[Peace-discuss] Debt Crisis in West is Just a 'Prelude to War'

[C. G. ESTABROOK]

Debt Crisis in West is Just a 'Prelude to War'
By K. Selim

August 18, 2011 "World Meets" - Western governments appear powerless to confront 
the current crisis and the looming threat of a depression, with all of the 
serious consequences that implies. The colossal debt of nations and bleak 
prospects for growth are creating a panic situation on financial markets around 
the world. A crash is not a figment of the imagination. The one in 1929 paved 
the way for the rise of fascism and the Second World War.

It is futile to expect a paradigm shift from the established order. Since the 
sub-prime crisis in 2008, there has been much talk of market regulation. The 
noble ideas that accompanied the latest international joint financial agreement 
have been quickly abandoned. The leaders of Western states, starting with the 
president of the United States, have failed to develop a clear and convincing 
way to discuss economic policy options, let alone take strong measures. Markets 
are stronger than states. It is they that are ultimately the masters - and they 
impose their own logic.

With the sub-prime crisis in 2008, the markets forced taxpayers to foot the 
bill. The "banksters"- an-oh-so-eloquent neologism combining banker with 
gangster - reminds us once again of where the real power lies. Today they 
continue to demonstrate this by attacking public debt incurred in part to save 
the day. The big banks were never going to go bankrupt; the states were!

Contrary to what one would like to admit, isn't economics more than just a set 
of mathematical formulas and theories? It is politics. And policy now sits in 
the hands of people that have no real accountability. The state of the political 
elite is such that it seems inconceivable that governments could engage in the 
kind of reorientation of economic policy characterized by the New Deal.

What we should fear is that war may become - as history attests - the last 
recourse of capitalism in crisis. "Common sense" might call for a significant 
reduction in the U.S. military budget as a path toward effective treatment of 
America's gigantic debt. But the cynicism of short-term interests is little 
concerned with common sense. How can an empire in decline impose its views? The 
U.S. not only shows obvious signs of economic collapse, but also of genuine 
regression: the American dream no longer exists. The U.S. establishment, 
Democratic or Republican, is not prepared to cash in its last major comparative 
advantage - military supremacy.

Translated By Mary Kenney - Algeria - Le Quotidien d’Oran - Original Article 
(French)