that I had previously forgotten to add. After serious election finance reform is instituted, and immediately instituted, any elected representative or political candidate shown to have received large sums of money from multinational corporations, billionaire-run “foundations”, or foreign governments (Joe Biden, for example), should be immediately banned for life from all elected offices, and charged with election fraud, punishable by a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison without parole. Then we will see the revolving door of corruption close, and not before. Accepting large sums of money, or lucrative positions on corporate boards of directors, after leaving political office, should likewise be treated as a grave breach of the public trust, punishable by an automatic 20 year prison sentence without parole, for the corrupting and eroding the integrity of the democratic process. We either get tough on corruption at the top, or we will live with systemic corruption, and the death of democracy and freedom, until we do so. And to make certain everyone is honest in the political arena, we invoke a forensic audit of the candidate’s or elected politician’s personal finances, both before any election campaign, and after leaving office. The billions saved on corruption will more than pay for such universal audits. Only the honest will dare go into politics then.

*

Continuity and Change: A Bifurcation Point Is At Hand

It is important for us to realize that the great majority of people in Canada, like the great majority of people everywhere, are, in general, averse to change. The majority of people want a peaceful life, with few troubles. Chomsky is right: “The great majority of people have basically decent impulses.” That is true: the great majority of people are basically peaceable, and inclined naturally toward empathy, compassion and mutual aid, as Kropotkin demonstrated in his monumentally important work Mutual Aid, and as Jeremy Rifkin documented has been further proven and confirmed by recent science, in his important book, The Empathic Civilization. However, the great majority of people also want comfort and stability, and they tend to value comfort and stability above all. That means, among other things, that the great majority are (small-c) conservatives by nature, and they dislike change. They don’t like anyone rocking their boat.

This tendency to go along peacefully with whatever the present status quo happens to be, explains a great deal. It explains how fascism arose in Italy and Germany, and it explains how totalitarianism arose in Russia. It also explains how the great majority of people have gone along with neoliberal corporate globalization, with barely a whimper – even though polls show repeatedly that they have no confidence, faith or trust in it, they are increasingly angry about it, and they are fully aware they are getting a bad deal, and are in fact being eaten alive by the richest few and the big corporations. But most people would rather put up with almost anything, than rock the boat. There is a limit, however, to this great tolerance of the people, and we are rapidly approaching that limit now.

The majority of people want stability, but they should realize that what we have now, is institutionalized instability; and that instability is growing rapidly, and will continue to grow – until our civilization collapses, and the chaos is fully let loose; unless, and until, the people reject this newest of empires, which is the global corporate oligarchy. How much illusory security, how much illusory stability, how much illusory safety must we endure, before we set our course right, and end the growing instability which now threatens the very existence of humanity, as well as our freedom, our democracy, and our rights?

We should remember that no one predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it happened. After decades of growing discontent, and a slowly deepening crisis of legitimacy, a tipping point was finally reached, and the people shook off the totalitarian regime, like a dog shaking water off its back. The entire house of cards collapsed, virtually overnight – in the span of just 18 months. The Western neoliberal corporate empire is now facing exactly this kind of crisis of legitimacy, and the clock is fast running out.

Revolution is brewing. And it is none too soon.

*

The Crisis of Democracy: On Reform and Revolution

Millions of people world-wide are busy trying to get mild reforms accomplished, that will slightly lessen the disastrous effects on nature which we causing, and will slightly lessen the brutality and the suffering caused by the global corporate empire. This is laudable, important work, but it is not remotely sufficient, and it is not remotely enough. Despite the dedication of millions of activists around the world, making millions of small victories, we must admit the truth – we are losing ground, on virtually every front. In terms of equality: we have skyrocketing inequality. World-wide, the working class lost roughly $3 trillion in the past 18 months, since the Covid lockdowns were invoked. The richest 1% gained roughly $3 trillion in the same period. Do the math. This is not complicated to understand. We, the 99%, are being devoured. We are being eaten alive.

In terms of equality, justice, freedom, democracy, constitutional rights, human rights, and the environment, we are losing ground. Our methods are failing, and have failed. We are fighting a rear-guard action, and we are losing ground. Any sane general or strategist would look at that, and say: Clearly, our methods and our strategies have failed – it is time for another plan. Sixty years of reformism, since the 1960s – six decades of trying to sway the governments to do the right thing, have utterly failed. In fact, we keep losing ground. We are not even holding our ground. We are fighting an advancing wildfire with a garden sprinkler, and running backwards as fast as we can. Clearly, this will not do. This is not an intelligent strategy. This is a failed strategy.

Let us admit it, reformism has failed. It is time for Plan B. It is time for a revolution.

*

What is a revolution? A revolution is a fundamental shift in the structures or patterns of a society, especially a fundamental shift in relations of power. Well, what is it that we need now? We need to remove the global plutocrats, and their political minions, from power. The majority of the people want environmental protection, strong social programs such as universal health care, pensions and education, and a society that is based in freedom, human rights, constitutional rule and democracy. In order to achieve those modest goals, which are far from utopian, we now need a revolution – a democratic, non-violent, grassroots revolution, to restore power to the people, where it belongs.

I don’t know how much clearer it can be said than that. We are now up against a wall. We are racing toward our collective suicide, and all that stands in the way to the kinds of changes we need, to preserve the planet for human and other species habitation, and to bring about some semblance of justice, and true freedom and democracy, requires that we remove the business elite and their political friends from power. That, by now, requires nothing short of a revolution.

You could say, as a venerable scholar friend said to me, that there is no time for building a successful movement for revolution, even though it is a principled stance to take. But I say, we do not have time for another sixty years of failed reformist methods, and another sixty years of failed efforts to petition, and sway, and persuade the governments to do the right thing.

The business elite have taken over, and they are sociopaths. They are concerned, above all else, with profits and power – and all else is expendable. That means democracy, human rights, freedom, the planet, and the people, the 99%, are also expendable. That is sociopathic. It is also fascist, genocidal, ecocidal, and suicidal. We now must replace the currently ruling oligarchy of billionaires and big corporations, with something at least similar to, or resembling, freedom and democracy. And I would say, of course, we must seek to bring about a rebirth of real, meaningful democracy, strongly upheld constitutional rule, and real freedom. It is that, or it is collective suicide, after a brief stint spent in a darkly Orwellian dystopia, of nightmarish nature, as the Earth slowly dies, and the human race goes slowly, painfully, fitfully, extinct.

Revolution now. It is that, or slow death. Only fantasy presents a third option.

Stand.

*

Remember, I must say again, in 1775 nobody in the United States wanted revolution. Not Jefferson, Washington or Benjamin Franklin. Nobody expected a revolution in America, in 1775. Nobody even wanted it. Nobody but one man. Yet, in January of 1776, Thomas Paine published his slim little book, Common Sense, and by July 4th of that same year, the revolution was born.

As the Scottish philosopher, David Hume said, the people always have the greater power – as Etienne de La Boite, Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, also knew. This is what we need to realize now: we, the people, always have the greater power.

The second thing that we must realize now, is that:

It is time to take the power back.

JTR,
July 18, 2021

Big Brother Is Watching You – and Yes, It Matters

I talked to my boy in the car this past weekend about what to do when he drives, if he has any problems; and he talked to me about the language learning, free software that he uses on his phone. Two days later, Virgin Mobile, now owned by Bell, sends me text messages telling me about deals on roadside assistance and language learning software. Creepy fascist bastards. 

Not everyone knows how routine and universal both corporate and government surveillance are, though they should. They can even remotely turn on your microphone and camera, on your computer or phone, record everything, then sift through your every conversation, chat message, search query and email with Big Data analysis, searching for key words and phrases. I will be glad to switch to a Purism phone and laptop: no more corporate or government surveillance, trackers or data mining; and it’s also maximum security against hackers, as well. Fuck you, Big Brother. Say it with me.

Switch to Brave Browser, Protonmail, Swisscows search engine, Bitchute, Minds, Telegram, and Purism for phones, laptops, servers, VPNs and chat. Boycott Big Tech now.

JTR,

July 13, 2021

PS: On a happier note: I had a great weekend of boondock camping on public “crown” land with my boy. Wonderful. The wilderness is the real world. This “civilization” is a bad dream – one that is passing away, and one, from which I am always glad to break free.

Chomsky: Corporate Fascism Clarified

Exactly as I said this spring, in an essay titled, Sinking All Ships (Except Our Own), Chomsky is saying, as well, what by now should be obvious to all: the business elite are using a virus scare to vastly increase their already stratospheric wealth, and much more ominously, their already dangerously excessive power.

Never under-estimate the power-hungry few.

Yet, the people keep making the same mistake – they underestimate their own power, while simultaneously underestimating the ruthlessness of the power-hungry. The results are always disastrous, and grim.

This is a warning.

(See my essay, Importing From China, for an important update.)

Chomsky further clarifies fascism, as well.

I prefer my definition of fascism, I have to say, which is based on Mussolini’s definition – and he should know, since he invented it: fascism, he said, should properly be called corporatism, because it is the merger of the business elite and the state. And of course, that is exactly what has happened over the past 50 years, culminating in 2020: the business elite and the political elite, the corporate oligarchy and the state, have merged.

That is fascism. We no longer live in a democracy. We live under a new global empire of neo-feudal, crypto-fascist corporate oligarchy – an empire of the super-rich billionaire class, which is giddily and greedily devouring the poor, the middle class, and the planet, while proclaiming themselves the saviours of humanity, and the great benefactors of human health and wellbeing. The obscenity of their narcissism, egomania, infantile grandiosity, their self-deceit and their lies, and sheer sociopathic behaviour, should be shocking, and intolerable to all.

(Read my other recent essay, What Is Fascism?)

Chomsky says fascism is where the political elite control everything, including the business elite. That’s not what Mussolini said, to my knowledge. In any case, Mussolini’s definition is more useful, it seems to me. If you have authoritarianism (and we do in most nations now in 2020), and you have a merger of the business elite and the state (also unquestionably a fact in most nations today), then you have fascism.

Who has the upper hand in the marriage between political elites and business elites, I think, is of secondary concern. It is the merger of business and the state, combined with authoritarianism, which defines the essence of fascism. And only someone who is steeped in deep denial, or who has been living under a rock for the past 40 years, could fail to spot it.

Under fascist Italy or Germany, the political elite ruled an authoritarian regime, with the tight merger and full support of the business elite. It is very similar to China today: in the merger of business and the state, the political elite are in charge, with the full support of both the Western and Eastern business elite, of course. In the West today, it is the mirror image: in the merger of business and the state, the business elite are in charge. To me, it is worse than splitting hairs to say that these are radically different systems. They are not. They are mirrored systems, deeply wedded to each other, though in dangerous competition simultaneously; and they are both authoritarian, anti-democratic, elite-ruled neo-feudal societies. I prefer the short hand term of fascism for both, though it is clear they represent two different versions of essentially the same thing: which is, authoritarian elite rule, moving swiftly into totalitarian oligarchy.

Frankly I don’t think you or anybody is likely to be quibbling over whether “the new normal” should be better called fascism, totalitarianism, authoritarianism or oligarchy, when you are taken to a labour camp, and a jackboot is stomping on your face.

This is not a US problem. This is a global problem. It must be re-asserted. Trump is a tin pot dictator. The problem is much bigger than Trump. He is a pawn of the billionaire crypto-fascist oligarchy, which is now the global empire ruling the world – the same corporate oligarchy which rules most nations, most governments, all the major political parties, the global economy and financial system, and virtually all the major media today – including of course the Big Tech “social media”, since the Silicon Valley oligarchs are equally gleeful in their new-found power.

Until we unseat, dethrone, and remove from power the billionaire corporate elite, we can forget about any real change being possible. We can forget about things like justice, freedom, constitutional rights, peace, environmental sanity, or a future, for that matter, to say nothing of health, until we remove the billionaire oligarchs from power.

We must understand this, or kiss our future, our health and wellbeing, our democracy, our rights and our freedoms goodbye.

JTR,

August 4, 2020

PS:

Chomsky looks very different with a beard. And he has aged dramatically this year – maybe because, as he said in an interview earlier this year, he is haunted by the memories of the first wave of fascism, during his childhood: which is being echoed now.

Anarchism, Political Philosophy & D&D

Yes, I do love to play D&D once a week with my boy of fifteen. It’s great fun for us both, and I feel no need to apologize for it or be embarrassed by it. I love spending time with my kids, and this is one of many ways we spend time together, along with walks, talks, board games, cooking, gardening, camping, reading, kayaking…. It’s a great game for stimulating kids’ imaginations and creativity, and their self-expression, and their ability to collaborate, and work as a team. I think it’s great for kids. And I think it’s great for anyone. In any case, this short reflection or meditation on anarchism and political philosophy arose as a brief response to a great video on D&D Lore. The important matter is what is in the meditation or musings, however, not what sparked them. Here are some thoughts, in the form of an open letter.

*

Wonderful presentation, AJ. Thank you. One point, however: your comment on anarchists showed that you have read zero anarchist literature or philosophy. Please do not slur a political philosophy you clearly have never explored or properly examined, and clearly have total ignorance about. Otherwise, wonderful job!

Musings aloud: D&D as opportunity to elucidate political philosophy?

I play a paladin, by the way, neutral-good (or alternately a ranger) and a generally anarchistic dispenser of justice, or aid to others, and equally at home with concepts of justice as with anarchism. That is no contradiction.

Anarchism in its core rejects an excessive centralization of power in any form, and all excessive concentrations of power, since they inevitably lead to corruption, exploitation and oppression, as well as stupidity, degradation and dehumanization. One can therefore be a passionate defender of justice, and an equally passionate anarchist – and, simultaneously, respect decent and compassionate, just laws and rulers, even though the anarchist would prefer that sentient beings mature sufficiently that they no longer need to be told what to do.

However, sensible anarchists, such as Chomsky, Bertrand Russell, the Taoists or Thoreau – hardly bomb-throwing egotists intent on destroying all order, as you foolishly implied – understand very well that human beings are not yet quite ready for such maturity and self-government; and hence, as Thoreau said, and most sensible anarchists would agree, or should, “I do not wish for, at once, no government, but at once, a better government. Let every man state what kind of government would command his respect, and that shall be one step toward attaining it.”

That should help to clarify what anarchism is and is not. In its better forms – and not what is commonly indicated by those who call themselves anarchists, but understand it not – it is an extremely perceptive social and political philosophy which has clearly defined principles of non-aggression and non-domination, and holds voluntary mutual aid as the highest form of human ethics and nobility; and it has the ability to discern between long term goals and short term or immediate realities. In short, it is a vastly more intelligent, prescient and far-seeing social and political philosophy than any other major political philosophy in existence, which all look like crude barbarism in drag as humanitarianism, or some other ruse, and the finger paintings of pre-schoolers, by comparison.

I’d think twice before scoffing or sneering at anarchists or anarchism again. It is an indicator only of ignorance, my friend.

But please, do not take my broad sword critique as an offence. Almost everyone is grossly misinformed with regards to what anarchy really means (it does not mean chaos) or what anarchists think or believe. The rest of the presentation was wonderful, as I said. And thank you again for it.

JTR,
April 10, 2021

Post-Script, for D&D lovers only:

I’d prefer to be a wandering ranger or monk, alone in the wilds, paying homage to the noble Eldath, goddess of the groves, but the troubles of the world lead me back, and so, a paladin it is, protecting living beings, and smiting the tyrants and other monsters and villains. A quiet cabin in the woods would be preferable, but duty calls!

Post-Script Deux:

More depth and detail on

political philosophy and anarchism

There are some teenage boys, who think they are anarchists, who like to destroy things just for fun, and who want to immediately smash and tear down all authority everywhere, but they don’t know what they are doing and they don’t understand anarchism. They are angst-ridden, disillusioned boys and youth who need some counselling, psychotherapy, trauma therapy, or at least some guidance; and they need to see some hope in the world – they are rightfully angry and justifiably disillusioned. We have made a mess of the world, and many youth see little or no hope. That leads to misdirected anger, self-destruction, or outwardly directed destructiveness. That is not anarchism; that is a social problem, caused by the richest 1% having liquidated the middle class, leaving many people, both young and old, very angry – and some of them want blood, or at least violence and destruction. That is not anarchism; that is explosive tempers in a time of growing social unrest, caused by extreme and growing inequality.

Don’t mistake a sociological phenomenon for a political philosophy. Yes, the two do interact, but they are different. The sociological phenomenon of misdirected anger, arising from great inequality, accounts for most of the violence in the world – at the level of the street. That is not a political philosophy. Liberals and conservatives account for at least as much violence as anarchists, if you include domestic violence and white collar crime; and if you include crimes of the state – war and mass murder for oil and other resources, for example – then the liberals and conservatives have vastly more blood on their hands, than the few anarchists who throw bricks through Starbucks windows to make a symbolic point. Who are the truly violent ones here? The ones who support not only the state, but state violence in the form of aggression and mass murder, which is what war is.

Are there bad tempered, venom-spewing people who call themselves anarchists, who want to destroy things and blow things up? Sure, and they give a bad name and reputation to the great majority of peaceful and more thoughtful anarchists, who are the great majority.

Are there bad tempered Christians who spew venom and want to blow things up? Sure there are. They’re called Republicans.

Actually, that’s not fair either. There are now more war mongers, militarists and trigger-happy imperialists among the Democrats than the Republicans, or at least it is an even split.

*

Viewing anarchists as people who want to immediately destroy all authority, is taking the most extreme element from a broad cultural stream, and assuming, or pretending, that it represents the entire stream. It’s like viewing all Muslims as violent militant extremists who want to blow things up. There is a tiny minority among Moslems who feel and think that way. But in fact, there are many more Christians who are eager to blow things up than Moslems. They’re called war-mongers, and they give Christianity a bad name. In fact, they really shouldn’t be called Christian if they are braying and pushing for war. Jesus would tell them so directly.

Liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, fascism/Stalinism and environmentalism, and Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism, represent six distinct streams of political philosophy, and six distinct streams of religious philosophy. Let’s consider them here briefly.

Of course, there are more currents or streams of philosophy than these twelve, but these are the most prominent twelve today. That is… Along with the growing dark force of nihilism, the cult of egotism, hedonism and narcissism which is taking over the minds of the majority, and the reigning quasi-religious dogmatism of materialist reductionism, which is the pseudo-scientific world view of Newton and Descartes, which is now a century out of date, since the birth of quantum physics, and is further overturned by research in ecology, systems theory, chaos theory, mind-brain research and epigenetics, but is espoused, or rather, used as a bludgeon to beat over the heads of the people, and especially anyone who dares to think, or to exercise critical thought, or, heaven forbid, to resort to evidence and empiricism. (Gasp!)

And of course, there are many different combinations of these twelve philosophies. There are liberal Christians, and there are conservative Christians; and yes, there are fascist Christians, and also anarchist, socialist and green Christians.

One important thing to understand, is that within each of these twelve different philosophies (some of which can be combined, while some cannot) there are in turn many different streams. After the Reformation, Christianity, for example, saw new churches pop up like mushrooms in the forest after a spring rain. And there are many different views and opinions and currents of thought within either liberalism, or conservatism, or socialism.

The same is true with anarchism: it is a broad river of thought, with many diverse currents within it. The central theme is a willingness to question authority, dogma, social structures and social norms, and to not assume automatically that they are just or legitimate, but instead, view that the burden of proof lies not with those who would question hierarchical power structures and social norms that constrain human freedom, but with those who would uphold or impose them.

I think that is a perfectly sensible view. We assume that freedom is a good thing, and a value worth preserving, based in human nature, and in historical and sociological analysis, and we challenge any who wish to limit or constrain freedom, to prove that it is justified to do so.

That is, said conversely, if you want to exercise force or coercion over another human being, you must justify yourself. It is not automatically justified. In fact, if you try to turn your neighbour into your slave, and walk over and put an iron collar around his neck, fastened to a chain which you hold tight, you might find he resists, and does not agree to it. Strangely enough, he feels that your imposition of “authority” and coercion upon him, is unjust and illegitimate, and is naturally and rightly something to be resisted fiercely – unless it can be proven to be justified, which, generally it cannot. The anarchist position, therefore, is one which we would, in general, or most of us, consider upon reflection to be a matter of what we would call common sense.

That central axis is what anarchism revolves around: the burden of proof lies with the person, institution, culture, organization, government or society that wishes to impinge or impose upon human freedom, to justify itself as legitimate. If it can, then most anarchists, or at least a great many, at least for the short term, will accept that partial restriction of human freedom, or that social order, law or authority, as acceptable, or at least tolerable, for the time being, even though they hold a long term vision and hope for human beings to mature to the point where they require no outward rules or bonds of social authority to direct them or to constrain them in any way.

It means that thinking, thoughtful anarchists – as opposed to fourteen year old boys who just want to let off steam and break some windows, calling themselves anarchists when they are really simply idiots and vandals – will accept laws and governments for the short term, if they are legitimate enough, and do some good in the world, or at least do not do too much harm.

Thinking anarchists would agree with Thoreau, and would rather see a better government immediately, and not, no government immediately, because the people probably aren’t ready to have no government, just yet. Instead, more thoughtful anarchists will look for ways to halt or reduce violence and the abuse of power, while looking for ways to increase human freedom, liberation and empowerment, and to improve the lives of people and other creatures, through personal or collective action.

*

Are there people who call themselves anarchists, who are in truth egotists and hedonists and narcissists, who simply want the full release of their libido and their selfishness and narcissistic desires? Yes, and they are, again, idiots who give anarchism a bad name. In the same way that the minority of Muslims and Christians who are fundamentalists, give Islam and Christianity a bad name.

If you cannot govern yourself, how can you possibly expect others to believe that human beings everywhere can govern themselves? Your very life and being is proof that they are not ready for it – or at least, and most definitely, you are not ready for it.

If you want freedom, then you need self-discipline. Freedom comes with responsibility. The ancient Greeks knew that, and we must know and realize it too.

That is why people seek to flee and to escape from freedom: freedom is a burden of responsibility, as well as a boon and a liberation. Those who fear the power of having to make their own decisions, and form their own views, commonly seek authoritarianism, fascism, or Stalinism, because they are terrified of freedom, because they have no confidence or trust in themselves.(See Erich Fromm, Escape From Freedom.)

Those who fear freedom, fly straight into authoritarianism. But those who shun responsibility, calling it freedom, create such a backlash against freedom, that instead of finding freedom, they find they have created fascism, or totalitarianism, or some other form of repressive society – because they refused responsibility, refused to be their brother’s keeper, or to be a good neighbour, or to be of any help to others, or even to curtail their self-indulgence and reckless, destructive greed and licentiousness; and hence, the pendulum swung in response to the other extreme. This is the law of the inversion of polarities. (The Taoists knew what they were talking about, and they still know. We of the modern West should overcome our supreme, and supremely foolish, smugness and hubris, and bow, and learn a thing or two from the ancients, both East and West.)

By parading hedonism, narcissism and egotism, and unconsciously preaching hedonism, narcissism and egotism, though you realize it not, you are sowing the “law and order” mentality of authoritarianism, Puritanism, fascism, Maoism, Stalinism, technocracy, legalism and repression.

To those who want to free desire from all bounds and constraints, and release hedonism and narcissism and egotism on the world, as the salvation of humanity, I would say this. Get your own shit together, and that will inspire freedom everywhere – which comes with responsibility, or not at all.

*

By parading hedonism, narcissism and egotism, and unconsciously preaching hedonism, narcissism and egotism, though you realize it not, you are sowing the “law and order” mentality of authoritarianism, Puritanism, fascism, Maoism, Stalinism, technocracy, legalism and repression.

To those who want to free desire from all bounds and constraints, and release hedonism and narcissism and egotism on the world, as the salvation of humanity, I would say this. Get your own shit together, and that will inspire freedom everywhere – which comes with responsibility, or not at all.

Libertarians of the right, and anarchist-capitalists (a contradiction in terms and an oxymoron, suitable only for morons), I am talking to you – as well as to hedonists and narcissists who want to carry the anarchist banner or badge, in order to justify their utter lack of principles and their moral bankruptcy.

Libertarians of the right and anarcho-capitalists that I have encountered all seem to be decent, thoughtful, intelligent folk, but they have not realized two central facts: 1) if you refuse responsibility to your fellow human beings, then you lose integrity and true virtue, and moreover, you will end up losing your peace, and your freedom, in the end, as a result; and 2) if you shrink or eliminate the government, but leave giant corporations and great concentrations of wealth and economic power unchecked, then you will have a worse form of tyranny, and not liberation. How this is not obvious, I do not know, but it needs to be realized, and now.

The primary tyrannical power in the 21st century, is not the church, not the monarchy, not the aristocracy, not even the government or the political powers of the state, but the corporate oligarchs who have taken over the nations and the world. Realize and understand this, or we are all serfs, moving rapidly into slavery.

*

So yes, while there are many streams of thought within anarchism, the majority of them are very thoughtful, and very intelligent, very prescient, and very peaceful. They are far from violent, and they are far from naïve. If anyone is naïve, it is those who uncritically obey and believe their government – which is the majority of people. What are they thinking? And if anyone is violent, it is again those who uncritically support their government, and their government’s actions of mass violence.

This is not the highly dramatic image of the anarchist as venomous bomb-thrower wanting to destroy every authority instantly, but that image is a child’s cartoon; one that the people have been told to frighten them away from the very serious and thoughtful stream of thinking, which anarchism represents. It is a bogey man created by the lovers of power, and it has very little connection to the real world.

*

State violence, and corporate violence and destruction, account for the overwhelming majority of violence and destruction in the world, but we ignore them, and pretend they doesn’t exist.

State and corporate violence and destruction make street violence seem small and almost insignificant by comparison.

Liberals and conservatives routinely support war, which is mass murder, in which hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are killed, by these same peace-loving liberals and conservatives who supported the war. Meanwhile, in an act of supreme hypocrisy, these same liberals and conservatives, who have just supported war and mass murder, and who have blood all over their hands, want to wag a finger at a few youth who call themselves anarchists, for being violent and throwing bricks through a window. They are out of their minds. The hypocrisy is extreme. And they are living in a dream world.

*

I listed six major political philosophies here – liberalism, conservatism, socialism, anarchism, environmentalism (it is now a distinct body of political philosophy unto itself) and fascism/Stalinism or authoritarianism. But where do the progressives and the libertarians fit in? They don’t. They are a fiction. They are a name without a political philosophy.

First of all, libertarianism was a movement of the left, historically, until laissez-faire capitalists in the United States got a hold of the term and called their laissez-faire capitalist ideology libertarianism. It is not libertarianism, it is an extremist wing of liberal democratic ideology. It means, total deregulation of business and capital. That would lead to a toxic wasteland, and a dystopia in which a few robber baron oligarchs and giant neo-feudal corporate empires ruled the world. Strangely enough, that is exactly where we are heading. Isn’t it lovely?

Conservatism used to mean a supporter of monarchy and feudalism, but after the democratic revolutions, when feudalism and monarchy were discredited, conservatism came to mean a particular wing of liberal democracy, in terms of political philosophy. Libertarians of the right, are thus a faction or wing of conservatism, which is itself, in reality, a faction or wing of liberal democracy.

What is a “progressive”? Everybody and his dog wants to call himself or herself a progressive now. It is absurd, and it is pointless, and it only adds to the general confusion that engulfs the people. Either a progressive is a classical liberal with a flowery name; or a progressive is an anarchist or a socialist who doesn’t want to admit it. “Progressives”, therefore, are either liberals who don’t want to call themselves liberals, since that name has been too degraded by decades of right-wing mud-slinging; or they are socialists or anarchists who don’t dare to admit their real political philosophy. In either case, the word “progressive” simply muddies the waters, and hence, should be dismissed and abandoned. Similarly, right wing libertarians should just call themselves conservatives or liberals who support deregulation, and not cover over their ideology with pretty sounding labels which mean nothing, but conceal much.

Are you a liberal, a conservative, a socialist, an anarchist, a green, or a fascist or Stalinist, or are you just concealing the fact that you really do not know what you stand for, and are blowing a lot of hot air, with a muddy philosophy that only muddies the waters, and adds nothing but confusion to the mix? Maybe that is too harsh on the “progressives” and the libertarians of the right, but it is a question that is certainly worth asking. Vague, muddy ideas, based in vague, muddy political philosophy, covered over by a pretty name, do not help us any.

I would urge all those who call themselves libertarian, to decide, clearly and overtly, whether they are liberals of a certain strain, or conservatives of a certain strain – meaning, that they want a market-based economy, combined with constitutional democracy and freedom; and if they are honest, but unprincipled, combined with an unquestioning acceptance of big business and the new globalist corporate oligarchy, which means in truth, they are siding with the fascists; or whether they are authentic classical liberals or conservatives, who will stand up for constitutional democracy, human rights and freedom, and hence, must question, challenge, resist and overthrow the global corporate oligarchy, and they must also, therefore, seek proper and sensible checks and balances, and limits, on great concentrations of economic power, just as they insist on it for government and political powers. That is, either they become coherent, or they become silent, and admit they have no idea what they are talking about. Or, they accept and embrace left-libertarianism, which means anarchism, or anarchist socialism. Either way, they must clarify their thinking, or admit they are full of hot air and are incoherent.

*

Now that I have given a rather scathing critique of progressives and libertarians (of the right), we must not leave the new stream of political philosophy which is environmentalism, or the greens, without a similarly close examination.

Environmentalism, broadly, as a body of political philosophy, is, of course, very diverse, just as there are many approaches to liberalism, conservatism, anarchism and socialism, and there are many flavours or “variants” of authoritarianism and fascism.

There are, quite literally, eco-fascists. In fact, several of the biggest environmental groups have made a deal with the devil, and have joined forces with the Davos-based global corporate oligarchy, presumably thinking they can win gains for environmental protection. They are fools, and they are being played for fools. The Davos billionaires are true fascists, though they mask their agenda of simple greed and power-lust, with a thin veneer of “sustainability” and “inclusivity”. The billionaires’ plan for the environment is neo-Malthusian, genocidal, fascist and ecocidal, and their version of the Green New Deal, will lead us into an Orwellian, neo-feudal, technocratic, neo-Dickensian police state, while enabling them to go on devouring the people and the planet alike. That kind of faux green we can do without, and we should passionately and fiercely resist.

Then there are democratic socialists who are green, and liberals who are green, and conservatives who are green, and anarchists who are green. Any of them would be, of course, vastly preferable to an eco-fascism run by the world’s global corporate police state.

But while there are many shades of green, and many diverse views and currents of thought within that broad stream which is green politics, we should be aware that the strongest and most predominant, until the recent sell-out to the Davos fascists, was deeply libertarian – in the original sense, which is to say, left libertarian, libertarian socialist, or anarchist.

Greens generally do not oppose business or a market economy, but favour cooperatives and decentralization, or localization, of both political power, and more importantly, of economics and economic power. That makes them decidedly anti-authoritarian. The greens need to remember that. At present, they, like the liberals and the left, have temporarily abandoned their common sense, and their faculties and their principles, and are either silent and thus tacitly giving their consent to the currently on-going global fascist corporate coup, or they are actively cheering for it, not understanding what they are doing.

There are millions of highly politically aware people in the world now, and there is a growing awakening among humanity world-wide. Nevertheless, there are enormous blind spots, to put it mildly, among both the left and the right, and with environmentalists and greens, as well. We should remember something that Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” It is human to make mistakes, and it is natural to not know everything about everything. We should always be learning, and always ready to question every assumption, and even our most dearly held, and deeply held, beliefs. As with the progressives, libertarians, liberals, conservatives, socialists, and anarchists too, the environmentalists and the greens, in general all need to lift their heads, question far more, take a look around, and realize what is staring us in the face. We have been taken over by corporate fascists. If you do not understand this, then any hope for serious action on either environmental protection, or social justice, or economic soundness and vitality, will amount to a very precise sum – of zero.

*

There is still a small minority of people who believe in theocracy, or monarchy, or military dictatorship. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, ruled by a dictatorship of one family’s dynasty, for example. But I would count those who believe in theocracy, neo-feudal monarchy or military dictatorship among the authoritarians, who also include the Marxist-Leninists, the fascists and the Stalinists, and the Chinese Communist government, as well as those who believe in technocracy – which is simply a form of scientific (or pseudo-scientific) fascism. And while they are a small minority of the population, we should not underestimate the very real and great danger they pose.

In fact, the billionaire’s club of Davos, the World Economic Forum, is now quite literally fascist. They believe in technocracy, and they are driving the world into technocracy and fascism, though the great majority of the people are so bewildered, stupified, distracted and indoctrinated, that they see it not.

Worse, the great majority of the Left is blind to the global corporate fascist coup which is now underway. Worse yet, the great majority of liberals and the left, are actively supporting the “new normal” of corporate-driven technological fascism. Thinking people need to question this, and resist it fiercely and unwaveringly.

*

I would not call myself an anarchist, even though I believe anarchism is the most intelligent, coherent, hopeful and liberating of all the various political philosophies in existence to date. I would only call myself an anarchist if I was speaking solely to a group of people I knew were anarchists – because once you introduce a label or an “ism”, people automatically assume they know what that means, and all thinking and all thoughtful dialogue ceases.

“The structure of language determines not only thought, but reality itself.”
– Noam Chomsky

That is why Orwell is particularly important in his work – he understood the power, for good or evil, or the use and abuse of language.

Labels can be helpful in clarifying the reality we are dealing with. For example, we should call the billionaire plutocrats and oligarchs what they are: they are fascists. But aside from certain uses of labels in certain times, within certain circumstances, labels can cloud minds and hide realities, more than they clear or reveal them.

*

For nearly 2,000 years, people deferred to Aristotle as the virtually all-knowing thinker and philosopher, who had no peer, and nothing of merit or significance was felt to be possible that Aristotle had not already said – or Plato, or Thomas Aquinas, or some other figure of presumed authority. This is foolishness. Question everything. But we still do the same thing today. The great majority of people, and the great majority of scientists and other “intellectuals”, merely bow their heads, and defer to one form of perceived authority or another. It is mindless group-think and scholastic dogmatism, and it should be questioned, and challenged.

For 10,000 years, people viewed that monarchies, empires and feudalism were normal, natural, inevitable, just and legitimate, ethical and right. And they viewed (small d, small r) democrats and republicans as radicals, and dangerous extremists, or at the very least, naïve utopian dreamers, out of touch with reality, and aiming for impossible goals. Now, after the birth of modern democracy, after the American and French Revolutions, most people view democracy, constitutional rule, human rights, equality and freedom, as things that are given, and they take them for granted, as being not only right and just, but also guaranteed. They are right and just, but they are certainly not guaranteed – and we are losing them, and fast.

*

I would say, as I have said before, that for the long term, as a vision for human society, I would agree with Kropotkin, who merely echoed, and gave form in political philosophy, the teachings and example of Jesus: love your neighbour, treat all with compassion and kindness, help one another, live in peace, and share and cooperate – exactly the things we were supposed to learn in kindergarten, but apparently did not.

That is, we should live in freedom, and in peace, and with voluntary mutual aid, as the norm. And that is entirely possible for human beings, although it seems clear that the majority of people are too steeped in narcissism and hedonism and escapism, and an excessive or one-sided individualism, which denies the moral obligation to be our brother’s keeper, to be ready for such a stateless and classless society. That is anarchist communitarianism, or anarchist communism, to be more precise. And that is attainable, as well as desirable – in the longer term, or in small pockets where people aspire to higher values than crass egotism, narcissism, selfishness and greed.

(See Mutual Aid, by Kropotkin, World As Lover, World As Self, by Joanna Macy, Ancient Futures, by Helena Norberg-Hodge, The Ecology of Freedom, by Murray Bookchin, The Chalice and The Blade, by Rianne Eisler, Roads To Freedom, by Bertrand Russell, and The Empathic Civilization, by Jeremy Rifkin not all of them advocate anarchist communism, but all of them are profoundly relevant, and most of them are explicitly anarchist or libertarian socialist in perspective and philosophy.)

In the nearer term, I would like to see a society that is based in libertarian socialism, where not all property is shared in common, but where the values of liberty, equality and solidarity, which are the fundamental values of the Enlightenment, are acted upon, and not just mouthed or espoused or held up as banners, that we then go on to ignore in actual practice.

(See Chomsky, Bakunin, Bookchin, Rudolph Rocker, Emma Goldman, Bertrand Russell, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, and my own writings, Enlightened Democracy, and, The People vs The Elite – and my new book that is coming this spring of 2021.)

But in the immediate present, I would simply like to see constitutional democracy lived up to, and defended and protected, and renewed. That is a small and attainable goal for the immediate present, which we should all strive to create and to achieve, if we have any sense at all – whether we be liberals, conservatives, democratic socialists, anarchists or greens. In fact, the only people who do not value constitutional democracy, human rights and freedom as fundamental and non-negotiable, are the fascists, the neo-Maoists and Stalinists. The rest of us can, and should, and must, unite, to defeat the corporate fascists now, and decisively.

*

What I would like to see, and what I believe we urgently need, is a uniting, a federation, or an alliance, of all forces and all people who are not fascists or Stalinists, or supporters and advocates of some other stripe of authoritarianism. What that means, is that we need an alliance of all sensible liberals and conservatives – that means, those who reject neoliberalism and neoconservatism, and who also reject the new corporate oligarchy which is pushing on us a global technocratic fascism; joined together with all sensible democratic socialists, anarchists and greens, who likewise understand what is going on, and reject the new corporate fascist police state. We can and must unite the liberals, conservatives, anarchists, socialists and greens, and defeat the fascists that are being led by the Davos billionaires. We can do this, and we must.

*

We defeated the fascists before, 75 years ago, in World War II. We can defeat them again. And we will.

What matters now, in this moment of history, is not what political philosophy you have, or what political party or political affiliations you are involved with or support, but one question only: Do you value freedom, constitutional rule, human rights and democracy, or do you side with the fascists who have taken over? All other issues can be dealt with later. First, we need to defeat fascism, once again, and we will need to unite the people in order to do that.

We must say it, and explain it, enough times that the people begin to understand it:

Unite the people now. All other more secondary and minor issues can be dealt with later, once we have defeated the corporate oligarchs, who are imposing a new kind of scientific (or pseudo-scientific) fascism on the world. Understand this, or prepare for a very dark age ahead. It cannot be emphasized enough. Unite the people now. And take your power back.

JTR,
April 11, 2021

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(Somehow I accidentally copied and pasted part of the essay or post-script above, here below. I must go back and edit this, as soon as I have a moment to do it. My apologies for the unusual boggle of text! If you scroll down until you see several stars in a line, that is where the duplicate text seems to end, and a small but important addition is waiting. Ta-daaa!!)

So yes, while there are many streams of thought within anarchism, the majority of them are very thoughtful, and very intelligent, very prescient, and very peaceful. They are far from violent, and they are far from naïve. If anyone is naïve, it is those who uncritically obey and believe their government – which is the majority of people. What are they thinking? And if anyone is violent, it is again those who uncritically support their government, and their government’s actions of mass violence.

This is not the highly dramatic image of the anarchist as venomous bomb-thrower wanting to destroy every authority instantly, but that image is a child’s cartoon; one that the people have been told to frighten them away from the very serious and thoughtful stream of thinking, which anarchism represents. It is a bogey man created by the lovers of power, and it has very little connection to the real world.

*

State violence, and corporate violence and destruction, account for the overwhelming majority of violence and destruction in the world, but we ignore them, and pretend they doesn’t exist.

State and corporate violence and destruction make street violence seem small and almost insignificant by comparison.

Liberals and conservatives routinely support war, which is mass murder, in which hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are killed, by these same peace-loving liberals and conservatives who supported the war. Meanwhile, in an act of supreme hypocrisy, these same liberals and conservatives, who have just supported war and mass murder, and who have blood all over their hands, want to wag a finger at a few youth who call themselves anarchists, for being violent and throwing bricks through a window. They are out of their minds. The hypocrisy is extreme. And they are living in a dream world.

*

There is still a small minority of people who believe in theocracy, or monarchy, or military dictatorship. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy, ruled by a dictatorship of one family’s dynasty, for example. But I would count those who believe in theocracy, neo-feudal monarchy or military dictatorship among the authoritarians, who also include the Marxist-Leninists, the fascists and the Stalinists, and the Chinese Communist government, as well as those who believe in technocracy – which is simply a form of scientific (or pseudo-scientific) fascism. And while they are a small minority of the population, we should not underestimate the very real and great danger they pose.

In fact, the billionaire’s club of Davos, the World Economic Forum, is now quite literally fascist. They believe in technocracy, and they are driving the world into technocracy and fascism, though the great majority of the people are so bewildered, stupified, distracted and indoctrinated, that they see it not.

Worse, the great majority of the Left is blind to the global corporate fascist coup which is now underway. Worse yet, the great majority of liberals and the left, are actively supporting the “new normal” of corporate-driven technological fascism. Thinking people need to question this, and resist it fiercely and unwaveringly.

*

I would not call myself an anarchist, even though I believe anarchism is the most intelligent, coherent, hopeful and liberating of all the various political philosophies in existence to date. I would only call myself an anarchist if I was speaking solely to a group of people I knew were anarchists – because once you introduce a label or an “ism”, people automatically assume they know what that means, and all thinking and all thoughtful dialogue ceases.

Labels can be helpful in clarifying the reality we are dealing with. For example, we should call the billionaire plutocrats and oligarchs what they are: they are fascists. But aside from certain uses of labels in certain times, within certain circumstances, labels can cloud minds and hide realities, more than they clear or reveal them.

*

For nearly 2,000 years, people deferred to Aristotle as the virtually all-knowing thinker and philosopher, who had no peer, and nothing of merit or significance was felt to be possible that Aristotle had not already said – or Plato, or Thomas Aquinas, or some other figure of presumed authority. This is foolishness. Question everything. But we still do the same thing today. The great majority of people, and the great majority of scientists and other “intellectuals”, merely bow their heads, and defer to one form of perceived authority or another. It is mindless group-think and scholastic dogmatism, and it should be questioned, and challenged.

For 10,000 years, people viewed that monarchies, empires and feudalism were normal, natural, inevitable, just and legitimate, ethical and right. And they viewed (small d, small r) democrats and republicans as radicals, and dangerous extremists, or at the very least, naïve utopian dreamers, out of touch with reality, and aiming for impossible goals. Now, after the birth of modern democracy, after the American and French Revolutions, most people view democracy, constitutional rule, human rights, equality and freedom, as things that are given, and they take them for granted, as being not only right and just, but also guaranteed. They are right and just, but they are certainly not guaranteed – and we are losing them, and fast.

*

I would say, as I have said before, that for the long term, as a vision for human society, I would agree with Kropotkin, who merely echoed, and gave form in political philosophy, the teachings and example of Jesus: love your neighbour, treat all with compassion and kindness, help one another, live in peace, and share and cooperate – exactly the things we were supposed to learn in kindergarten, but apparently did not.

That is, we should live in freedom, and in peace, and with voluntary mutual aid, as the norm. And that is entirely possible for human beings, although it seems clear that the majority of people are too steeped in narcissism and hedonism and escapism, and an excessive or one-sided individualism, which denies the moral obligation to be our brother’s keeper, to be ready for such a stateless and classless society. That is anarchist communitarianism, or anarchist communism, to be more precise. And that is attainable, as well as desirable – in the longer term, or in small pockets where people aspire to higher values than crass egotism, narcissism, selfishness and greed.

In the nearer term, I would like to see a society that is based in libertarian socialism, where not all property is shared in common, but where the values of liberty, equality and solidarity, which are the fundamental values of the Enlightenment, are acted upon, and not just mouthed or espoused or held up as banners, that we then go on to ignore in actual practice.

But in the immediate present, I would simply like to see constitutional democracy lived up to, and defended and protected, and renewed. That is a small and attainable goal for the immediate present, which we should all strive to create and to achieve, if we have any sense at all – whether we be liberals, conservatives, democratic socialists, anarchists or greens.

In fact, the only people who do not value constitutional democracy, human rights and freedom as fundamental and non-negotiable, are the fascists, the neo-Maoists and Stalinists. The rest of us can, and should, and must, unite, to defeat the corporate fascists now, and decisively.

*

We defeated the fascists before, 75 years ago, in World War II. We can defeat them again. And we will.

What matters now, in this moment of history, is not what political philosophy you have, or what political party or political affiliations you are involved with or support, but one question only: Do you value freedom, constitutional rule, human rights and democracy, or do you side with the fascists who have taken over? All other issues can be dealt with later. First, we need to defeat fascism, once again, and we will need to unite the people in order to do that.

We must say it, and explain it, enough times that the people begin to understand it:

Unite the people now. All other more secondary and minor issues can be dealt with later, once we have defeated the corporate oligarchs, who are imposing a new kind of scientific (or pseudo-scientific) fascism on the world. Understand this, or prepare for a very dark age ahead. It cannot be emphasized enough. Unite the people now. And take your power back.

*******

(This appears to be the end of the duplicate text. The following addition is important, I believe. I will correct the error as soon as possible, sorry.)

We must shake the people out of their stupor of denial. Politely and gently and respectfully wherever possible, but assuredly, and by whatever means are necessary short of violence. They are addicted to escapism and to comfort, and it is making them into virtual zombies. Addle-minded and numb does not begin to describe the horror or the reality of it. Their addiction to comfort will be their slavery, and the death of them, if they do not shake themselves out of it.

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end. If you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.” – C.S. Lewis

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” – Benjamin Franklin (And I would add, they will lose them both in the end.)

“We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.” – Benjamin Franklin

We either unite the people, or we live in an Orwellian dystopia, and a police state.

Which is it, people? Freedom and unity, or slow and painful death?

Number one task: Rouse the people from their sleep-walking state, and show them the danger they are in, and what is really going on.

Task number two, which must go along with the first: Remind the people of their power, and inspire them, empower them, uplift them, and remind them that it is right and good and appropriate, and necessary, critically necessary, that they embrace their power, and that they trust themselves.

Task number three, which must also conjoin the first two: Unite the people.

If we do these three things, then we will have a good future, and indeed, a beautiful future, and a new Renaissance. If we do not, then it is a very dark age ahead, followed by the slow death of extinction. Our task is clear, and so too, our choices.

JTR,
April 11, 2021

Canada In The 21st Century: The Path Ahead

This short essay was written as a response to a YouTube video on the CaspianReport, titled, Geopolitics of Canada. At some point I may re-write it to be more in the form of a stand-alone essay, or a stump speech; but considering I am back-logged with 96 finished essays and 12 finished books that are waiting for me to proof-read and publish, I can’t promise that will be right away. So I thought I had better send this piece off into the world as it stands. Considering the enormous challenges at hand, I think we need all the critical reflection we can find, at this point in time, and time is of the essence.

*

With all due respect, I have to say, This video passes for high level geopolitical analysis?

I am Canadian, and have lived 54 years in Canada, and have spent four decades and tens of thousands of hours researching and studying global issues, political-economy, geopolitics and philosophy. I would say from my perspective, that an intelligent first year university student could present a better geopolitical overview – while binge-drinking beer at the local pub with buddies. To focus on regional differences as the central challenge facing Canada, is so far off of the realities of this nation, that I don’t know where to begin.

In terms of challenges facing Canada, regional differences would rank somewhere in the top ten, but not likely in the top five – and it is an almost miniscule problem compared with the truly great challenges facing the country.

The top challenge, which anyone who has been paying any attention can see tops all others, is the global corporate fascist coup, which had been slowly unfolding for more than 50 years, and which in spring of 2020 entered into endgame stage. Anyone who does not yet recognize this fact, is not living in the real world, and is certainly not remotely qualified to comment on geopolitics or world issues.

The second greatest, and closely related challenge, is the long-standing policy of successive generations of Canadian business and political elites to keep Canada in the role of a colony – first of Britain, essentially until after WWII, then of the US, from 1945 up to the present.

Washington is indifferent to what happens in Canada? What planet do you live on?

The US is heavily dependent on Canada’s resources, which are among the richest in the world: oil and gas, water, uranium and lumber, being among the key strategic US dependencies for Canadian resources. If Canadian politicians ever found their spine, and simply imposed fair and reasonable export tariffs, Canada would be far richer than Saudi Arabia, and the Washington and Wall Street elite would panic and lose their minds.

This was the reason for the rabidly anti-democratic, sovereignty- and democracy-shredding treaties known as NAFTA and the SPP: secure Canada’s resources at bargain-basement prices for US business elites, and secure low-wage manufacturing labour in Mexico, for the benefit of the same US business elites (via NAFTA); and ensure a “deep integration” of the three nations into “Fortress North America”, under strict authoritarian corporate rule (via the SPP), in order to retain US global hegemony as long as possible. (What rock did you say you have been living under?) Canada was to be the resource base, Mexico the cheap labour pool, and the US business elite would bring the capital and reap the bulk of the rewards – with, of course, the Mexican, American and Canadian people being viewed, as usual, as fodder for the great Wall Street money-making machine.

Ask any Canadian whether the US is indifferent to Canadian politics, or whether Washington, Wall Street and Hollywood together exercise far greater influence, and dominance, than is good for Canada and the Canadian people, and probably 9 out of 10 will look at you like you just asked if the sky is blue, or if hockey is played with a puck.

Washington has never been indifferent to Canada. The US elite tried to take over Canada during the War of 1812, during which Canadian, British and First Peoples’ combined forces drove the US military all the way back to the US capital, and then set fire to the US capital building, just to make a point. Ever since then, the US capital building has been called the White House, and ever since then, the US has sought less overt ways of turning Canada into a colony. And it succeeded marvelously, between 1945 and the government of Trudeau Sr. in the 1970s, and it has succeeded to an even greater degree since our last decent Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, left office 40 years ago.

Anyone who does not realize that Canada has played the role of colonial vassal, first to Britain, long after Confederation and the formation of Canada as a nation, and then to the US, has no slightest idea of the realities of this nation.

And now, with the US being an empire in clear and steep decline, and set for economic collapse, the Canadian business and political elite are hedging their bets, by prostrating themselves before the feet of Beijing.

And the cycle of colonialism continues…. Unless we Canadians change it.

The Canadian people are far more united than your extraordinarily superficial and confused video suggests, and share a common philosophy and vision, in general, of strongly preferring sovereignty, independence, constitutional democracy and freedom, with a strong sense of multi-culturalism and social justice, as well as strong ecological concerns. What Canada is lacking, and has lacked for four decades, is leadership that merits the peoples’ high values.

The greatest challenges facing Canada in the 21st century, then, are as follows:

1. Defeating the global corporate fascist coup, at least in Canada, and restoring and renewing constitutional democracy, freedom and human rights.

2. Choosing a path of true independence and sovereignty, while retaining friendly relations with the US, China, Britain, Europe, and the rest of the world.

3. Tackling the growing environmental emergency facing both Canada and the world, without sacrificing the poor, the middle class, small and medium businesses, farmers, First Nations Peoples, economic vitality, or the values and rights of a free and democratic society.

Considering these grave dangers and great challenges, among others, our regional differences pale by comparison. While we must find new ways to accommodate both the dignity and the dreams of all Canadians, from coast to coast to coast, what unites us is greater than that which divides us; and further, the challenges ahead require us to be united. And one thing that is true of Canadians, perhaps above all others, is that when we are jammed between a rock and a hard place, and the times are the most challenging, we do unite, we do rally, and we do come through – with tenacity, with perseverance, with resiliency, and with great courage.

Your dreary and superficial analysis was way off the mark. Canada has great challenges – and you missed all of the greatest ones. And we have great strengths – and you missed those completely, as well.

To my fellow Canadians I would say, this is a very incomplete picture of the challenges ahead, clearly. But what I wanted to crystalize is a few of the top challenges, and to provide some historical perspective and some analysis on them – and to say to my fellow Canadians, that we have overcome great challenges before – and we will again. The future, as always, truly is in our hands.

J. Todd Ring,
February 12, 2021

Medieval Society – Then and Now

“All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind.” ― Adam Smith

“You’re still fucking peasants as far as I can see.” – John Lennon

Great short video, linked below, but the view of medieval peasant life is too one-sided – as is typical. Oh the smugness of modern society.

Medieval peasants had little freedom, and were bonded to the landowner class. But it cannot be overstated how profoundly impoverished modern society and culture have become, by comparison. The norm of modern society has become a deep alienation from others, from nature, and from ourselves. That, in short, leaves us as TS Eliot described: The Hollow Men. Bells and baubles, trinkets and gadgets, virtual death by glut of entertainment, and a mountain of consumer goods, can never remotely compensate for this profound, soul-vacating loss, and the resulting, crippling alienation from all that is truly real, and most valuable.

Freedom was the one thing we had going for us in the modern world, and now, we are rapidly losing that. We have both progressed from the medieval age, and regressed – and it would be smug and flippant foolishness to proclaim with any assurance that the gains have been greater than the losses.

I would say the losses have been greater. And now that we are entering a neo-feudal era, ruled by the super-rich, and a Brave New World, we are not only poorer, in important ways, than medieval peasants, but we are entering a dark age, and a gulag society. Re-read Huxley, Orwell, and Thoreau. We need to re-think everything now, and carefully.

We pride ourselves in the modern world on being clever, sophisticated, and civilized, but the reality is quite different. The modern world is based in extreme and growing inequality, servitude, domination and elite rule, pillage and plunder, and was founded on genocide, slavery, conquest, war, mass murder, looting and mass theft, and above all, on empire and class warfare. What do we have to pride ourselves on? The preeminent trait of the modern world is hubris; and as the ancient Greeks knew, hubris always leads to downfall – and that is precisely where we are heading, and with all speed.

There is, of course, much to pride ourselves on, and many positive traits in the modern world; but it is also a fact, and a far more important one to realize, that we urgently need both a renewed confidence, and a renewed humility and open-mindedness, and willingness to question our most sacred and dogmatic beliefs. Without this, we have no chance of altering our present course, which is a dark age of Orwellian dystopia, which we have already now entered, followed by extinction and collapse. Fortunately, an awakening, a new renaissance, has already begun. And it is certainly none too soon.

J. Todd Ring,
January 14, 2021

Medieval Towns – Timelines.tv
https://youtu.be/rXx6DzdJWxk via @YouTube

The Herd of Independent Minds | Noam Chomsky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYlI6vHFD0o

Surviving the 21st Century by Professor Noam Chomsky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJtfWZGxnGI

Noam Chomsky – Propaganda and Control of the Public Mind
https://open.spotify.com/embed/artist/5NEnjDZdPKESN9J7NoPmdz

Michael Parenti – The Haves Want To Have It All
https://open.spotify.com/track/7FDQz2llfo648aNbKzkdG2?si=-wuP2AVSQFaiKnVeMZPeMw

Michael Parenti – Distorted Personalities
https://open.spotify.com/track/72TwUxVWjtkTXVxcOCMQxP?si=pfGUBrrLTVaXywq7KNevGw

We created Al Qaeda / ISIS …| Hillary Clinton Confession
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJI_AlmwEJw

Whitney Webb, Twitter: Forbes article on Bill Gates’ Take-Over of US Farmland
https://t.co/wejBNefIBF?amp=1

Techno-Tyranny: How the US National Security State Is Using Coronavirus To Fulfill An Orwellian Vision, by Whitney Webb
https://citizentruth.org/techno-tyranny-how-the-us-national-security-state-is-using-coronavirus-to-fulfill-an-orwellian-vision/

Further Reading:

Noam Chomsky – Year 501: The Conquest Continues, Necessary Illusions, and, Class Warfare

Ronald Wright – Stolen Continents, and, A Short History of Progress

Rianne Eisler – The Chalice and The Blade

Murray Bookchin – The Ecology of Freedom

Erich Fromm – Escape From Freedom, and, The Pathology of Normalcy

Aldous Huxley – Brave New World, and, Brave New World Revisited

John Perkins – Confessions of an Economic Hitman

Naomi Klein – The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Wolf – The End of America

Henry David Thoreau – Walden, and, On Civil Disobedience

and my own first two published books:

Enlightened Democracy, and, The People vs The Elite

*

Run to the Hills

Iron Maiden

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains we gave him hell
But many came, too much for Cree
Oh, will we ever be set free?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom the stab in the back
Women and children are cowards, attack

Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Run to the hills
Run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing’s a game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Run to the hills
Run for your lives

Yeah
Ah, ah, ah, ah

Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Run to the hills
Run for your lives
Run to the hills
Run for your lives

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Stephen Percy Harris

Iron Maiden – Run To The Hills – YouTube

Savage

Judas Priest

Who gives you the right to come here and tell me
I have to leave this place my home
To you it’s a jungle, to me it’s a kingdom
Where my people are free there to roam
Born with the stars we are happy and peaceful
‘Til now we were left undisturbed
But you rupture the forests our gardens
And fill them with filth from your cities unheard

Savage, who is savage?
Leave your morals, stake your claim
Savage, you are savage
Modern man can take the blame

You poisoned my tribe with civilized progress
Baptizing our blood with disease
You christened our bodies with sadness and suffering
Saying then that your god is well-pleased
What have we done to deserve such injustice
Explain to us please if you can
But you can’t, no you can’t, we can see it in your eyes
Of us both who’s the primitive man

Savage, who is savage?
Leave your morals, stake your claim
Savage, you are savage
Modern man can take the blame

You poisoned my tribe with civilized progress
Baptizing our blood with disease
You christened our bodies with sadness and suffering
Saying then that your god is well-pleased
What have we done to deserve such injustice
Explain to us please if you can
But you can’t, no you can’t, we can see it in your eyes
Of us both who’s the primitive man

Savage, savage
Savage, savage
(Who’s the savage?) Modern man
(Who’s the savage?) Modern man

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Robert Halford / Glenn Raymond Tipton

Judas Priest Savage – YouTube

Babylon System

Bob Marley and the Wailers

We refuse to be
What you wanted us to be
We are what we are
That’s the way it’s going to be, if you don’t know
You can’t educate I
For no equal opportunity (talkin’ ’bout my freedom)
Talkin’ ’bout my freedom
People freedom and liberty!

Yeah, we’ve been trodded on the winepress much too long
Rebel, rebel!
Yes, we’ve been trodded on the winepress much too long
Rebel, rebel!

Babylon system is the vampire, yea! (vampire)
Suckin’ the children day by day, yeah!
Me say de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire,
Suckin’ the blood of the sufferers, yeah!

Building church and university, wooh, yeah!
Deceiving the people continually, yeah!
Me say them graduatin’ thieves and murderers
Look out now they suckin’ the blood of the sufferers (sufferers)
Yea! (sufferers)

Tell the children the truth
Tell the children the truth
Tell the children the truth right now!
Come on and tell the children the truth
Tell the children the truth
Tell the children the truth
Tell the children the truth
Come on and tell the children the truth

‘Cause we’ve been trodded on ya winepress much too long
Rebel, rebel!
And we’ve been takin’ for granted much too long
Rebel, rebel!Got to rebel, y’all (rebel)
We’ve been trodded on the winepress much too long, yeah! (rebel)
Yeah! (rebel) Yeah! Yeah!

From the very day we left the shores (trodded on the winepress)
Of our Father’s land (rebel)
We’ve been trampled on (rebel)
Oh now! (takin’ for granted) Lord, Lord

Source: LyricFind Songwriters: Bob Marley

Babylon System (1979) – Bob Marley & The Wailers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMcilBWgo3w

Call It Democracy

Bruce Cockburn

Padded with power here they come
International loan sharks backed by the guns
Of market hungry military profiteers
Whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
With the blood of the poor

Who rob life of its quality
Who render rage a necessity
By turning countries into labour camps
Modern slavers in drag as champions of freedom

Sinister cynical instrument
Who makes the gun into a sacrament —
The only response to the deification
Of tyranny by so-called “developed” nations’
Idolatry of ideology

North south east west
Kill the best and buy the rest
It’s just spend a buck to make a buck
You don’t really give a flying fuck
About the people in misery

IMF dirty MF
Takes away everything it can get
Always making certain that there’s one thing left
Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

See the paid-off local bottom feeders
Passing themselves off as leaders
Kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
Open for business like a cheap bordello

And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy

See the loaded eyes of the children too
Trying to make the best of it the way kids do
One day you’re going to rise from your habitual feast
To find yourself staring down the throat of the beast
They call the revolution

IMF dirty MF
Takes away everything it can get
Always making certain that there’s one thing left
Keep them on the hook with insupportable debt

And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy
And they call it democracy

Source: Musixmatch Songwriters: Bruce Cockburn

Are We Serious About Human Health? The Rhetoric and Gestures Say Yes, But The Evidence Says No

The government pretends to care deeply and profoundly about human health, using police state measures in a time of crisis, justified by their supposed great concern for health. Yet, the federal government has repeatedly slashed health care funding for the past 40 years.

The blatant and extreme hypocrisy and deceit should be obvious to all. Canada is one of the seven richest countries on Earth. There is no excuse for letting people live in poverty, letting children and the elderly live in poverty, or refusing to fully fund health care.

Further, while chronically refusing to fully fund health care, the federal government gives away billions of dollars in subsidies and tax breaks to Big Oil companies, most of them foreign-owned – and this, in the midst of a growing environmental and climate emergency.

There is no other word for this than sheer corruption, or crony capitalism. If we are at all serious about human health, then we must demand that Canada, and the Canadian federal government in particular, fully fund health care.

We must demand that a free and just society requires, first of all, freedom and constitutional rights for all, with freedom to choose which health care treatments we will accept or refuse; and secondly, we must demand that health care, education, pensions and public services take priority over corporate profits, especially with regard to the planet-destroying oil and gas industry.

If we cannot do these two things, then we cannot pretend to be a free and democratic society, or a just society, or to have any serious concern about human health at all. If we cannot do these two things, then we are a morally bankrupt nation, with a deeply corrupt government, and are headed rapidly toward a dark age of tyranny, at that.

Speak up now. Write a brief letter to your Member of Parliament, or copy this one to use, and modify it as you will; and send copies to your MPP, local council and mayor, the media, and to all your friends, family and colleagues.

In the midst of both a health crisis and an environmental crisis, as well as a deep and growing, ominous crisis of democracy, what we need above all is clarity of perspective, combined with boldness of action. Currently we are lacking in both. This must change this now.

It is not just in Canada, of course, where the hypocrisy, corruption and deceit are systemic and extreme. The richest nation in history, the US, refuses to fund public health care, saying it is unaffordable; yet, both Republican and Democratic governments continue to give trillions of dollars to Wall Street, whenever Big Business asks for it. The UK, meanwhile, is currently demolishing its public health care system, while pretending to care deeply about human health.

The pattern is global: create socialism and a welfare state for the super-rich, massively fund big business, give a bottomless feeding trough for the billionaires to feed on public funds, and demand austerity for the 99%.

When do we say, “Enough!”?

J. Todd Ring,
Cobourg, Ontario,
Canada

Author of Enlightened Democracy, and, The People vs The Elite

For further information see: Gary Null, GreenMedInfo, Naomi Wolf, Vandana Shiva, and Canadian constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati

#health #healthFreedom #healthCare #fascism #1%

#covid

Corporate Fascism 101

We do not live in a democracy. We now live in an oligarchy, or plutocracy, or corporatocracy, if you prefer, as ivy league studies and systems analysis have confirmed, in a case of science confirming the obvious. Most people are now aware of that obvious fact, but sadly, most people live in denial of what they know to be true.

We don’t live in a capitalist society, either. Capitalist societies rapidly self-destruct. Capitalist economies require massive state intervention to survive at all. The business elite insists upon it.

What we had, 200 years ago, was liberal capitalist democracy. But that was highly oligarchic from the beginning, highly elite ruled; and it morphed rapidly into elite-run crony capitalism, with a constant tension between the outward forms of democracy, and the very real concentration of real power in the hands of the business elite.

“I pray we shall crush the moneyed aristocracy in its infancy, for already it bids defiance to our laws and seeks a contest of strength with our democratic government.” – Thomas Jefferson, 1812

200 years ago Thomas Jefferson warned that the business elite was trying to take over democracy. We failed to listen. That is why we face globalist corporate fascism now, which is neither capitalist nor democratic, but rather, a form of global, technocratic, neo-feudal totalitarianism.

What do the ruling billionaire elite want? It is nothing new. They want ever more wealth, and more dangerously, ever more power. They want to be pharaohs, Tzars. They want to be God-kings. It is simple power-lust, and it is the most dangerous thing in the world.

A conversation I heard recently, from within the pyramidal power structure of one of the Fortune 500 corporations, expresses the dark truth, or the lesser aspect of it, at least: the aspect of limitless greed – which always hides an equally limitless power lust, just beneath the surface.

“Everyone loves the culture [the corporate culture of a particular company, that is]. But everyone knows that culture doesn’t grow a company. Culture doesn’t increase stock prices.”

That sums up the driving force of corporate crony capitalism. When everyone loves the culture of a corporation, that means workers are treated well; wages and salaries, pensions and benefits are good; the corporation respects human rights and human dignity; treats customers, local communities and the environment well; and it’s a good place to work. And it is entirely possible to run a profitable business based in these ethical principles. That won’t do, however. All these things must be sacrificed, not only for the profits of the billionaire owners, but for *ever increasing* profits and wealth for the 0.001% who own and control the large corporations, along with dominating and effectively controlling most governments, the global economy, the financial system, the money printing, the media, a growing majority of what we call science, and a growing majority of wealth on Earth.

By 2011, the richest 68 individuals controlled more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. The number of billionaires controlling the majority of wealth on Earth has shrunk every year since. We are being devoured, eaten alive.

We, the people, the 99%, are to be peasants, serfs, or slaves, because great power and great wealth are not enough for the billionaires. As George Carlin said, “They want it all.” Or as Adam Smith put it, it is what he called, “The vile maxim of the masters”: “All for us, nothing for anyone else.”

That means, we are being driven into a world empire based in hyper-concentration of power, and hyper-inequality, along with the complete dismemberment and destruction of all that remains of democracy, freedom, and constitutional rights; into neo-feudalism: into a dark, Orwellian global police state, where the .001% will “own” virtually everything – including our bodies, our data, our thoughts, and our world.

The central question is not whether we should have capitalism versus some other system; but whether we will live in a world ruled by a rabidly elitist plutocracy, and with it, global fascism, or whether we will have genuine democracy, constitutional rights, and freedom.

We need to wake the people to the truly grave dangers that we face, and now, or we will descend rapidly into a dark age that would make Huxley and Orwell shudder, and roll in their graves.

Speak now. Stand up now.

It ain’t over ’till it’s over.

The moral arc of the universe is long, but it does indeed bend toward justice.

Stand.

J. Todd Ring,
October 27, 2020

Further reading:

See Canadian constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati (on Twitter & Youtube), and my first two books:

Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium

and

The People vs The Elite: A Manifesto For Democratic Revolution,
Or, Survival In the 21st Century & Beyond

Both are on Barnes & Noble now.

Team Biden: Democrats Represent A Continuation Of Neoliberal Corporate-Fascist Elite Rule

What, in reality, would Team Biden and a Democratic White House represent? Let’s cut through the noise and fog and illusions, and deal with reality here, for a change.

Team Biden would mean, above all, a continuation of the clearly authoritarian, deeply Orwellian drive of both major US political parties, along with the broader world, to embrace the Chinese model of technocratic, totalitarian elite rule. Yes, it is that stark, and that dystopian – and yes, the people and the media pundits are in that much denial.

The Davos billionaire elite, who now effectively rule over Washington and the world, have eagerly embraced the Chinese technocratic, totalitarian model. They have been pushing an agenda for 52 years, since the Pentagon Papers were written in 1968, to roll back democracy, to contain and eliminate the outbreak of democracy, and to advance a slow motion global corporate coup. And they have succeeded, for now.

The great majority of the people have accepted the destruction of constitutional rule, democracy, civil liberties and freedom – out of fear of a virus, which in reality, could never amount to anywhere nearly as great a danger as that presented by the authoritarianism which has been instituted to fight it.

After writing this article, I should note, the announcement broke that the WHO had reversed its stance and declared its opposition to the lockdowns. The evidence from Sweden shows the lockdowns do not work to stop a pandemic, even if you believe the vastly inflated official figures. The lockdowns simply destroy lives, through economic ruin as well as isolation, and instill fear and obedience, in a clear divide and conquer strategy which is being used to deploy and institute what can only be called a new regime of global corporate fascism.

(For honest and intelligent information and commentary on the coronavirus crisis, see Canadian constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati, one of the few reliable or even sane sources on the subject.)

Is there really any other question to ask in the 2020 political theatre of the US presidential reality show? There is one over-riding question at this time, and it is this. Can one ever support fascism? I think the clear answer should be a resounding, No.

Fascism can never be supported – not even when wrapped in a flag, or wrapped in a centre-left Democratic party package, or wrapped up as the lesser evil, or presented as the necessary answer to a great danger or a great emergency.

Under no circumstances can fascism be supported – whether it be liberal, left, centre or right in its outward trappings, packaging and veneer.

But, to go further, let us look at what else Team Biden would bring, along with a continuation of the corporate fascist regime that is being paraded now as the “new normal” which must be embraced.

Team Biden would continue the lockdown/shutdown of the economy, which in reality, is a very conscious act of class warfare and economic warfare waged by the 0.01% on the 99.99%. The continuing economic warfare will destroy millions more lives and cause exponentially mounting suffering and death, despite its pretense of being driven by necessity, as an emergency measure to protect the people.

Remember what Hitler said: the big lie is easier to get away with than the small lie. It worked in the lead up to the Iraq War, and it is working again now.

The virus is real, though even the CDC figures now admit it was 96% exaggerated. But the lockdowns do, in fact, cause vastly more harm than good. And they were never intended to protect public health. They are an act of economic warfare conducted by the Davos international billionaire elite against the 99.99%. More importantly, they represent a very simple power grab, by the same global corporate elite, which should be obvious and self-evident to all.

The authoritarian measures that were implemented during what is better called covid-1984 were never about protecting human health. If the elite cared a trace about public health, they would support and fully fund universal public health care, push Big Pharma out of Washington, Ottawa, London, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and out of the FDA, the CDC and the WHO, ban pesticides, get tough on toxic pollution, and eliminate poverty – all of which would cost a sliver of the current government subsidies and direct funding going to the fossil fuel industry, the military industrial security complex, the new police state, the war machine, and the trillions of dollars in on-going welfare being doled out for the corporations and the super-rich.

Covid-1984 is about class warfare, economic warfare, and a global corporate fascist coup. It has nothing to do with protecting human health – no matter what the bewildered and unquestioning health care workers and bureaucrats may foolishly believe.

But of course, the economic warfare has to be made acceptable to the peasant majority. That is where the “stimulus” money, or hush money, comes in.

Team Biden would bring through more “economic stimulus” – meaning, trillions of dollars of money printing dumped into the economy to massively dope and drug and pacify the people into submission to the new normal of corporate authoritarianism and the new global neofeudal Orwellian fascist regime. The temporary result would be complacence and obedience and submissiveness among the people. The near term result will be economic collapse, which of course will further devastate the 99%, while further enriching and empowering the 1%, to the level of god-kings – which is exactly the game plan.

The immediately following result, after the fast-approaching economic collapse, resulting from the deliberate economic warfare, would be social chaos, social collapse, and civil war. But that works for the elite, too – that justifies a “law and order” campaign, which masks and justifies the unleashing of the hounds of the new fascist architecture – which, of course, is not meant to create peace, or “order”, or safety or security for the 99%, but only security for the 1% and their wealth and power, and more importantly, to crush dissent and destroy all that remains of democracy and constitutional republics world-wide.

What would Team Biden do? What would a Democratic White House do? The same thing a Democratic Congress and White House have done before:

1. support the on-going class war and economic warfare that is being waged by the 0.1% against the vast majority world-wide;

2. support the elite’s war on democracy and constitutional rule, and their bid to secure and consolidate their power by any and every means necessary, including a resort to fascism; and,

3. support the corporate elite in their looting, pillaging, razing and devouring of the poor, the middle class and the Earth, until our civilization (sic) collapses, and we have to rebuild again from scratch, amidst the toxic wasteland, the dust, and the ruin.

That is what the Biden Team, the Wall Street-controlled Democratic party, or the Republican party, would do. Can we honestly say that such sociopathic, life-destroying, anti-democratic, corporate fascist madness is in any way supportable, under any banner, or under any circumstances? I would say the honest answer, the sane answer, must be, No, it cannot.

Revolution now.

MLK showed the way. Now, what are we waiting for?

J. Todd Ring,
October 11, 2020

Censorship, Big Tech & The Closing Down of Society

Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and the MAGATs – Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon and Twitter – are all now embedded and engaged in censorship, data mining, privacy invasion, the new global surveillance and police state, and/or state-corporate propaganda, and manipulation of elections and the public mind (ie: the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica proven manipulation of facebook users and the general public to sway the election in 2016 in favour of Trump, for a fee, paid by one of the billionaire plutocracy). 

In other words, unless you want to live in Orwell’s dystopia of 1984, or Huxley’s Brave New World, you had better start the exodus from, and boycott of, Big Tech now. 

At least make a start. I’ve written about it on my blog, J. Todd Ring on WordPress, in terms of why, how, and what the alternatives are. Keep a foot in the dinosaur media and platforms if you like, but at least open accounts in the new and better alternatives, which refuse censorship, surveillance and Big Brother.

Patreon is now reportedly censoring and purging. Medium appears questionable. 

The global neofeudal corporate fasist oligarchy has taken over nearly everything, including the global economy and financial system, the major international organizations, such as the IMF, WTO, WEF, BIS, ECB, Fed, World Bank and the WHO, nearly all governments, all the major media, much of academia, science and the big environmental groups, and most of the internet. 

As to free speech zones online or off, they are falling and being closed down fast. The Guardian was a decent paper, then they bravely published Snowdon’s important leaks, then was clearly leaned on and lost its soul – as just one of myriad recent examples. The same happened a generation earlier to the Washngton Post and NY Times after the Pentagon Papers.

*

Of course, I long ago, decades ago, moved away from any reliance, and generally any reading or viewing at all, of the utterly unreliable corporate-state media. And yes, the two have merged, as the new ruling empire of global corporatism represents the merger of big business and the state; which, as Mussolini said, is the proper definition for fascism.

80% of the world’s major media is now owned by six corporations. State media such as the BBC and CBC have of course been systematically corrupted by the corporate take-over of governments around the world. Even “public” broadcasters such as PBS and TVO are deeply corrupted by their reliance on big money from corporattions and billionaire-controlled foundations. And the “alternative media” suffers systemically from group think, herd mentality, or simple co-option through foundation money or other means. Democracy is not dying, it is being strangled to death by the power-hungry business elite.

At least have a thoughtful look at better alternatives and generally far more reliable sources for information, research, news and analysis. Shun, or at least, do not rely on the big media giants, Big Tech, Wikipedia, governments, big business, corporate-controlled bodies such as the WHO, or even the “alternative media”. Question everything. Think for yourself.

At this moment, there are a handful of sources I trust as having high reliability, honesty, intelligence, and courage. They are not infallible, but they are light years above the sordid and corrupt major media, which are an echo chamber and propaganda system for the ruling business elite, as John Pilger and Noam Chomsky have said.

And they are incomparably more reliable than the general “alternative media”, which seem to excel on many issues, but get all the biggest issues wrong: such as the War On Terror, 9/11, Obamamania, Russiagate, the Ukraine coup, Syria, the OPCW, the new cold war(s), China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, covid-1984….and the list goes on.

Take a serious and thoughtful look at these sources, then decide for yourself – on every subject! We have innate intelligence. We need to use it far more than our “new normal”, or even our old normal, would allow. Banish group think, read and listen to diverse views, and think for yourself.

Remember, united we stand, divided we fall. Divide and conquer is the most essential and time-tested strategy of all empires throughout the ages, including the latest: the global neofeudal crypto-fascist corporate oligarchy. Unite the people. We have more in common than most people realize. It is the 99% vs the 1%, not left vs right, or black vs white. Read widely, think deeply, then unite the people, and stand. And now. MLK shows the way.

*

Look into these ten sources, then decide things for yourself. And remember, we don’t all have to agree on everything.

Trends Research (Trends Journal)

Global Research (Centre for Research on Globalization)

GreenMedInfo (one of the two remaining reliable sources I know of for science-based health information, along with Gary Null, on PRN)

Max Keiser, The Keiser Report

Michael Hudson

Vandana Shiva

The Council of Canadians

The David Suzuki Foundation

The Corbett Report

The American Herald Tribune

*

I have moved my email to Protonmail, my web searches to Swiss Cows, my browser to Brave, and my main social networking and chat platforms to Minds and Telegram. I urge others to do the same.

Next is to switch hardware to Purism, for phones, servers and laptops. And as a writer, I need to find a platform that is *dedicated* to free speech.

Blogger (my original site) is owned by the evil mega-corp Google, and Google censors, as do all the Big Tech vampires. WordPress, which I currently use, I just discovered, is now censoring bloggers and writers, too. Where to find a blog platform that respects and defends freedom of speech? I am looking.

(The new CSM editing system for WordPress is so extremely intrusive, counter-intuitive, and obnoxiously obstructive, absolutely in the road at every turn, that I was planning a rapid exodus anyway. Any whiff of censorship only confirms my feeling that it is soon time to leave. Maybe the people at WordPress will respond with a better CSM editing system and a public vow to protect free speech. I will not hold my breath, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised. Hint, hint, Quislings and Vichys… Get it together, or be adandoned in the rapidly unfolding exodus from Big Tech and nauseatingly suffocating platforms.)

Fight for freedom, as well as justice, equality, ecological sanity, democracy, peace, and constitutional rule and human rights for all, or we are in for a very dark time ahead, followed by extinction and collapse. Truly, this is our situation now, and it is a global darkness that is swallowing us up.

Stand up and speak out now, or our future will be unimaginably bleak, I can assure you.

Stand!

J. Todd Ring,

October 1, 2020

Essential Reading:

Christopher Simpson and Mark Crispin Miller: Blowback: America’s Secret Recruiting of Nazis

Noam Chomsky: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control In Democratic Societies 

Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Wolf: The End of America

John Perkins: A Game As Old As Empire, and, The New Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

John Pilger: The New Rulers Of The World

Peter Phillips: Giants: The Global Power Elite 

Vandana Shiva: Oneness vs The 1% (Coming soon)

And 

Read my first two books for a clear, concise overview and an in-depth and sweeping global and historical analysis of what we face, how we got here, where we are heading, and what must be done:

Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium (2014)

The People vs The Elite: A Manifesto For Democratic Revolution, Or, Survival In The 21st Century & Beyond (2020)

Both are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble now. 

Or better yet, support your local independent bookstore, and order through them. Phone them now.