I have not written a post in a while. My social media website is progressing, but I don’t have enough to report just yet. Meanwhile, the world rages on. History is being made under our noses and most of us look at it as “news.” Those of us fortunate enough to live in a capitalistic democracy tend to think that people who don’t enjoy such a lifestyle are not part of our system.
That would be a mistake. Even if people are governed by an autocratic system, their leaders are forced to play economically in a capitalistic system, because that system is now global. As money flows to a ruling regime, those people who are on the “inside” benefit. The only real difference between their system and ours is that we all believe we have a fair chance of getting on the “inside” of our economic system.
In the Middle East, the people who are not on the inside and don’t have any chance of being there are fed up. The wealth of their countries has tipped so heavily in favor of the insiders that they are no longer willing to suffer in silence. This wave of revolution taking place in the Middle East may not stay there. Libya is in North Africa and there are plenty of countries in the remainder of Africa that could easily react in the same manner.
The United States may be a long way from revolution, but the divide between rich and poor continues to widen and with each economic downturn, more people join the ranks of the poor. Our global economic system does not have enough money. Capital is being horded by the few while public institutions continue to borrow to prop up the rest of the people.
We find ourselves in an unsustainable downward spiral driven by greed. The system will fail. “When and how” are the two great questions. But, the bigger mystery is what will replace it. Maybe some of the transformations taking place in the Middle East will provide some insight. Or, maybe the transformation from an autocracy to a democracy is a step along the path. What does a failed democracy transform into? Stay tuned!
