Coming of the Violent Global Revolutions
Politics / Social Issues Dec 30, 2011 - 12:00 PM GMTDr. Raju M. Mathew writes: The seeds of the present Islamic Terrorism, Global Economic Crisis, the Arab Springs and the Occupy Movement had been sown in Information Technology Revolutions, Petro-Dollars, Globalization, Consumerism and Corporate Culture of Greed. They had been programmed within IT, Globalization and Trade-in Services, though nobody was aware of it, even their greatest proponents. All states or religions or their development strategies have been built up within the mindset of the quarreling primitive tribal chiefs or warriors for the last several centuries.
But crossing the barriers of cultures, ideologies and development or backwardness, Islam or Secularism, the New Revolution has been forming in the hearts of millions of Empowered Youth and Women all over the world; we are in the midst of a Violent Global Revolution for the failure of Capitalism, Democracy, Communism and Islam to ensure Food, Dignity and Knowledge for All. Everybody is thinking and working in a very sectarian way disregarding ‘The Others’ who are made ‘Enemies’ or ‘Not the Chosen Ones’, as Food, Dignity and Knowledge’ are only for ‘the Chosen Few”.
IT- A Double Edged Sword
Information Technology was basically a military technology that was put into civilian application by the Multi National Corporations to process and transfer a large volume of data across countries, that too without the control of the governments. IT Revolution was started with Trans-border Data Flow brought out by the Multi-National Corporations for greater control of resources and optimization of profits. It was accompanied by the growth of Semi-conductor Industry so as to make hardware cheap and accessible to common man along with the development of user-friendly software so as to make IT as a technology for mass empowerment.
Globalization Boomerangs
The proponents of Globalization, Consumerism and Multi National Corporations, never imagined that Globalization would challenge the very foundation of the western democracies and industrial economies . Consumerism, accompanied by of aggressive marketing encouraged people to spend without bothering the actual earning, which in effect has wiped out saving, investment, innovation and risk taking entrepreneurships, the very foundation of Capitalism.
Globalizationhas paved the way for dumping of cheap industrial and consumer products from China and outsourcing most of the clerical or routine works so as to affect employment and industrial growth of the west. MNCs or Corporatism transformed capital and technology into moving clouds, facilitating transfer of huge amount of capital from one country to another for making more profit without bothering the very survival of national economies. The net result is that above 90% of the working population in the west felt that they have been side tracked for the sake of just 2% of the rich and affluent who control the Governments and Political Parties. Democracy has been hijacked by Corporatism.
Petro-Dollar and Islamic Consolidation
The automobile revolution had taken place necessitating unlimited demand for petroleum products and petro-chemical industries that gave rise to the era of Petro-Dollar in 1980s. The accumulation of Petro-dollar in the oil rich Muslim Countries lead to a consolidation of Islam as a globally unifying force that enhanced their bargaining power with the rest of the world. Thanks to the digital revolution, especially television channels, the Muslim world was made aware of the standard of living and affluence of the western world so that they could compare their conditions with that of the western world that made the Muslims youth and women angry and jealous.
Fundamentalism and Terrorism
The new awakening of Islam paved the way for Islamic Fundamentalism so as to motivate and inspire the young to take revenge upon the west for their sufferings and backwardness. Israel-Palestine enmity and wars had been interpreted as the war between Islam and the rest of the world. This had served the purposes of diverting the attention of Muslim youth towards the west, instead of turning against their own rulers or religion and also the long standing enmity and unresolved bloody fights between Sunni and Shiits Sects of Islam, especially between Iran and the rest of the Arab world.
The inability of the large number of Muslim migrants in the west to become part and parcel of the western society made them enemies of the western society and supporters of Islamic Fundamentalism. The angry and violent fundamentalists could effectively side track or silence majority of the pious and peace-loving Muslims in various countries. Islamic Fundamentalism had turned into Terrorism with suicide bombers. Saddam Husain of Iraq, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and the Taliban of Afghanistan had been projected as the heroes or patrons or vanguards of Islamic Terrorism. Its culmination was the 9/11 attack in the USA.
Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan
With the collapse of the USSR, the western rulers, strategists and military forces met with the psychological problem of living without fighting an enemy and total inaction. That had affected the very survival and growth of the Defense Industry which could be flourished only in tension, crisis or war or terror. There was an unholy alliance between the western defense industry and the Islamic Terrorists organization on the one hand and between the Defense Industry and Political Parties in the west. The 9/11 attack in the USA and Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was a golden opportunity for the Defense Industry and the western military forces to make their governments to act, that too with the support of several Arab regimes. The total collapse of Iraq of Saddam Hussein and Libya of Muammar Gaddafi and the on-going fights with Taliban in Afghanistan are the outcomes of such a situation.
Global Economic Crisis
The war with Iraq and the on-going fights with Taliban in Afghanistan had put most of the western governments in debt trap. Consumerism and aggressive marketing strategies made most of the house holds too in debt trap. The Banking and Fiancé Sectors were in the hands of greedy and corrupt corporate men who violated the simple principles of Banking or Economics. In stead of expensive and quality western products, common people had opted for the cheap and low quality Chinese products, challenging the very survival of western industries that contributed wide level unemployment. A financial melt down was thrust upon the western economies, that had grown to the level of a Great Depression, affecting the entire world. China became the major beneficiary of Globalization so as to have the largest reserve of foreign exchange. However, Brazil, Russia, India and China could withstand the crisis to a greater extent till the end of 2011.
Never the less , China has started to taste the bitterness of relaying too much on unsustainable export and foreign direct investment for growth and paying the price for it’s over ambition of becoming a global economic and military power. The migrant workers of the Chinese Towns, the unemployed youth and inflation –ridden masses in China are on a war path, in spite of the huge military deployment in all troubled spots. China can no longer afford cheap labor and dumping the world market with cheap Chinese products. India is not far away from the crisis for the rampant corruption and lack of direction and misguided policies of the Government for the last few years. For the political crisis, Russia is loosing its economic grip to resist the crisis. Brazil has emerged as the most crisis-resistant country in the age of the global economic crisis, even pulling back GCC countries.
The Arab Spring
The spread of education and IT literacy coupled with the popularity of digital media and internet among the Arab youth and women have forced them to realize that the sustainability of their poverty and backwardness is the result of their own socio-economic-political system rather than the west or the outside forces, unlike what had been trained them to think or believe. They have realized that no religion has any solution for the economic sufferings and the denial of dignity, justice and freedom of the common people other than supporting the rulers and the rich and the affluent for the over emphasis on ‘life after death’.
The thinking youth and women in the Arab world want to interfere in social and political affairs, though the rulers have been making use of religion to keep them away and make them silent. The people who realized that their life has been getting miserable and there is no solution for their sufferings, have joined together and marched to the street to protest against the rulers and systems as an outbreak of the suppressed anger and revenge so as to challenge the authority and change the rulers. The revolution, known as the Arab Spring has spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Yemen and reached in Syria and even to the rest of the world, including the west. It has challenged the unquestionable authority of religion and the inseparable relation between the state and religion as a unified force to keep the entire Islamic world obedient or intact to fight against the rest of the world.
The Occupying Protesters
The celebrations of the Arab Spring in the western media have dramatic effects in the mind sets of the western youth and women, especially the unemployed and those who are pushed back from the economic ladder, and inspired them to move and protest in the streets against corporatism and its puppet governments, as government policies are made not in the Senate or Parliament but at the corporate head offices. That is the basis of spreading ‘the Occupy Wall Street Movement’ through out the west. It is in fact a crisis of faith of the western youth and women in Capitalism, Democracy , Governments, Universities, IMF, World Bank, UN and etc to solve their urgent problem of employment and minimum income and due voice in the Governments.
Alternative Policies and Strategies
With the fall of the USSR and adopting of Market Socialism by China, it is proved that Socialism or Communism was no way different from Capitalism in adding the misery and suffering of the common people. Global Economic Crisis, growing to the level of a Great Depression, has shattered the faith of the common people of the west in Capitalism and Growth Strategies. The Arab Spring exposed the failure of the Islamic Socio-Economic-Political System, including Islamic Finance to ensure minimum living conditions, employment, justice and dignity to the Arab Youth and Women. The Occupy Movement shattered the myth of the ever lasting strength of Capitalism and Democracy as a self rectifying system to guarantee employment and minimum standard of living and the voice in the government.
IT Revolution, Globalization, Economic Crisis, Arab Spring and Occupy Movement help the humanity to realize that its problems are one and same; no religion or ideology can solve their problems and what is required is a unified global effort to ensure Food, Water, Dignity and Knowledge for All, in stead of thinking in a sectarian way ; no nation or corporation can flourish when the rest of the world is in hunger, thirst, ignorance and subjugation or oppression that breed violent revolutions spreading across the entire world capable of burning out the rest.
Food, Water, Dignity and Knowledge for All
The very basis of the Ideology and Religion of Human Existence in a healthy and peaceful environment is ensuring ‘Food, Water, Dignity and Knowledge for All’ that alone guarantee Peace and Unity of the Humanity. As long as Hunger or Thirst, Ignorance, Oppression and Denial of Dignity exist, nobody can live in peace or harmony but in War and Terror or Violent Revolutions. We are in the midst of a Violent Revolutions extending the entire humanity brought out by those who have been denied Food, Water, Dignity and Knowledge. The rich, affluent and influential 2%, disregarding their religion, ideology or nationality will be first target. Time is too short for debates and commission reports. No religion or state can ensure safety for anybody.
Everybody must be ensured Food, Water, Dignity and Knowledge and global or national strategies must be formulated, giving thrust to Food, Agriculture and Farming Technologies and Knowledge Accessibility and Application that alone ensures income and employment over 80% of mankind and food, knowledge and dignity for the entire humanity and thereby building a Sustainable Global Social Order. Less than 10% of the mankind can be employed in Industrial and Service Sectors that too based on Agriculture and Knowledge.
By Dr. Raju M. Mathew
© 2011 Copyright Dr. Raju M. Mathew - All Rights Reserved
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