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We Are All (or Should Be) Greeks Now

#1

We Are All (or Should Be) Greeks Now

Murray Dobbin

The temple of neoliberalism and its ideology of social suicide in the interests of the banks has been breached. The hysteria in European capitals (particularly Germany) after the resounding 'No' vote by the people of Greece is entirely appropriate. For decades now developed country governments and their enforcers, the IMF and the World Bank have managed to bamboozle people in country after country, convincing them that up is down and black is white -- that austerity and recession are nirvana --pie in the sky by-and-by.

Until now.

#2

Great analysis, Mr. Dobbin! Write On!

“The Greek people understood perfectly how political their decision was – symbolized by the contrasting photos of the men in suits in Brussels and an elderly woman pensioner crying on the steps of a Greek bank. These European technocrats are really friendly fascists, trading jackboots for iPhones and econometric modelling for guns – casting the most important aspect of the democratic governance of nation states (how the economy distributes wealth and security) as beyond the influence of the people and positing corporatism, the state’s alliance with transnational corporations, in its place.”

I would add that entire stables of commentators then take what elites decide upon and repackage it as what WE, the public by turns: wanted, agreed upon, voted for, or somehow support.

Ultimate control is when the controllers tell you WHAT you want, and THAT what they put into place reflects it. Then, after the fact they argue that this is what Democracy looks like!

It’s Father-Knows-Best, paternalistic-Disaster Capitalism! A new hybrid that’s bent on killing all things of inherent worth or wealth.

#3

In 2013 it was reported that 44% of the Greek population lived below the poverty line. (CIA Factbook) I wonder what is the threshold at which the ghouls of the EU will be satisfied?

#4

The US took a much wiser course in implementing the austerity agenda, doing it slowly, over a period of decades, from the bottom up. At the same time, govt. has focused on the re-education of the population, popularizing middle class elitism.Today, Americans so strongly believe in the corporate state that they think everyone is able to work, there are jobs for all, therefore no need for poverty relief.

Clearly, Americans are not Greeks. US liberals embraced much of the neoliberal economic agenda. To understand the broader consequences, look at our modern history. From FDR to Reagan, the US had implemented policies and programs that took the country to its height of wealth and productivity.With Reagan, we decided to begin reversing course, doing just the opposite. We reversed the policies, ended the programs. When Reagan was first elected, launching the long campaign against our poor, the overall quality of life in the US was rated at #1. By the time Obama was elected, the US had already plunged to #43, and we can no longer adequately compete in the modern world market. The US has been sinking for years, and this generation responds by ignoring the consequences (our poverty crisis).

#5

We don’t even know how many Americans are in deep poverty today. Once you’re pushed out of the economy, you aren’t counted until you become a prison or morgue statistic. Most low wage workers are a single job loss from losing everything, with no way back up. You can’t get a job once you no longer have a home address, phone, bus fare – you’re just out.

#6

What is going on right now is analogous to stewards straightening the deck chairs on the sinking Titanic.

  • For some strange reason, I’d just as soon not go down with the ship.
    ;-})
#7

You reveal what may be the most horrifying reality of a society. When a population blanks out of their minds what those worst off than themselves are going through. It’s a sign of apathy and resignation, instead of limitless indignation at the vile forces that created such evil, of how people, flesh and blood like ourselves, can even surive as they’re endlessly attacked, endlessly choked off from the necessities of existence. That same evil that demands conformity for any individual’s chances at ‘success’. We see it in the Greek press…and the ‘free press’ everywhere. We see it in the political realm, anywhere functioning democracy doesn’t exist. Which is virtually everywhere. The 11th commandment, ‘Sell your soul or die’. Waiting until “…and then they came for us…” is a position that deserves little empathy.

We know what must be done, even if the specifics are too complex to know in advance. But that’s how reality has always been. As we see in Greece and everywhere. It’s not an exercise in convenience. But it will be more uplifting than anything we as a species could ever do… for those of us who don’t make evil our religion.

#8

The essay by Murray Dobbin does a good job of teasing apart the dominance of the rhetorical presentations. I would add another dimension. If one considers the manner in which the polarization of debate and allowable terms are presented there is an undiscussed area: The financial/militarized perspective of active take-over posits the acceptable as anything fundamentally societal (the roots of life) needing to be completely STATIC, non-moving, essentially dead.

The profit motive in this configuration posits all of life as having one purpose: ‘production’ of profit to the exclusion of consideration of all dynamics that reveal the historical scale of previous exclusions necessary to satisfy a THEORY. It is no coincidence that this desperation to maintain a strangle hold on what it pushes as the only acceptable ACTIVE elements builds on hiding methodologies of power acquired from earlier iterations from secrets based on earlier secrets of hideous abuses - literally for centuries.
Any actual functionality exists DESPITE this forced application of the quite literally insanely dissociative theory. But all of these dynamics have been ‘externalized’ from the metrics used to both describe and enforce it. Correlate to this is the increasing systemic massive and blind dependency on raw force and as Dobbin notes, “For decades now developed country governments and their enforcers, the IMF and the World Bank have managed to bamboozle people in country after country, convincing them that up is down and black is white – that austerity and recession are nirvana --pie in the sky by-and-by.”

Notable is the mushrooming of the advertising budgets to sell the commodification under its military (the ultimate static commodity intended to beget the greatest stasis possible) to young people as their way not of being, but as ‘having’ an experience of ‘participation’. See the world as a fully suppressed killing-trained thing in a greater killing trained thing that makes sure that dynamics of life are kept STATIC and degraded so that anything dynamic and living is allowed only for those that dictate the application of the theory so clearly being proven dead in the water. The more you look at it, the more it appears to be a case study in parasitism.

#9

This is B.S. from a Frank Luntz style think tank.

In lieu of the OBVIOUS fact that Big Money, i.e. the 1% has orchestrated policies detrimental to the Middle Class and ALL working souls, you turn it around into a problem generated by supposed Middle Class ATTITUDES.

Also, It is not that Americans believe in the corporate state.

Have you ever read the poll numbers and further statistical evidence to the FACT that majorities oppose the tax breaks and other machinations destined to push wealth to the top of the fiduciary “food” chain?

These numbers are published on C.D. on a regular basis. Bernie Sanders quotes them, Paul Buccheit lists them, as do others.

You want the TRUTH to disappear in order for you and the rest of the Tag Team to push memes that CONSTANTLY blame voters, U. S. consumers, the “sheeple,” the TV viewing public, the great amorphous WE, and/or the Middle Class… in other words anything BUT those orchestrating these egregious policies.

Eat Ca-Ca!

#10

HONEST readers: Do note the fallacious use of the WE-frame here.

This type of messaging blots out the distinction between the “ownership” class and those on the receiving end of policies it uses its financial muscle, political clout, and empowered influence to shove through the halls of congress thanks to the quid pro quo nature of the lobbying (legalized bribery) system.

By this logic, Dhfabian–better name would be FIB-bian would tell us that the public wants TPP and TIPP and Fast Track, or that the public asked for “Citizens United,” or that the public wanted the banks bailed out with “underwater” homeowners left to “tough it out.”

This is class-A Bull-shit, P.R packaged disinformation talking points. Utterly dishonest and disgusting.

#11

And here, as always, is ready back-up to reinforce the UTTERLY false Talking Points of DHFabian.

This is what I mean by The Tag Team.

What is meant to pass under the radar and come off as “just another opinion” is all choreographed to hammer in the messages that take blame away from actual perpetrators.

This is no different than the MSM narratives that typically look for flaws in the Black kids shot down by rabid macho racist police officers within a still rabidly racist system.

Here, instead of acknowledging the ways that the 1% run the show… very deliberate attempts are made to blame voters, the Middle Class, or any variation on either theme.

These are planned talking points as honest as the Green-washing campaigns financed by Big Oil, Big Coal, Big Nuclear, and Big Frack in order to deceive some of the public into thinking these products and how they are extracted are GOOD for Americans and/or the environment.

It’s pre-packaged lies… told often! And some entities (likely with the money trail tracing back to the Koch Brothers’ and whatever think tanks they fund for this purpose) are financing it… 100%!

#12

i just went to eyewitness’ comment page, and read all their comments.

i’m sure they will be amused, if not incensed, by your knee-jerk profiling.

#13

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

#14

As you know, I take you for a card-carrying member of the Stay-on-Message team. I also recognize that you’ve posted under many screen names.

It’s not surprising that you’d try to knock my credibility since that’s all you CAN do. You can’t defeat my arguments, and on occasion, co-opt them. For if we truly were stating the same messages, what would explain your 3+ years of attacks? And if you supported an OPEN forum, you would certainly notice what I do: that groups of posters (albeit, far less than proved the case under the Disqus system) reinforce the SAME talking points day after day. That tactic–funded by more than one Interested Party–is about manufacturing consent. It is not about OPEN engagement. And in a society where every mainstream media venue is already captured with content tightly controlled (one example, expertly delineated by Robert Parry is seen in how the Ukraine conflict is framed by ALL official U.S. media channels), I find it a necessity to work to offset similar trends on this site. Had I the time, I’d do likewise on other Progressive/Left leaning sites.

It’s a major commitment on my part to care enough about open discourse and making Truth–as opposed to limited Official Narratives–widely available… that compels me to call out the disinformation that is a virtual constant on this site’s message threads.

I never noticed “eye witness” comment page, but it could well be a site set up to discredit the people who are straying too far from Official Narratives.

Just yesterday I checked out a site which uses the phrase: “Stuff they don’t want you to know…” no doubt designed for those who wish to look beyond official storylines, this site quickly made clear to my thinking that it’s just another fraud. It’s pretending that there’s nothing wrong with Aspertame was but one proof that this site is set up to tell Conspiracy Theorists of all stripes that there’s nothing valid apart from Official Stories.

As friggin if…

I think YOU are part of that “club.”

Possible former screen names you utilized: Bsmarter, Ekobe, Sirios and others.

Recently I called out that “Nicholas” sounded just like the former “Erroll.” He admitted it’s him.
I called out the same thing with others.

There are lots of excuses for the name changes. Most of them, bogus.

#15

This is the perfect essence of your “analysis.” Thanks for laying it out so clearly. :smile:

Because i occasionally pop your little bubbles, therefore i am evil, and you publicly write numerous smears about my identity, and character. No actual evidence is needed. You “know.”

Unable to refute any point i make about what you do here, you resort to fantastical invention about me.

“What would explain your three-plus years of attacks?”

Says the person who has posted BY FAR the largest number of attacks. Just like any bully, when called on your shit, you immediately accuse others of doing what you do.

It’s interesting Susan. Maybe you could go through all your 20,000-plus posts, under all three commenting systems, and point out instances where you have sincerely taken criticism?

Everyone who ever offers you any criticism is evil, aren’t they?

Thanks for taking the time.

#16

Just a note to replace a wrong attribution. Please read my post below…

#17

Regarding the mud-slinging match in above posts. Ho-hum ho-hum. To conduct ad-hominem attacks, or not to conduct ad-hominem attacks? The regrettable fact is that it usually seems to lower the tone in a negative way, and always seems to end up off-topic. So everybody loses. Why not have a clear line drawn under it from the beginning. Stick to the argument, challenge the statement, but do not attack the person. Only trying to be helpful here. What you wrote in your first response, siouxrose, is right on the money, providing it is not given, or received/taken, as a personal attack. Just sayin’.

#18

Every single step of this disaster was caused by American Wall Street gangsters (ratings agencies) plus Goldman sachs dirty Greek dealing re the euro.

All European countries were attacked by the American ratings agencies, not just Greece. Iceland collapsed, Ireland nearly collapsed, Spain and Portugal weren’t far behind… Even the UK 's credit worthiness was attacked. French banks were said to be on the edge of a cliff in 2011.

#19

Siouxrose11,
Let me add some clarity here. My response to DHFabian was very local, directed only to the comments that preceded my reply. And specifically to DHFabian’s statements pertaining to how limited a choice poor persons have. I have no idea if DHFabian , or anyone else, was lying through his/her teeth, as I don’t know if you are, but the comments were poignant. Perhaps you have an impressive archive of information on those responding in the CD commentary section. But my scorecard isn’t that long. And since I know very little about the litany of persons who use the CD commentary section, there will be no irresponsible generalized charges or intimations by myself towards them.

The two comments from DHFabian that preceded my comment was hardly an example of an ongoing COINTELPROL. A little reality check if you will. I don’t comb through the CD commentary room on a houly basis, nor my email for that matter, as the days that passed since your ‘reactions’ demonstrate. Are there ‘tag team’ activities going on in the commentary section? I think most everyone has noticed conditions that could easily fall into that category. They also could notice the irony that as you defend citizens’ behavior as not being uncaring or thouhtless but as a realization that powerful propaganda can and does work, you in turn exhibit through your demonstrative behavior just how correct you are.

However you take this let me state that if only for the sake of accuracy your reactions can only add to the amorphous fog created by the dark side. And you should know that.