As far as poverty goes, capitalism has done a miserable job at eliminating it. In order for Americans,Europeans and Japanese to enjoy the standard of living they do, this 20 percent of the worlds total population has to use up 80 percent of all the worlds resources, while at the same time, denying the other 80 percent of the world access to the top 20 percent of the worlds markets, by that 20 percent denying the rest of the world access to certain sectors of its markets. Marx, in his economic theory, was absolutely correct, on a national and world scale. The net result of capitalism is that it concentrates wealth in the hands of relatively small populations, by redistributing it to the wealthy. Each man, woman and child in the United States, for example, consumes 25 tons of the worlds resources per year:

World’s wealthiest 16 percent uses 80 percent of natural resources

NEW YORK (CNN) — As scientists note the arrival of the six billionth human being on the planet, they also are warning that 16 percent of the world’s population is consuming some 80 percent of its natural resources.

That’s the estimated toll the wealthiest populations on the globe — the United States, Europe and Japan — are taking from the earth’s natural bounty to sustain their way of life.

In the U.S. alone, says Emily Matthews of the World Resources Institute, every man, woman and child is responsible for the consumption of about 25 tons of raw materials each year.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9910/12/population.cosumption/

For capitalism to raise the standard of living in the nations that provide those resources would require using it for their own people, rather than sending it off to the United States, Europe, and Japan. If these areas had to rely on their own resources, their way of live would be completely unsustainable.

The main case in point is Africa. Was perfectly capable of feeding its entire population before the era of colonialism. The current methods by which the United States, Europe, and Japan protect their own agrarian and other food industries (fishing, etc) and denies the import of agricultural crops from Africa, is case in point. Right now, because of protectionist laws, Africa only has access to one percent of the world markets. Even slightly loosening those protectionist laws and allow to raise that portion of market access to 2 percent, would allow that continent to produce enough wealth to not need foreign humanitarian aid.

The most pathetic part is the requirements that the wealthier nations place on the poorer ones at places like the IMF and World Bank. Ten yeas ago, during the Asian economic crisis, these agencies REQUIRED nations like Indonesia to ELIMINATE their food subsidies to the poor, to allow their banks to fail rather than support them…to allow market forces to eliminate banks and businesses that did not operate efficiently. These agencies also required banks in Indonesia to increase interest rates by fifty percent, particularly loans being made to small businesses and farmers. The purpose for these “rules”. To allow global corporations like Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland to control 65 percent of the world grain markets, bankrupt and displace small local farmers and then direct farmers who once grew staple crops to feed themselves to grow other crops for export. Trade rules made by the wealthier and more powerful countries to protect their own agrarian products result in things like people in Kenya buying Dutch butter, rather than butter produced in Kenya. The system is so skewed in favor of the wealthier nations that most poor nations IMPORT the same foods they are being required to export.

Even the United States is not immune. We import as much beef as we export.

On the other hand the United States has farms where grain production is so heavily subsidized that we just dump grain in poor countries below cost, the local farmers cannot compete with this, they are bankrupted, large foreign corporations snap up their land, and locals start starving, as the crops grown on what had once been their own land is not used within the country, but exported. This is basically how Europe gets animal feed it needs to raise its own livestock. The majority of people who are starving in the world live in rural areas where ton enough food to feed them and even export is grown, however using that food to feed the local population would reduce the profits of the new, foreign landlords.

The free market is an illusion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW3L8qon7hg&feature=related

Josef

A senior Shiite cleric in Lebanon said the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has misled Arabs and Muslims into believing that it would change course from the policies of U.S. President George W. Bush, Reuters reported July 12. Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said the administration has begun to “reveal its true face,” and urged Arabs and Muslims to ignore Obama’s words. Fadlallah had said earlier in the year that Obama’s message to Muslims about a new beginning in relations was sincere.

The server is acting weird BIG TIME!