The United States government is currently attempting to effect “regime change” in Venezuela. To put it bluntly, we’re attempting to overthrow their government and install our own guy. The government, led by President Maduro, is socialist, i.e., on the left side of politics. The right wing “opposition” is led by a 35 year old newcomer named Guaido, who was educated in Washington, DC at George Washington University and wants to pursue the kinds of neoliberal, capitalist-friendly policies that are in favor in the US and EU. The President was duly elected. Opposition leader Guaido has simply declared himself “interim” president. The United States, and all the other globalized economies (Canada, France, England, Germany) have instantly “recognized” this self-appointed leader as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela. No votes were deemed necessary.
Of course, this is nothing new. America overthrows democratically elected governments so often, we citizens take it for granted. We even forget that what we coolly refer to as regime change is often some other country’s violent revolution, or that the violent situations we create can drag on for decades, long after the average American has forgotten we were ever there.
The legacy of America’s tradition of conducting regime change whenever it suits the Powers That Be has had profoundly negative consequences in the regions we’ve targeted. Central America – from which emanate so many of the refugees who pile up at our borders – was the scene of all-out war during the 1980s. Remember Noriega, the drug wars, and Iran-Contra? Earlier on, we took on South America, toppling Allende in Chile and Torres in Bolivia. In every case, these coups replaced elected leftist governments with unelected right wing governments.
The list goes on and on. We destabilize governments that border Russia. We do the same thing to countries in the far east near China. We like to think the Cold War is over, but the United State’s war against the Left – socialism, communism, and any -ism that supports people over capitalism is fair game, provided they’re small enough for the U.S. to “take.” The notion that America is on the side of democracy is such a tired lie, the government no longer bothers to make the claim.
But here’s where the present trouble lies: America can only take down so many democracies at a time without risk of overextending itself. Meanwhile, there has been a surge away from the globalists’ grand, tech-fueled visions.
Around the world, the losers in the globalization game have taken to actually voting. Since the choices given them to improve their lot in life are poor, the best they can do is vote against the things that oppress them — the status quo, the globalists in their perfect suits, and the economic plans that crush the life out of the bottom half of society. In America, the working class voted for Donald Trump, rejecting the status quo represented by Hillary Clinton. In Britain, the working class voted for Brexit and against the EU. In France, the Yellow Vest movement has focused on one simple aim – getting rid of president and neoliberal darling Emmanuel Macron. In this case, the French are the most radical of the lot, applying the tactics of regime change to their own government in a people’s revolt.
As these examples illustrate, the enemy of capitalism is democracy. But having used democracy as a cover for over a century of counter-democratic activity abroad, the neoliberal corporatists are hardly in a position to abolish it in their own countries… Or are they? The people probably won’t win their battle against the rich and powerful, the technogods and their disruptive technologies, the neoliberals who “manage” the world’s economies, and the entrenched power of entrenched wealth that calls the shots for us all. However, they can still make things tough for the Ruling Class simply by voting against their interests. And increasingly, that’s what they’re doing, even in the so-called first world countries, like England and America.
There comes a time in the course of human events….
Populist rhetoric succeeds when people at the bottom feel angry and beleaguered, but it can take two forms – right or left wing. If you push people hard enough, they’ll vote for whichever movement or candidate is speaking to them, regardless of ideology. In America, this turned out to be Donald Trump. More recently the Brazilians voted in a hard right demagogue. Needless to say, the two are mutual fans, but neither Trump nor Bolsonaro are going to make their countries great again. They’re just a symptom of what happens when people get desperate enough.
It would be saner and better if the neoliberal, globalist, technology-peddling capitalists acknowledged that disruptive technologies and selfish economic policies are worthless if half the people are in a state of revolt. What would be better is a more Rooseveltian view that the upper classes can only enjoy their wealth and status if the lower classes are allowed to live decent lives.
