Corporatism...it's baaaaak

In the first decades of the 20th Century the "ism's" of the world were in full flower: Fascism, Socialism, Communism...all were seemingly viable solutions for all of the "problems" of mankind.

Those "problems" were the same then as they are today: lack of order...lack of authority...too many people going in their own directions while unfettered by the wisdom of those who considered themselves "elite". Such lack of "order" created unpredictability, consumerism, individual ownership of assets and finances...oh the horror of it all.

Thank goodness the new "ism's" promised "final solutions" to the rampant growth in personal wealth and the expansion of western culture and capital enterprise. At one point the parties representing these "ism's" actually won elections in the nations of Europe, and in the process made certain future elections might never be allowed to interfere in the promised permanent establishment of order and peace.

Thank goodness they were so successful...if the National Socialists of Italy (the Fascistas) and the National Socialist Workers party of Germany (the N.A.Z.I) had not come to power there could have been dire consequences...such as a world-wide war.

Having dodged that bullet, and with the convenient lack of memory that comes with the passing of time, the people of Europe, and now of the United States, are again fiddling with assorted "ism's" sugar-coated in various guises.

One of these, and one of the least recognized, is a spin of socialism first perfected by the Fascista Party in Italy, then copied in the US and in Germany. Often referred to as "Corporatism" it is a oft-muddied and seldom mentioned concept. Which is a shame, because Corporatism is alive and well and now becoming an obsession with the new US administration.

Most of us familiar with US history can remember military incursions ordered by presidents of the past into places like Nicaragua, early in the century on behalf of the United Fruit company.

We also remember President Eisenshower's dire warning about the "Military-Industrial Complex" and his follow-up statements on Corporatism and Congress. We may also recall President Reagan's warnings about the "unholy alliances between congressional and corporate interests".

Oddly, but not surprisingly to those who understand the conservative viewpoint, the politicians who so loudly championed social programs and "progressive" government were not the ones who warned us of the evils of Corporatism...rather they were, and still are, the cultivators of that system.

The simple explanation as to why that is true is that Corporatism is all about power...about taking power away from the populace and giving it to government. Benito Mussolini managed to create a powerful totalitarian state only because he made trade-offs with a handful of corporations, which wanted to grow and needed the aid of government to do so. Adolph Hitler created alliances with the most powerful industrial leaders of Germany, giving them ownership and control of competitors, vendors, and sub-contractors in exchange for their support. Together they built a massive industrial war machine like none ever before seen.

In the US, beginning around 1913, wage and price controls, regulatory requirements, and subsidies began to gush out of Washington D.C. on behalf of corporate giants like US Steel. The public was subjected to an anti-business propaganda tirade which made is easier for Congress to control commerce in the name of "consumer protection". To escape this assault, companies had to donate generously to re-election campaigns and to fall into line when instructed. All done "for the people" of course.

The culture of Corporatism only deepened as wage and price controls and over-regulation drew the country into the great depression, deepened that depression, and on through the second world war.

It was not until millions of young Americans, who had been raised on the wonders of government and Corporatism, came home from that war that things began to change. They had witnessed, first hand, what those same policies had wrought in Europe and in Asia. They knew the horrors created by centrally-controlled systems run by demagogues and power-hungry politicos, and they knew they had been lied to.

That generation rejected the status quo and a new conservative movement was born in the United States. This movement rejected the concepts of strong government and Corporatism and hailed the individual, the small business, and the constitutional freedoms our system could, and should always, guarantee.

For six decades Corporatism was on the back shelf. Now it is back...bigtime. Our younger citizens don't even know what we speak of...though they are getting to see a new era of Corporatism being born before their eyes. Again they are being inundated with anti-business propaganda. Hatred of business people and free markets is being grown and nurtured in order to create a diversion from the excesses of a failing, but power-hungry, Congress.

Witness the reaction of the Corporate owned media outlets when some of us citizens had the gall to question the new tax policies this last April 15th. We, who "own" the government...who employ politicians...and who have the responsibility to oversee and correct these employees...were soundly chastised, insulted, and vigorously assaulted as we tried to do just that. And who were the assailants? Not surprisingly...they were massive corporations and the sheepish talking heads they call reporters.

Today, insteading of breaking up the Ma Belle's, this same Congress is bailing out failing corporate giants, with our money and despite our protest of their actions, in order to take control of those entities in the board room. In exchange, those corporations are again promising to fund re-election campaigns and to "fall in line" on issues. The Free Market is being taken out of the equation...as is our prerogative to support, or abandon, companies that should be providing products and services instead of pro-government propaganda.

Is it any wonder that the corporate "news" media outlets are so terrified of letting the people speak out. If the people have their way, these giants will collapse and those "reporters" will have to flip burgers for a living.

A classic example: General Electric, despite it's rapid decline in the marketplace, became the parent company of the "news" network MSNBC even though that company was also hemoragging funds. The sole purpose was to make MSNBC a propaganda wing of the company in support of any politician who would promise to support "Cap and Trade" or other "environmental" taxes which would be funnelled directly to GE through their "green" divisions. Those same divisions have accounted for most of GE's losses.

In exchange, GE and MSNBC are loud and generous supporters of anyone willing to hand over our money to keep them from bankruptcy. They are, of course, acting in their own self-interest...something we can accept until they do so by use of bribery, coercion, and in concert with corrupt government officials and politicians...and do so by stealing the money from the people in the guise of environment protection.

Of course the GE example is just skimming the surface of the new Corporatist movement. This thing will take off like a rocket if enough taxes can be brought to bear against you and I. If Corporatism is successful, it will not be only government agencies sucking money and production out of the economy while returning nothing of value, but corporations and business entities will be joining in. No longer will they survive by trading production and value for revenue...they will survive by taking in vast quantities of tax money while giving little or nothing in return. It won't matter if we stop shopping them, or using their services...as they are only required to "be green"...so their products and services will become lower in quality and eventually disappear.

When that happens, it will snowball, and even small firms may be sucked down the drain of failure. Only time...and the Congress...will tell...and only we can stop it, and can only do so if we understand how it is happening and why we let it get this far.