The End Is Drawing Nearer For Soviet Amerika’s State-Based Corporations
“The great corporations which we have grown to speak of rather loosely as trusts are the creatures of the State and the State not only has the right to control them, but it is in duty bound to control them wherever the need of such control is shown. There is clearly need of supervision—need to possess the power of regulation of these great corporations through the representatives of the public—wherever, as in our own country at the present time, business corporations become so very powerful alike for beneficent work and for work that is not always beneficent. It is idle to say that there is no need for such supervision. There is, and a sufficient warrant for it is to be found in any one of the admitted evils appertaining to them. “ -- President Teddy Roosevelt, August 23, 1902
What better day to put up this post than Friday the 13th? Maybe you’ll share that appreciation by the time you have finished reading this. My last post on gaming theory and the coming decline of empire was very well received. I happen to know our government uses gaming theory to anticipate policy outcomes. I wonder if they have ever applied it to the end of the system as we know it? It piqued someone’s interest because I got a very large number of reads on that post.
Gaming theory is a reasonably wide sub topic in mathematics. There are many theories and more applications than are imaginable. Rather than focus on the particular dynamics let me just state that this post too is derived from one of those theories. In this post, I’ll tie together a few of the major themes we’ve been talking about over the last seven years into a plausible future that will unfold. And, while I have written negatively about impending economic changes across nearly every industry including technology, agriculture, food production, defense, finance, healthcare and more, I’m going to give you a more specific glimpse into what that future world may not look like. From there, you can start to imagine what kind of world may arise in that void. In other words, as I have remarked countless times, the world of just a few years ago is gone forever. We are never going back. and the status quo simply hasn’t yet awoken from their dream and made that realization. So, they are doing anything they can to save a system that cannot be saved. It’s over.
I don’t see a lot of people recognizing the substantial implications of this cycle. They continue to write about recessions or debt or other rear view mirror analyses that really have little relevance to reality. The real question is whether capitalism, economics and money as we have known are are in the final stages of extinction. As we have noted on all three, at some point those institutions will either disappear or be radically transformed. It’s just a matter of whether this cycle is a tipping point for transformation or for extinction. It could very well be the latter. Science and human knowledge have progressed to the point where we can easily build a better post-money world. As noted before, I suspect this moment in history is going to be so profound, it’s implications will be one of the greatest in the history of humanity.
We have noted numerous tipping points over the year that could send global finance and globalization into a death spiral. All of those dynamics remain in play and will come to pass but the question is if they or some other unforeseen events will be the trigger. Remember, we have uniquely discussed for years that these two institutions of control, globalization and global finance, are finished. It’s just a matter of when the status quo finally realizes they cannot be saved, or the status quo is so overwhelmed by failures within the system that they lose complete control, or whether control is wrested from them or some variation. Rather than focus on how the system of control will fail, let’s focus on an outcome of that failure. That is, the effects of witnessing companies or even entire industries fall like dominos over some period of time. Most likely years. Maybe even over a period of the next decade. Too many factors are involved to give an honest answer but this outcome is most definitely possible, if not likely.
I’m going to use Monsanto most specifically as an example in this post. Not exclusively. But I want to use the example of a nonfinancial company because I have noted time and again that this crisis goes well beyond finance. Focusing on industries other than finance helps to illustrate this fact.
All of our strategic posts on here have been ahead of the curve. Ahead of what is often babble by both bulls and bears alike. Both exhibit mob characteristics and that means often there is little original thought and a lot of repackaging of what was read elsewhere. This isn’t a financial crisis as we have noted time and again. But, people in the financial community write about what they understand. So, every boogeyman is debt. This is the same dynamic exhibited within the military-industrial complex that every threat is a terrorist. It’s predictable, boorish and trite all wrapped up with a pretty bow of histrionics. Every issue is perceived as some manifestation that can be controlled by the bureaucracy that frames it. In finance it’s debt. In the national security state it’s a terrorist. In politics, the issues are always framed in such a way that government is the answer.
This crisis has almost nothing to do with debt. Debt is a third or fourth order symptom depending on how this crisis is framed. The status quo want us to think it’s about debt. It enslaves us to their system of control, it enslaves our thinking away from other critical issues and it diverts our attention from the massive, almost unimaginable, political corruption and loss of democracy in our country.
There are far too many useful idiots and economically-illiterate willing to oblige with their focus on debt. Ron Paul being one of the most vocal who can’t seem to get enough talking points in about debt. This is a crisis far more sinister. In some ways it is a crisis of the never-ending corruption that is capitalism as it has always been practiced. Not how it has to be but how it has always defined. A coming home of sorts.
The President penned an article a few years ago stating that we needed to export more to create jobs in our country. To essentially be more like China and Germany. This is a corporatist position that bears absolutely no relevance to reality. We, on the other hand, mocked both countries as disasters in the making. Now that the world is on fire, who are we going to export to Mr. President? Please do tell chief economic swami? As we have noted, this country doesn’t need to export anything to turn our economy around. Well, except politicians. Our President is just another in the endless line of politicians promising solutions to problems they don’t understand. Problems created by politicians from both parties.
I have made it no secret over the years that I expect many of the largest corporations in this country to be headed for some seriously difficult times. I guess that is putting some of our anticipated outcomes rather mildly. Some corporations could even face extinction. Firms we would never imagine failing. If I have penned that this isn’t a financial crisis, why would I expect that only financial firms would fail? I would find that a highly improbable outcome. Instead, in coming years, I suspect we will see many corporations outside of finance will experience tremendous volatility and some ultimately experience failure.
One of our long term theses on here is that this cycle could be coined the end of big or the failure of institutions of the ego. Institutions of the ego are essentially manifestations of the human mind’s desire for control. Statist capitalism, cronyism, economic feudalism, corporatism, corporations that take from society rather than benefit society and empire surely fits into the category of institutions of the ego or institutions of control. None better fit those descriptors than many of the most successful corporations in our society.
Monsanto is in the same category as Goldman Sachs, a firm I have stated for many years that I believe could vanish from our economy in coming years. (Interestingly, Goldman now polls as other extinct firms did in brand reputation lending support for my longstanding position that its extinction may be imminent. Loss of brand confidence is a very serious issue. Very. Possibly even terminal. Isn’t that hilarious? Just a few years ago when we were beating the drum of coming doom the press, economists, MBA professors at Yale & Harvard and our most brilliant (ahem) politicians were fawning all over Goldman Sachs as being a model corporation of the new Amerika. Hopefully, there is a pony in there for many. That is, quit listening to the mob or herd. Their perspectives are manipulated by their own delusions and systemic incompetence at best and actually quite literally stupid at worst.)
Monsanto, Goldman Sachs (Wall Street more generally), Walmart (which was also said was eventually headed for the scrap heap about six years ago) and many other firms in this country are effectively state enterprises. I don’t want to focus too specifically on names but rather on the concept of state enterprise. I say state enterprise in the same way that state enterprises existed in the former Soviet Union. In other words, just as in the Soviet Union, Monsanto and many other American firms in no way could survive without the brute force of the state. Force that involves rigging markets to create artificial and-or unsustainable dynamics that ensure their survival and oftentimes, even monopoly. I think we can quite clearly conclude Monsanto would literally cease to exist without state backing. Monsanto as an organization has no ability to compete in a market driven by transparency, truth, merit, service to society and competition for superior quality. Instead, it perpetuates itself through intimidation, deceit, political control and subversion of competition. All of this subversion of truth is accomplished by brute force of the state. Monsanto is a state enterprise in the exact same way as a Soviet-backed state enterprise existed. There is absolutely no difference. Both examples are creatures of the state and thus rely on the force and control of the state.
I could delve into the details of why this is so across a wide spectrum of issues but let’s just focus on a very simple point. Truth. Genetically-modified foods do not increase yields, do not increase food safety, do not decrease chemical pollution to harvest them and do not improve our health. To the contrary…..
What truth genetically-modified foods do represent is untruth that basic food and life is patentable. And they use the force of the state to enforce this crime against humanity. (It is no different than the Obama healthcare bill that uses the force of the state to enrich private, for-profit insurance companies and medical firms for benefit of those who do not have the interests of democracy or society as their primary intent.) This state force harnessed by Monsanto enslaves farmers and society to use for-profit seed and for-profit toxic chemicals made by for-profit corporations to grow that seed while using state force to legally intimidate farmers into complying. Farmers, as an expression of nature’s laws, freedom and truth have used their own seed since the beginning of agrarian society. Monsanto and countless other corporations offer absolutely no motive of truth or benefit to society. Monsanto, as just one example, would collapse without the harnessed or captured force of the state. Force meant to control society, competition and capitalism’s intent of self-interested profit over truth.
Monsanto and Goldman Sachs are but two firms that serve absolutely no productive purpose to society. Instead their existence is determined by force. Instead, they prey upon society. Millions of people in this country are employed in “private” firms engaged in activities that are either a tax on society, serve no productive purpose or worse, they are actually destructive force in our economy and our society and even prey upon society. These institutions of the ego or firms embracing predatory-deceptive practices are only sustained by force of the state. Not-ironically, many of those working for or running said state-backed firms are quickest to tell everyone else that they must become self-sufficient or tighten their belt or accept austerity or other arrogant remarks in light of their predation and reliance on the state. The ego or the self truly is the great mammon.
Similar dynamics ensured the survival of firms within the Soviet Union’s economy. Firms existed through the brute force of the state. Firms that served little or no purpose other than keeping rats running in the maze. Or, should I say, keeping countless minions employed while serving no greater purpose to society or its citizens. The S&P 500 contains countless numbers of these firm that could be classified as state-backed enterprises or firms, at the very least, who have substantial investment in their businesses that are heavily dependent on the force of the state. In other words, their success, to some degree, oftentimes completely, is determined by the force or control of the state rather than any greater merit or truth or service to society. We can often easily spot these firms. They often have the most sought after jobs because their activities are protected by force and glorified by the state. Think about that last statement. How many industries and firms can you think of that fit such a profile?
Defense contractors, security firms, financial firms, technology firms, agricultural firms, medical firms, chemical firms, food processing firms, healthcare firms and on and on and on. The list is long. Our economy is dying and has been for a long time. It is dying courtesy of the state and the force used to maintain state-backed corporations. Just like the Soviet Union’s economy. All of this is due to the comingling of corporate power with politics. All of this is due to the pro-business policies of Obama, Clinton, Bush, Reagan and both political parties. As we have discussed numerous times, pro-business policies destroyed our economy. Politicians and political parties destroyed our economy and it has been going on for a long time. Pro-markets policies support democracy. Pro-business policies subvert it.
Typically, the larger the corporation, the greater the chance its success in some part is determined by state force. But there are many examples beyond size. Others, as an example, are the countless numbers of smaller security and consulting firms run by former military and political cronies serving Homeland Security, law enforcement and the military-industrial complex.
Many, if not most of state-backed enterprises aren’t directly involved in government contracting or their business may only have a small exposure to government contracting. Look at Goldman Sachs and Monsanto. Most of their business is in private markets. Private markets rigged by state force. As highlighted in the documentaries Food Inc and Fresh, prison labor and undocumented workers are being used as slave labor in our meat processing facilities because the pay and benefits are so low and the work environment so repressive, that these state-backed corporations can’t find people to work under such tyrannical conditions. But, yet the flourish through the force of the state. For now. The company who makes pink slime beef just collapsed. Almost overnight. We have said for years this type of failure was going to happen to our food supply chain. It most certainly was not unpredictable. Even Apple, as an example, is a major beneficiary of state force in rigging markets. The participant list is deep and wide. And, so too will be its victims.
Remember too that both political parties are registered corporations. And, what could better define the brute force of the state than the entire political apparatus of the Democratic and Republican Parties. They exist under the same state force as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. So too does the political party campaign process and the literal army of political consultants, advisors, lobbyists and lawyers who gain legitimacy through the comingling of state force and the party corporations. Another highly exposed area of future volatility and possibly even collapse.
Many of these state-backed corporations would never exist were our economy to embrace democratic determinism and truth in lieu of state force and secrecy. Yet these state-backed corporations flourish quite substantially because of chronic unemployment and underemployment in our economy. Chronic employment issues are also a product of state force. Market participants would need to invest in their workers, raise working conditions, raise benefits and increase workplace satisfaction levels in order to attract qualified labor were state force not a determining factor of success in our economy. But, the corporate state has obliterated economic freedom as well as truth. So, many workers cling to whatever jobs they may have realizing that opportunity for a better working environment is nearly impossible to come by. Nearly impossible because of the force of the state. In other words, as a timeless quote tells us, all that needs to happen for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. Citizens often do nothing but exist out of fear. They exist within the corporate structure out of fear because they must participate in the system to survive. Fear created by the Godlessness of the state.
Laughably, Monsanto’s stock price has doubled in the last eighteen months. Monsanto’s stock price has doubled even though research and scientific concerns about their genetically-modified seeds and the chemicals used to treat them seem to be presenting themselves at an ever-faster pace. The stock market too represents nothing other than state force that has rigged the investment game. In other words, the stock market also would not survive in its current form without state control; Wall Street and Monsanto share that commonality. Wall Street, in its current form, too would have already collapsed generations ago without the force of the state. It should be of no surprise that I have been writing for half a dozen years that Wall Street could be peaking forever. And eventually be replaced by a distributed and-or public capital market system. Wall Street literally serves zero purpose to our society. Zero. Wall Street serves itself and the Federal Reserve as it is currently structured, helps Wall Street serve itself. By the way, it is quite plausible that the stock market as we know it could easily disappear. Forever.
The list of scientific research pointing to possible concern over genetically-modified foods and their farming methods are coming at a frenetic pace. One of the many disconcerting concerns is based on the research done by a Russian scientist, Alexei Surov, that points to potential population collapse or severe genetic damage to offspring of mammals who ingest genetically-modified foods. Now, we must seek to understand and learn from Alexei’s research rather than draw broad conclusions using limited data. Yet. But this isn’t too difficult to appreciate once one understands that genetically-modified foods are designed not to reproduce. That is how their owners can force farmers to buy genetically-modified seed every year. While it is too early to draw such broad conclusions, it seems this gene trait of GMO reproductive sterility may be transferred to mammals who ingest them. (Even if we aren’t eating GMO food, we are most certainly eating meat from animals fed a GMO diet. No research I am aware of has been undertaken to test for this trait or any other concerns moving laterally between different mammal populations.)
The seal on Pandora’s Box has been broken. The only question is if the box has now been opened and, if so, can we get it closed again. This dynamic is a direct consequence of political idiots in the Soviet Amerikan bureaucracy subverting scientific truth by using state force on behalf of corporations desiring to rig the game for greed, profit and control in their favor. Even today, through Wikileaks we see that State Department officials are abusing their privilege of public service by using force to coerce the market on behalf of state-backed corporations engaged in genetically-modified foods. Is this public service? To the contrary, this is simply one example of state force being used to create critical mass for state companies such as Monsanto. Companies who could not compete without the force of the state.
State force has simply created an unsustainable distortion of nature’s laws. That distortion will not last. It’s simply a matter of when nature decides to respond through some dynamic that exposes its truth. Our economy should embrace nature’s laws rather than have an intent to distort or subvert them. In doing so, we would see vibrancy restored to our economy and our democracy. One of those is embracing the concept of economic inefficiency I remarked of half a dozen years ago.
While ancient texts state that man cannot serve two masters of money and God, the more fundamental meaning of that statement is that man cannot simultaneously serve control and truth; the only two intentions the conscious human mind is capable of. Serving money is driven by the ego or the self’s desires. The desires of greed, lust, envy, power, hate, pride, separateness, etc. More fundamentally, these desires are simply manifestations of the human ego’s need to control. Control is an illusion created by the self. It isn’t real. It only exists within the mind. Beyond the endless illusions, delusions and rationalizations of the mind only truth is real. When the illusion of control vanishes, truth will always reveal itself, even violently so as nature has often done.
Nature’s laws cannot be “rigged” by man forever. Monsanto’s control over nature and society is nothing more than a temporary illusion. That illusion is guaranteed to fail because it is completely inconsistent with the laws of nature. It’s simply a matter of when and how. Just as the corporate state is guaranteed to fail for the same reason.
Man must learn to live in harmony with nature not seek to distort its laws. That includes the natural laws associated with human rights. If nature causes failure through its revelation of truth, the outcome is often catastrophic on some level. If humanity is capable of stopping the dynamic of control before we get to to nature’s decisive action, the outcomes might possibly be contained or mitigated. So, it is with the corporate state, their genetically-modified foods and tampering with forces they clearly do not understand, and therefore, surely cannot control.
Truth can come quickly and seemingly without notice. The status quo, always invested in the illusion of control, is never prepared for that truth. But truth is coming. It is a constant in the world in which we live. Change is imminent. Embracing failure is part of nature’s laws. The system of state-based control we call global finance, globalization and pro-business political policy, as constructed, cannot be saved. That is change you can believe in.
Jeffrey Smith discusses the Russian research in a Youtube interview. (Smith is arguably “the” U.S. authority on GMOs)
The cycle of volatility continues.
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