If you look at history, aquiring wealth has been about going to a place acquiring wealth before the locals really understand how to access it themselves or before they realise that they are being ripped off. Imperialism as well as all other business enterprises and scams have worked this way. ‘Take the money and run’ as the song goes or at least make money while you can.
In recent decades the world has become more globalised and the world’s rich are more any more countryless in their money-making practises. Meanwhile, your average joe is still attached to his homeland like an Aztec in Peru or Indian under British rule. The poor and middle-class peoples are tied to their nations while the elite are free to search the world for ooportunity. This may be as it was in the past days of colonialism/Imperialism. Whatever the case the world’s wealth is not in gold anymore so ships aren’t needed to move it. It can move over a wire to any location desired in the world. Those who exploit wealth still hold the values of hundreds of years. They get it and move on looking for more.
The strange case of the present is that rather than having that homebase which benefited from asset acquisition, the motherland, there is none. The elite in an instant can find a new home and easily aquire residency since they will bring massive assets to their new home.
It’s a fact that in the US wages have been declining for more than a decade for most people based on historical figures of wages. At the same time jobs have been shifted abroad to places like China, India and the Philippines It’s all logical based on our economic model. With all this though, the average joe in America has been put in the world labor pool and now his wealth is based on international wage rates. He can only expect more decline based on this. The financial future for the majority of people in America looks bleak to put it bluntly. But those at the top still have the system working for them and the are not tied to any one country.
Now my point. What do you expect from the elite who benefit from America? Will they eventually leave the nation as the quality of life errodes or do you see them as some sort of patriots who for whatever reason will stay in the US? What do they need a nation for if that nation doesn’t require anything from them? We really have little demands on those who do business here or import their goods to our nation. It’s a win for those in business but a failure for the workers and living standards of average Americans. It’s not just America by the way; I just took that perspective because I’m American.
Your thoughts?
Globalization has brought more people out of poverty than at any other time in history. 300 million alone in China. It makes all countries more equal with others because companies are multinational which means they don’t leave any country because they are in all countries which is the opposite of imperialism. Globalization (w/o corruption) makes the world more equal economically which is why Brazil, India, China & Russia are now economic powerhouses.
I think this is an accurate assessment of the situation. Of course the problem is that people have adopted a foolish notion of what wealth is.
In thousands of years of human history man has not adapted to such a degree that he can digest gold.
Lowered standards of living is a highly subjective standard. How many would trade 45 years as a feral cat for their 75 as a house cat?
I realize that most of the world measures wealth in terms of material comfort and the like. If consciousness does survive this mortal coil we take none of that with us..it is possible that we take our experiences with us. I’ll play the odds while determining my values.
Knowledge that permits true self reliance is the only actual wealth in this reality. The richest man in the world who lives in the material paradigm requires an entire system to eat. The self reliant require only themselves. So what is all the wealth in the world worth if the man with the knowledge decides that he will keep his knowledge to watch the wealthy man die off? It is a stretch of course but that awakening is possible.
The Kali Yuga approaches.
I think you make a perfect case for the cutting of our defense budget, why do we spend 45% of our
GDP to protect the interests of people that don’t want to invest in their own country? The same people that out-source jobs complain about taxation, if they like India so much let them live there; safe water, safe streets, and safe food costs money.