by IGNACIO RAMONET
We need to be aware that neo-liberal globalisation is attacking the
social
order on three fronts. The economic front is the most important since
it affects
all humanity. It is presided over by the International Monetary Fund,
the
World Bank and the World Trade Organisation: they form the real axis
of evil
(1). This loathsome triumvirate creates massive havoc and seeks to
impose an
economic agenda founded on the predominance of the private sector and
the
markets, and on profit. Consider the fraud surrounding Enron, Turkey's
monetary crisis, the collapse of Argentina and environmental devastation.
To add insult to injury, the international conference on financing for
development, which will be held this month in Monterrey, Mexico, will
undoubtedly recommend that the private sector oversees the development
of
nations in the South (2). It is scandalous that our leaders, particularly
those
from the European Union, refuse to take action that might provide for
development and liberate two-thirds of humanity mired in poverty.
What is needed is to write off poor countries' debts completely; to
create a
fair and broad-based system governing debt repayment for nations of
the
South; to obtain guarantees to ensure that the conditions for financing
are
appropriate and that financing will be used for sustainable development;
to
ensure that wealthy nations devote at least 0.7% of their budgets to
financing
for development; to restore balance in North-South trade policies;
to
implement policies to ensure that every country has sovereignty over
its food;
to regulate irrational capital flows; to outlaw banking secrecy; to
abolish tax
havens; and to create an international taxation system governing financial
transactions.
The second front is ideological, and is silent and invisible. There
is a whole
industry that aims to convince humanity that globalisation will bring
universal
happiness. This industry needs the active collaboration of universities
and
research institutions (such as the Heritage Foundation, the American
Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute) and the co-operation of
those
media (such as CNN, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal and
The Economist) that are copied by journalists the world over. Armed
with
information, globalisation's ideological warriors have created a dictatorship
that depends on the passive complicity of those it subjugates (3).
Media manipulation officially began when the Pentagon opened its Office
of
Strategic Influence (OSI) following the 11 September attacks. The OSI's
explicitly Orwellian mandate was to spread misinformation aimed at
brainwashing the international press and "influencing public opinion
and
political leaders in friendly as well as unfriendly countries" (4).
Reminiscent of
the darkest years of the McCarthy era and the cold war, a virtual ministry
of
disinformation and propaganda, operating under the aegis of the US
department, has been charged with disseminating an "official version
of the
truth". Such activities are usually associated with the world's more
grotesque
dictatorships.
The third front is military. The offensive opened after 11 September
and seeks
to provide the globalisation movement with an effective security apparatus.
The US was initially tempted to assign responsibility for this task
to Nato but
subsequently decided to go it alone; it has the means to do so with
spectacular efficiency (see Paul-Marie de La Gorce). The war in
Afghanistan against the Taliban and al-Qaida has convinced Washington
that
it would be futile —given the scale of the undertaking — to ask for
more than
token assistance from key military allies (such as the United Kingdom
and
France) — or even Nato (5).
Demonstrating its contempt, Washington neglected to consult its allies
before
declaring recently that a US attack on Iraq was imminent. High-level
European protests, which have had no impact on the Bush administration,
are
already quietening down. Vassals are supposed to kneel in supplication,
and
the US aspires to exercise absolute political power. "In some ways
it is the
first proto-global state," notes journalist William Pfaff. "The US
is already
potentially the head of a modern version of universal empire — a willing
empire whose members are volunteers" (6).
The American empire wants to make neo-liberal globalisation a reality.
All
those opposed to that should be aware that the US will fight them.
The era of
respect for human rights is over, as is shown by the disgraceful conditions
in
the Guantanamo, Cuba penal colony, where many Europeans (including
French, British and Spanish citizens) have been imprisoned in cages.
The
IMF, World Bank and WTO axis of evil has been hiding its true nature.
Now
it can be seen for what it really is.
(1) In his state of the union address of 29 January 2001, US President
George W Bush
referred to an axis of evil - Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
(2) See "Draft outcome of the International Conference on Financing
for Development",
United Nations General Assembly, 30 January 2002, document A/AC.257/L.13.
(3) See Ignacio Ramonet, Propagandes silencieuses, Galilée, Paris, 2000.
(4) International Herald Tribune, 20 February 2002.
(5) See Ignacio Ramonet, Guerres du XXIe siècle, Galilée, Paris, March 2002.
(6) International Herald Tribune, 7 January 2002.
Translated by Luke Sandford