He is someone who opposes predatory, environmentally destructive and unethical free trade agreements and values localism; someone who has a fantastic record of opposing all the wars, the extreme inequality, the poverty, brought on by decades of neoliberal imposition that has siphoned power and wealth to a handful of billionaires and corporations. His record is one of sticking up for humanity and the planet, rather than those transnational corporations that profit off all the destruction and exploitation, leaving us with dying ecosystems, billions of people undernourished, exploited and in debt, and decaying/underfunded infrastructure and public services.
This is a man who understands the history of western imperialism, which, following the demise of the British Empire, continued under American leadership, and which has wrought havoc and death in the world for centuries, in pursuit of profit for an elite few. The advent of neoliberalism in the 1970/80s, under Thatcher and Reagan, was a guise for continuing this imperial onslaught - the idea being to force foreign countries to privatize their industries and resources, so that they could effectively be stolen by western corporations.
He is someone who wants us all to live in the real world; not in the mainstream-media matrix, where we continue ignoring what has been done, and is still being done by those who rule over us to advance their interests; where we continue believing that this system is about advancing 'freedom and human rights' - it is not!
The neofascism that is on the rise throughout the western world right now, is the west reaping what it has sown around the world, with all the imperial interventions; installing and supporting fascists from Chile to Saudi Arabia in order to enforce capitalism and continuously enrich those at the top. To have any chance of defeating this emergent far-right back in the heart of the empire, it is essential that we elect a government that understands this reality; that understands what is at the root of the problem - neoliberalism and imperialism.
This is a chance to make the UK a country that stands up for peace, justice, and international law on the world stage - rather than continue being an imperialist puppet state that assists the US in violently dominating and exploiting poor, developing countries, via environmentally catastrophic regime change wars, covert interventions, sanctions, and IMF/debt enslavement; rather than continue being a country that engages in the bombing and displacement of millions of people for oil; that continues to push us towards a potentially world-ending confrontation with Russia and China; and that persecutes the brave journalists, like Julian Assange, who expose some of this.
He is an internationalist - not an imperialist.
Politicians of Corbyn's ilk very rarely come this close to power in the western world, so it is vital that we do all that we can to get him elected as PM, for our sake and for the sake of all the victims of neoliberalism/imperialism around the world. It will require a huge amount of grassroots activism, both to achieve a victory in the election, and to enable the project to succeed once in government. We are up against the immense force of the powers that be, and the mass media that they own, which more than ever, will be denigrating the left, and manipulating people into voting against their interests. We are also up against much of the PLP - most Labour MPs may be socially democratic domestically, but are definitely not opposed to imperialism. Whatever happens in the upcoming election, we will have to continue fighting for a truly leftist, anti-imperialist Labour Party, removing all the Blairites, for the project to succeed.
This is a chance for the UK to really take on this system, and the powerful few who prop it up, and lead the way in the western world in fighting for change; in fighting for a world in which we share resources and riches.
Taking on the elites, Labour would increase taxes as necessary, redistribute power in corporations so that profits are shared fairly, encourage the creation of worker cooperatives, and push for a global movement to crack down on tax havens, so that the corporations and billionaires cannot steal wealth created by their workers and keep it offshore. Allied with a Bernie Sanders presidency in the US, this will be doable.
It’s a chance to use that wealth to eradicate homelessness and poverty; to protect and improve public services and infrastructure, across the entire country - not just city centers; to abolish tuition fees; to give resources (and autonomy) to local areas; to plant millions of trees, invest in green technology and enable more eco-entrepreneurship, etc.
It’s a chance to decarbonise the economy by 2030 and seriously confront for-profit, environmental vandalism.
We have one planet. We are one humankind. It is in all our interests to ensure that everyone can lead dignified, fulfilled lives, so that we can have a harmonious and civilized society. And obviously it is in all our interests, and the interests of future generations, that the planet be protected. This future is not possible under neoliberal capitalism; a system that upends democracy, instead handing power over to largely unaccountable corporations that operate across borders, with little democratic oversight, in search of profit that does not 'trickle down'.
We are living in a unique kind of totalitarianism where the masses are so distracted, by endless consumption, celebrity 'culture', etc; so manipulated by propaganda; so overworked and underpaid; that they don't even notice that our ruling elites are suppressing dissent, even imprisoning journalists, in order to continue this rotten system from which they profit. We need to wake up and resist, before we slide further into fascism.
It is time for us to begin completely abolishing neoliberalism, an ideology that has benefited a few off the backs of the many, and at the expense of nature, our souls, and millions of lost lives, and to instead work together to ensure a peaceful, sustainable, fair and civilised future for us and future generations - we really have no choice but to try. Let’s make the UK great, for the first time in our history! And let's inspire the rest of the neoliberal western world to follow suit!
VOTE LABOUR! It is our best hope.
(this post is a work in progress!)
No comments:
Post a Comment