Belated Note: The G20 and the Protest Rabble.....

I think ultimately the summit will be more important than the protests, that this is obvious does not mean it should not be said. Despite the police brutality, this was not the face-off between capitalism and its nemesis:

The G20 summit was established to address the world we live in

Paradoxically that’s what the protesters were there to do as well

The G20 is made up of a group of disparate countries bound by one goal, not to let the global financial system go to shit. The protestors are a loose group of people not bound by one common goal, letting the global capitalist system go to shit. Spirited though they are, the protests are rooted in addressing the status quo and that, apart from the general apathy (in the world) is why the cries of revolution ring hollow. At least the leaders of the G20 currently stand for something. The protestors do not – disagreement does not a vision make. We know that free-market capitalism is not perfect – we also know that full-throttle socialism is not perfect. Somebody needs to articulate a vision that goes beyond both of these 20th century ideologies; something fantastical, that sits right outside the human imagination as it currently is – and which encompasses the visions, or more precisely, the aspirations of groups as diverse as the climate change campaigners, the trade unions and the fair trade movement. More importantly, it should be a vision that the people who are so vested in the status quo can either resist or support. Not the current wouldn’t it be nice? That characterises most people’s attitude to causes such as climate change and free trade. And I include myself in this category; floating through life, my outlook is underpinned by vaguely capitalist and socialist ideas, yet, nevertheless, I haven’t really been fired up by any of the visions of society that they offer. One idea that I recently encountered is the concept of a resource-based society, proposed by a prolific designer and engineer, Jacques Fresco. He argues that the resources upon which the world depends can be shared freely.

It’s not an impossible thought, if you are aware, for example, that technically speaking there is no scarcity of diamonds in the world, and that they are artificially made rare by global diamond corporations such as De Beers to artificially inflate the price of diamonds. The biggest problem in the vision of the resource based society is the problem of human motivation and drive, that instinct that makes human beings quest for achievement, at least so the argument goes. But really? The original quest for humanity was survival, and once that is fulfilled we seek to express ourselves in other ways. Have you noticed how you set to creating or destroying something once you have spent a long period of time being bored? Human beings will ultimately set themselves to creating something – the question is will they do it for nothing? It might be impossible for us to give up our attachment to the idea of money and impoverishment and with that the global capitalist system on which we now depend. After all, the fear of poverty is the great engine of capitalism, but surely someone can articulate a vision of the world – a welttheorie - that can incorporate an economic system based on maintaining the earth, and creating prosperous societies?

Coup by Portfolio

What country does Robert Mugabe think he is living in? The latest twist in this saga of 'my country, my country' is that the old leopard is up to his old tricks, which is to be expected, but what I hope will not happen is that the MDC show the same restraint they have shown in the process so far. Mugabe is probably banking on them hanging on and grudgingly accepting the situation, at which point he and the ZANU-PF machine will swallow them whole. If this happens Mutambara would probably be the one to fold first. On the other hand, if they raise the barn and jump out of the deal - they might have lost what was/is essentially a 'see who blinks first' contest. I personally feel the MDC should just walk out of that agreement, and start talking to the incoming South African president to switch off the electricity in Zimbabwe. Maybe a few days in the dark, will make Mugabe see things clearly; though the old goat has been quite clever, the west is distracted by the credit crunch and South Africa is having Post-Presidential Syndrome - perfect time to launch your own coup by portfolio. Despite it all, I'm reminded of a quote about two old men and a comb...except in this scenario, it's a tired old man fighting a man with an afro, and afrosheen to boot for a comb! Honestly, Mugabe should just do us all a favour and drop dead.

Slavery is Back....

Slavery is back, this time though it’s the Chinese who are cracking the whip against black backs, at least, that’s the story if (Peter Hitchens) is to be believed; reporting from Zambia in the unlikely abolitionist newspaper, The Daily Mail, he exposes the modern day slave trade in which millions of Africans are being sold as chattel to the highest bidding China PLC by unscrupulous African governments and leaders. It’s not rice or cotton that’s king but minerals, iron ore, copper and zinc that are being ripped out of the earth to feed China’s rapacious appetite for wealth and industrialization, he writes. I hope my entre gives a little of the hyperbole masquerading as journalism in Hitchen’s piece.

It’s not the very verifiable fact of China’s expansion and consumption in Africa that’s contentious in this piece, but the insidious but nevertheless, predictable Daily Mail take on the story. Confronted with a story of Africans negotiating the torturous process of opening up to the world economy, they choose to portray a simple story of passive Africans lying down and taking it. It’s a bit much to take from a paper that laments within its pages the demise of colonialism, and many of whose readers and writers no doubt mutter beneath their breath that the place was much better run when they were around. Scratch the surface of the Daily Mail’s new, benevolent concern for Africa’s fate at the hands of the Chinese and what you will find is this: A palpable fear (and jealousy) that the ‘yellow peril’ is back with a vengeance eating up the yummy goodies that should rightfully be consumed by the west and the predictable patronizing attitude that this poor continent is doomed.

In his piece, Hitchens interviewed Zambian opposition leader, Michael Sata, who is vigorously querying the Chinese presence in his country and questioning its benefits. Despite the obviousness of a story here – Hitchens could have led with a story of how some Africans are working for the welfare of their citizens, and covered more in depth the challenges they faced, he followed the spurious but sensational line that a new slave trade is afoot. It’s powerful stuff – but hey we all have something to cry about – give me something to shout about.

Yes – but the story makes people in the west aware, right? Well, no. All it engenders is the feeling of hopelessness that this/that continent cannot be saved – and here comes another group of rapists to attach in Liffey’s words ‘this poor helpless continent’. It’s a feelgood movie for the folks back home; (there but for the sake of god…).

I’d like to hear about how the efforts of people like Michael Satu can be taken forward; for one, it seems obvious to me, that the next steps should be to unionize the workers and make them aware that China has a lot more to lose than gain if the mines close.