Economic globalization: “Swindlers of the world, unite!”
by Enrico Galoppini
Paraphrasing the famous Marxist motto (which is as far removed from my feeling as any other form of reductionist-economistic thought that claims to explain everything), and taking a closer look at what happens to the so-called “global” economy one could say that the so-called “globalization” is going under the slogan “swindlers of the world, unite!”.
Italian industries, that used to believe themselves to be prosperous and efficient, close in a jiffy, other “relocate” on the sly, and still others are being “absorbed” by foreign capital that then do with them what they like. It seems like to be at roulette, but here the bank that wins are the swindlers of this “capitalism” that does not risk anything and that invents any paralegal subterfuge to make it appear to the mass of the “workers” that the production sector has become increasingly similar to a casino. One almost always walks out from it with empty pockets.
Once there used to be good times, those of the “captains of industry”, who sometimes were in a sense “enlightened” and philanthropists, holding dear the interests as of their workers so of their nation, still standing on the ground that they were not there to make the mere charity.
But today, having the publicly trading big “groups” subject to “market fluctuations”, the anonymous irresponsible “boards” (and the relative figure of a ‘”CEO”), and the possibility to “relocate” and import cheap labor (and thus with low claims) under “humanitarian” pretexts, we ended up in the worst liberal-capitalistic nightmare. And those who were promising barrels and expropriation to “owners” should acknowledge today, if they were minimum self-critical and intellectually honest, that they were wrong all along the line.
There should be a solution to all this chaos, and it is at hand. It is enough just to wish it, as long as even our “world’s most beautiful Constitution” (what a satisfaction!) includes the possibility of participation of the workers (thus of everybody, until the last usher) in the corporate profits.
But the system shared by the alleged and illusory “opposites” holds hard on the privatization of profits and socialization of losses. To put it more clearly: when all is well, only “CEO”, executives and major shareholders fill their pockets, but when it goes “bad” (which may mean even a “growth” but not in the expected order) the problem is dumped on the back of workers (and then on the State, with all the devised “funds”), while for these gentlemen there exists a “lay-off pay”, the ability to move into other companies etc. In short, they – who preach patience and “austerity” – always land on their feet.
Moreover, even the “profits” in this meat grinder that the economic globalizationhas turned to be, they become more and more chimerical for many small and medium-sized enterprises, given the suffocating tax burden on each note that moves in Italy. And if we add to this that such a fight with windmills can only lead the entrepreneurs to distrust and discouragement, the disaster in waiting becomes daily bread for those who, even if animated by some moral scruples, cannot but save their own hide before that of their employees.
The basic problem of all this supposed and still praised economic “order” (actually, the proverbial “law of the jungle” is more appropriate to it) is that not the human being is ever placed in the center, but anything else, so that he becomes a “factor of production”. The main idea, which is shared by both Liberals and Marxists, is that under the renewed robes, they infect and deceive us with their magic tricks for children, which include the moldy scene of “cooperation” between the State, business and unions, while the true master of the theater, high finance, remains outside.
If one would like to solve once and forever this so-called “crisis” – which in the first place is financial – just two measures would suffice, in a sovereign and independent Italy, conscious of its role and vocation of a balancer and hegemony in the Mediterranean: the control of monetary emission and achievement of the productive autonomy in strategic sectors (including food sector, very possible occurrence in Italy), and for the lacking ones (think of certain raw materials, provided that there has not just been experienced any possibility in Italy) would be sufficient to establish a modernized form of “barter” with the nations treading the same road, diametrically opposed to that of any “globalization”, in order to circumvent the old problem of “payments” for the materials for which there exists – even due to laziness and unmentionable profit of those who protest just in words – the hegemony of the dollar.
And this is what is going on while there are “already” airplanes, Internet, etc., always for the basic reason that the different activities must be at the service of the elevation of the human being and satisfaction of his primary and vital needs, and not of some selfish and fraudulent private interest, even if it camouflages behind the vestments of as bombastic as empty slogans.