The growth of apprehension

Submitted by Lindsay
Melbourne Australia!

Fear is the Foundation of Most Governments - John Adams, 1776

(10/2018) I don’t now if you saw the story about a fourteen year old girl in Sweden who went on strike from school to protest about the governments failure to adequately provide for her future. Forest fires were destroying many areas, and although Sweden is at the forefront of reducing and controlling greenhouse gas emissions, she says they have not done enough, and her generation’s future is under threat. She sat in the sun reading her textbooks and determined to make her point; when the media got on to it the girl and the point became a two day wonder.

You might say ‘so what?’, but there is an underlying motive for her protest: She is angry, she is afraid. She is one of billions of people who have become afraid over the past twenty years or so and whose ability to plan rationally, to remain eager for tomorrow has declined. Back n the 50’s I remember the fear when nuclear war seemed imminent, the anxiety of my parents, the look of dismay on the faces of politicians, and the impotence with which we viewed the future. It was the first time the whole world had seen the possibility of annihilation, and the legacy of this became an embedded angst in the minds of all who had been old enough to endure it.

Of course it soon became of no consequence when sense prevailed and Armageddon went back to the Bible, but it has formed the background to the older generation’s present concerns. These grew alarmingly with 9/11, but became impossible disbeliefs just ten years ago when the global financial crisis began. Regulations had been relaxed because assurances had been given by the big players that they would self regulate with probity. The government, being part of the financial establishment, agreed. Dividends above all were the rule then, just as they are now.

We, trusting citizens all, were rewarded with the meltdown of the banking system, the market plunging and jobs disappearing like steam in the desert. Screams from the unlucky 80% fell on panicking ears, and the only fix known was quickly introduced.

Money. It was always the answer even when it was the source of the problem, and at this point American inventiveness was at its peak. No one was ready to admit culpability, and no one could allow the big banks to fail – that would be the end of the system – so they had to be bailed out. How to give this a veil of worthiness? Some genius, for that is the only word, came un with ‘Quantitative Easing.’ Hey presto, the presses rolled and streams of monopoly money went into the electronic vaults.

The American dream was alive again. Interest rates went to a whisper above zero, all the neon said BORROW, cheap Chinese goods flooded the market, China brought up American debt, everyone went on holiday as the foundations rusted away. With no means of measuring the actual value of the dough, the gold standard having long gone, it was business as usual. A dollar was still a dollar, wasn’t it?

Except that it wasn’t. Wealth was now being transferred to the richest without the public noticing or being told by the new circular electronic news, cartel was an insufficient word, and the public continued to be outraged as they continued to bear the depredations of the crash, the outcomes of which actually got worse, not better.

The time was ripe for a saviour, and one duly appeared. Not one with loaves and fishes or healing garments, but one sticking his finger up in disdain at the old guard, who’s speech was so non U that people thought they understood it. His approach to government was bizarre, meaning he had to be messianic, able to create. He did – tweets, rants and a slogan.

That did its work, and has kept on giving. The Making America great again mantra has now put China in his gun sights. Tariffs, those wonderfully disguised taxes, have been used to bring the enormous trade imbalance between you and them into better shape. China has retaliated, and now the new proposal from the King to put 10% onto a few billion more things will alter the balance in unknown ways. The immediate effect will be to increase the price of a very large range of goods, then to reduce exports to China as they increase their tariffs in retaliation and in the long run to make America get its goods elsewhere. The long term results are likely to be a climate change on their own, which is definitely not great.

So there are four new forces at work: Climate change, with its increasingly uncontrollable and unpredictable effects on weather, the oceans and sea levels. Wealth, commerce and banking in the hands of a few mega-rich people and the subversion of democracy. The failure of capitalism in America to respond to the needs of a majority of its citizens and to provide for their continued welfare, health and education that is breeding deep resentment against the government coupled with the international fights and flights of fancy. And finally the retreat of America as the sheriff of the world coupled with the growth of the China/Russia alliance that is changing the balance of power. This is perhaps Mr. Trump’s major contribution to world collapse.

Of these the most difficult to deal with, the one with the greatest, long term effect is climate change. Not one place on earth is free from its ravages, and these have grown almost exponentially in the past 50 years. Although the effects of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere have been known for almost two hundred years, their impact was not really noticed until 1934 when the first warnings were given. These became more strident as time went on, until today many countries have begun switching to renewables. Atomics became bad news and coal reemerged, but all the efforts to rein in greenhouse gas production are simply too little too late and the devastating effects of climate change are unstoppable. The Carolinas are proof, if more is needed, though you only have to read the news from around the world.

The concentration of wealth in just a few hands is a special problem for the United States, but the effects are worldwide. Cartels across borders have tied up commerce to the extent that poverty is ubiquitous in many places, and this breeds rebellion and terrorism. Trade relations are in this basket.

The collaboration between China and Russia is realigning the dependence of developing countries so strategic posts are readily available and will be ready for use in any future conflict. It is conceivable that within a few years 50% the world will be in their orbit and power. While Europe is now the bloc most resistant to this, there is growing panic and anger as shown by the swing to the right.

The fear that all this is generating is still subliminal in many places, but is growing. With it is a festering anger that, when combined with the results of climate change, will spill over in unpredictable ways. The future is uncertain and more terrible than in all of mankind’s history.