Made to order war… Oil, Oligarchy, & the Ukraine
Even Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has done more than any lawmaker to force his own party to reckon with current levels of inflation, said higher gas prices would be an “inconvenience” for American consumers — acceptable collateral damage for hurting Russia as much as possible.
“I would gladly pay 10 cents more a gallon,” Manchin said Thursday at a press conference, where he and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced a bill to force the administration to ban Russian oil.
- Democrats And Republicans Are Willing To Risk Higher Inflation To Punish Russia, Huffington Post
By JM Hamilton (3-5-2022)
Cui bono, that is who benefits from our new Cold War? Many television analysts & pundits concluded right up front that globalization and neoliberalism should have brought an end to wars in the twenty-first century; but that analysis fails to take into account the inherent blowback embedded in neoliberalism and globalization… which, among other things, leads to consolidation and monopoly and thereby, crushes jobs and opportunity. Nationalism, far-right extremism inevitably spawns from globalization & neoliberalism, often a direct result of economic deprivation & insecurity. Dictators and world governments faced with restive populations, and thanks to extraordinary wage & wealth inequality, naturally, then turn to war.
War, as an organizing principle within a society, provides an outlet for the conscription of surplus labor; war allows for crackdowns on freedom of speech, the press & protest, the invocation of martial law, and the suspension of due process and habeas corpus (in as much as they exist at all under a dictatorship) … all in the name of protecting the people and the state.
These benefits do not solely accrue to authoritarian regimes, even nominal democracies, such as the United States, stand to gain. Despite what appears to be the beginning of a bear stock market, America’s oligarchs are busy buying up defense industry and oil & gas stocks and making billions speculating in commodities. Oil, along with other commodities, has soared. Not that global GDP (i.e., the nexus of demand & supply) has returned to pre-pandemic levels, but oil which was trading at under $64 a barrel on January 1, 2020, is now, trading at $118 a barrel (for Brent). Some of the nastiest, oil rich dictatorships, including Putin and Russia, are making a killing. What is driving the spike in fuel? Cutbacks in supply and speculation ... that is to say, pure, unadulterated market manipulation. And war - and sanctions against Russia - provides an excuse & opportunity to drive commodities even higher.
It is now readily clear to all but the blind that oil is funding terror and war on this planet, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, if not millions (when we factor in the spillover effects). And yet, even now, oil companies and despots have launched a campaign - and lobbying effort - to push for greater oil production, supply, and greater fossil fuels dependence (despite the unwillingness of these very same entities & individuals to increase supply, before the war, because it would harm soaring profits).
It’s nothing more than gaslighting.
Who benefits? POTUS Biden appears to have benefited… American leaders often receive a war bump. Going into the SOTU, Biden’s approval rating hit a new low, his failure to enact his domestic agenda was a millstone around his neck. Biden looked impotent, ineffective, and weak. However, the latest poll shows an eight-point bump in favorability, post-SOTU. And if the last Cold War is any example, there will be a large number of benefits for America’s failed political duopoly and its oligarchy. Under the illusion of shared sacrifice, and ever soaring military budgets… austerity will come back into vogue, as never before (which will crush & lead to the exploitation of labor). Civil rights dead, student debt forgiveness forgotten, Medicare For All forget about it, and a Green New Deal… sorry, we have to drill for oil. Dissent will be frowned upon as unpatriotic, and the corporately owned MSM will do its part by broadcasting around the clock fear, as the Nuclear Sword of Damocles hangs over humanity’s head.
Tune into CNN for a relentless torrent of fear & loathing. Advertising revenue and ratings will soar.
America’s defense industry, police & surveillance state all stand to gain… and America’s merchants of death will flourish, along with the export of cold & hot wars.
Shared sacrifice? Not for the boys & girls in Congress, who have already loaded up on defense and oil stocks and will continue to protect their gravy train… and reject any Green Energy initiatives. Even though, the fate of the planet hangs in the balance.
Is Putin the bad guy? Authoritarians, dictators, & oligarchs are anathema to all lovers of freedom and enlightenment. Did NATO and the US push Putin up against the wall, corner him, if you will? Absolutely, with NATO’s eastward expansion, right up to Mother Russia’s doorstep. Mission accomplished: the US defense industry got the new Cold War it so desperately wanted… an excellent trade off vis-à-vis the loss of revenue flow from Afghanistan.
See, everyone wins.
Except for citizens around the globe, who will pay a higher tax at the pump, live with greater economic insecurity and hardship, and pay with their lives & shorter life expectancy, in terms of war and mass migrations (as the planet becomes increasingly uninhabitable).
Citizens will, all too often, continue to live hand to mouth – as a result of the failure that is globalization & neoliberalism – and will now cope with relentless austerity, so the oligarchy and ruling elite can grow more & more catastrophically wealthy, off planet cancelling oil and war. Soldiers, on all sides, will of course die on the altar of defense contractor profits and oligarchy.
A new generation will soon discover what it’s like to live in constant fear of a nuclear holocaust. Nation-states will launch yet another assault on freedoms and liberty, in the name of patriotism and greater societal safeguards & security. Get ready for a ton of Orwellian named security bills.
The civil rights of long-suffering gays, minorities, and women? Not today. If the last Cold War is an example, progress in civil, gay, & women’s rights will stop dead in their tracks (along with voting rights), so will progress in progressive reforms desperately needed to ameliorate libertarian industrial policy’ worst aspects & crimes. The White male patriarchy must carry the burden for humanity… the very same oligarchy that brought the planet to its current state of chaos, decline, and ruin in the name of greed.
Made to order war? You decide.
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2022
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