In his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins pulls back the curtain to reveal how exactly the globalization machinery works. The signing of the TTIP and TPP treaties create the framework for a one world government.
Gone are the days of freedom and democracy as the American oligarchy have created the conditions for the rise of worldwide corporatocracy.
According to some academics, the world is in the third stage of globalization. In a lecture presented at Auburn University, the first stage of globalization was the discovery and subsequent colonization of foreign lands, mostly by Europeans in the 1400s and continuing forward. The second stage occurred somewhere after the invention of the steam engine and the railroads. The third stage began after the marriage of cheap computers and public internet, somewhere in the mid 1990s. With this in mind, as globalization has progressed, a similar trend has been occurring simultaneously in the political/business world.
As people slowly changed from recognizing and fighting for local principalities, to the rise of the nation state and now to the supranational state via the creation of monetary unions like the EU or military blocs, such as NATO, the net effect is that borders have been destroyed and once distinct cultures have merged or are merging.
Everything everywhere is slowing becoming homogenized and standardized. Want to watch the new Avengers movie? It’s coming soon to a movie theater to you! (in a language you speak) Thirsty? Have a Coke! (it’s sold in the same standardized units worldwide) Need some military training or weapons? America can provide the best trainers or weapons money can buy.
In his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins pulls back the curtain to reveal how exactly the globalization machinery works. The people working behind the scenes do so mostly in secret and work for mostly boring names with lots of acronyms.
In an interview with monthlyreview.org, John Perkins said:
“They inhabit a stateless global archipelago of privilege — a collection of private schools, tax havens, and gated residential communities with little or no connection to the outside world. They are people to whom nations are as meaningless as they are to the global corporations and to the international aristocracy they serve.”
Think of the Rockefeller family in America or the Rothschild family in Europe.
In fact, a Washington Times headline cited a Princeton university study in the headline — “America is an oligarchy, not a democracy or republic.” That article went on to note-“The U.S. government now represents the rich and powerful, not the average citizen.” The study concluded-“When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose.”
So, here is where the TTIP and the TTP come in. TTIP, which stands for Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, are regional trade and investment treaties. This doesn’t sound too bad, right? Trade and business are, in theory, enough to bring countries together, thus preventing war. As a quick reminder, here are all of the countries involved so far —
TTIP covers: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.
However, to look at it another way, Wikipedia notes- “The United States and European Union together represent 60% of global GDP, 33% of world trade in goods and 42% of world trade in services. A free trade area between the two would represent potentially the largest regional free-trade agreement in history, covering 46% of world GDP.”
The Washington Post notes- “(Pacific Rim countries) are responsible for 40 percent of the world's GDP and 26 percent of the world's trade. Putting this all together, one can clearly see that by passing these treaties, America becomes the center of the world, so to speak. So, what’s so wrong with that, some might say?
The problem is that the corporations don't represent the people. The interests of corporations and the little guy are often at odds with one another on many different levels. Corporations have gamed the system by using their deep pockets to donate large sums of money to politicians re-election campaigns to the use of lobbyists to sway votes in their favor. As proof of this, a recent story in the New York Times noted-“(the treaties) are a blatant attack on labor, farmers, food safety, public health and even national sovereignty.” But, how can that be? Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, the Senate’s No. 3 Democrat said- “This is really troubling,” It seems to indicate that savvy, deep-pocketed foreign conglomerates could challenge a broad range of laws we pass at every level of government, such as made-in-America laws or anti-tobacco laws.”
The New York Times continued by saying- “the public has no access to its contents, and even members of Congress don’t know much. (On the other hand, “cleared advisers,” mostly corporate lawyers, have full access.” See, that’s how they roll. Doing deals in the dead of the night, behind closed doors.
As further proof of the secrecy surrounding this deal, United States Senator Ron Wyden wrote- “The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives of U.S. corporations—like Halliburton, Chevron, PHRMA, Comcast, and the Motion Picture Association of America—are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement. […] More than two months after receiving the proper security credentials, my staff is still barred from viewing the details of the proposals that USTR is advancing. We hear that the process by which TPP is being negotiated has been a model of transparency. I disagree with that statement.” Pretty amazing, right? Even a US Senator isn’t allowed to read some of the “finer print”.
We do know a little bit though. For instance, On March 26, 2015 WikiLeaks released the TPP's Investment Chapter, which noted- “the accord would grant the power to global corporations to sue governments in tribunals organized by the World Bank or the United Nations to obtain taxpayer compensation for loss of expected future profits due to government actions.” Basically, corporations will be able to force anyone opposing them to do whatever they, in a backroom deal. The New York Times summed this up by writing- “The TPP is little more than enhanced corporation power branded as free trade. It gives corporations the right to challenge government regulations and seek compensation if they think they’ve been treated unfairly by any of the 12 Pacific Rim nations in the deal.”
The New York Times noted- “The agreement would even allow countries to challenge one another’s laws, so that “equivalency” may simply mean that the least powerful regulations become the norm. The United States would have no special standing: If our laws are seen as restraining trade or limiting profits, they could be challenged in special courts, per the TPP’s “investor state” clause. Philip Morris is suing Uruguay over that country’s antismoking laws under just such circumstances.”
As proof of just how bad the deal is for the little guy and how quickly politicians are working to pass it before people catch on to the scam, a bill was recently introduced that would give the US President Barak Obama “fast-track authority” regarding the TPP. If it passes, Congress could vote only up or down on the deal, not amend it. That means that it can’t be changed, only agreed upon or not. Which probably means that corporate lobbyists are working overtime now, in an attempt to line up the votes. If it was such a good deal for the people, why all of the secrecy? Why all of the need to rush it through Congress without an open debate?
To quote George Orwell’s 1984- “There will be no curiosity, no enjoyment of the process of life. All competing pleasures will be destroyed. But always — do not forget this, Winston — always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.” And that, dear listeners, is the future if these treaties are passed. Think of it like this- the entire world will be literally changed forever by the stroke of a pen if Obama signs the trade treaties. Corporations will win, and the little guy will lose, forever. With these treaties, the world is moving towards the final stage of globalization — away from “democracy” to “corporatocracy”.
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