The actions of the United States in Iraq once again show that democracy and capitalism do not make a pretty couple. The problems that are inherent between the principles of democratic governing and capitalist economics are rarely more clearly expressed than during periods such as this. When the control of natural resources, in this case oil, demands military aggression, the mask that usually conceals the shortcomings of this union of politics and economics is removed and the pleasantries are tossed aside.
The U.S. President, his Cabinet, the U.S. House and Senate, and the military leadership rode into Iraq with the flag of democracy unfurled. The flaunting of such terms as “weapons of mass destruction” and “democracy” has greased the skids for transferring billions of domestic dollars from education, social welfare, and civil infrastructure programs to support the effort to “create democracy” in Iraq. To add insult to injury, many of those who have benefited most from the tax cuts over the past three years are also benefiting handsomely from construction and mercenary contracts paid for with these billions of “dollars for democracy.”
If the United States were merely attempting to breathe life into democracy in Iraq, our military would have been replaced by international peacekeeping forces long ago. Instead, it appears that plans have always included the construction of a dozen or more permanent U.S. military bases within the borders of this damaged, oil rich country. This permanent military buildup is intended to insure that Iraqi oil will flow through the hands of U.S. companies after the dust settles. The dust seems to be clearing far sooner than our leaders had planned. People the world over, and especially the Iraqis living the reality of foreign military occupation, are becoming painfully aware that this quest for control of natural resources outweighs the right of a people to determine its own destiny or to decide how and when to use the resources that they find beneath their soil.
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The Church at the Crossroads
Where does this leave us? No matter how one looks at it, the actions of the U.S. military and the consequences of our relentless grab for natural resources have our names written all over them. These policies and tactics all say Made in the U.S.A.
What can be done?! A critical look at the partnership of U.S. democracy and capitalist economics will offer some possibilities. First, do we have diverse representation within the elected chambers of our government? Far from it. Democrats and Republicans do not represent the broad spectrum of U.S. citizens that, if truly represented, could possibly temper the crassness of our capitalist economic system. A government of the primary beneficiaries of capitalist economics will certainly govern in the interests of their own extended families and friends. Putting these people in charge of election reform is laughable. It is truly time for considerable change in the way our democracy works.
Secondly, does the nature of capitalism lend itself to democratic governance? Will the Bush family along with all of their comrades within the Senate, the House, and the Cabinet and within the board rooms of the major global enterprises allow the Iraqi people to democratically control their vast oil reserves? Doubtful. Is this any more likely than the prospect of the U.S. electorate deciding how to divvy up the oil reserves under its own soil? Ownership and utilization of natural resources is the key to any economic system. It is truly time for considerable change in the way we assign ownership to natural resources.
We, as a national public and as a global society, need to think and talk about the relationship between economics and governance and take action. As a step toward a sustainable future, we must remove the U.S. military from Iraq, now, and replace it with health, safety and welfare task forces of monumental dimensions. Unfortunately the forces of greed, which are the muscle of our capitalist economy, will not be easily turned aside from their drive to control the oil wealth of Iraq.
--Contact Dale S. Scott at letters@democracywhenwherehow.org.
