THE RISE OF BIG CORPORATIONS
By Jill A. Bolstridge
Wednesday, December 15, 2010.
What happens when the slave and the slave owner are no longer individuals, but rather, entire nations?
Since its abolition
throughout most of the Western world in the nineteenth century, slavery
has been regarded as a horrific institution of a dark past, alive now
only in the pages of history books. Yet, while the legal practice of
human trafficking has, for the most part, been outlawed throughout the
majority of the world, in its absence has been born a different form of
slavery, through the means of globalization and imperialism: the
enslavement of nations.
The horrors of illegal invasion and foreign occupation comprise just
one form of this modern-day slavery. The US occupation of Iraq sought
to “free” the Iraqi people from the rule of a brutal dictator; yet this
seemingly altruistic mission came only after the US’s failed attempt to
uncover Weapons of Mass Destruction. Several oil wells and 655,000
civilian deaths later, we find ourselves caught in the middle of an
illegal and unwanted occupation, while the US continues to force a
so-called “democracy” upon an unwillingly governed people. A bogus
series of elections and a dramatized execution completed the package of
this physical and mental enslavement.
Other nations have responded to this successful formula for enslaving a
nation. Ethiopia’s occupation of Somalia emulates the US’s formulaic
agenda. Much like the Iraqis, the Somalis are protesting the military
occupation of their country, but the property’s wants and desires have
never been taken into consideration within the institution of slavery.
And just as the activists of the abolition movement were told to
patiently “wait,” these protestors are told that occupation will end
“soon”: in two weeks, in a month, in a year.
Whether or not Ethiopia’s
reign of tyranny will drone on as long as that of the US occupation of
Iraq remains to be seen. But as long as there is political or economic
gain to be had, the chains of slavery have never been easily broken.
Much like colonial slavery, which was abolished only when it became
obvious that feeding and caring for slaves cost more than they were
worth, it is highly likely that these military occupations will end
only when the enslaving nation ceases to foresee a benefit to its
domination.
While foreign occupation is certainly one of the most blatant and
brutal forms of nation enslavement, it hardly scratches the surface.
The development of under-developed countries has, over the past half
century, come at a great price. Throughout Africa, Latin America, and
the Middle East, Third World countries have taken loans through the
World Bank and the IMF which directly funnel back into Western
corporations to privatize the services of that country. Roads,
schools, public utilities, and the development of technology are fully
owned and controlled by the Western corporate mongers who roll into
these countries, rape their land, and deplete their natural resources
for the financial gain of the corporation.
In order to fund these
so-called “advancements,” the countries are forced to take out huge
loans which they will never be able to pay back, forcing the countries
to give up access to their natural resources (such as oil wells or
access points) to pay the debts back. This vicious cycle truly
embodies the realities of modern-day slavery; and while the citizens of
the enslaving nation reap the benefits of luxurious lifestyles, the
citizens of the enslaved nation are the ones scrambling at the bottom
of the slavery barrel.
Much like nineteenth-century abolition, which was more about political
and economic gain than humanitarian concern, foreign aid today is not
usually altruistic. Countries who receive genuine aid are, more often
than not, countries who serve a grand purpose in the scheme of the
imperialistic agenda. So-called “debt forgiveness” comes at a price.
Not only is the “debt” itself illegitimate (for it rarely, if ever,
benefits the people of the countries for whom it was taken, but rather,
benefits the Western corporations contracted into receiving that “loan”
money), but it comes with a whole lot of conditionality attached.
Often, these conditions include a Third World government agreeing to
allow Western corporations to privatize their public services, such as
water, electricity, or even public schools; therefore, this so-called
“debt forgiveness” is really just a means of the Western corporate
world enslaving these nations even further.
Enslaved, too, are the citizens of the enslaving nations. Whether 9-5
laborer or corporate CEO, they all run on the treadmill of this
grandiose institution. Much like the lighter skinned house slaves on
the plantation, these slaves are treated much better than the toiling
field workers. They receive time off the plantation (paid vacation or
holiday time) and enjoy better treatment from the master (for they are
protected by labor laws). They also receive better medical care
through corporate benefits packages and enjoy the thought of some day
retiring. Yet the better treatment doesn’t alter the condition, for
they, too, are slaves to the cause of globalization and imperialism.
Tied to their jobs, chained to their mortgages, whipped by their
volumes of bills, they are no freer to leave the corporate world than
the cotton-picker in the field. Thus, the institution functions like a
well-oiled machine.
The media also plays a great role in the grand scheme of things, for
the institution of slavery is nothing without its mental component.
With a select few media sources deciding what information gets
broadcast to the public, the mental enslavement of citizens comes
easily. Much like the master’s wife who chose which slaves could learn
to read and write, the mainstream news channels enjoy the liberty of
picking and choosing what information the public receives.
Keeping
slaves ignorant of their condition is one of the key elements in
maintaining a successful operation, for it drastically decreases the
possibilities of revolt. Today, credit lines which provide the keys to
luxury vehicles, big screen TVs, and Sony Playstations replace the few
mindless pleasures that plantation slaves were granted in exchange for
their complacency.
With the United States
as the Master of this global plantation and the World Bank and the IMF
working as its cowardly overseers, the institution of slavery is still
very much alive, in a terrifying macrocosmic form.
Jill A. Bolstridge is a writer and commentator. This piece was originally published at http://www.ricenpeas.com