As the politicians in Washington are debating about the debt ceiling and the ways of dealing with it, one might pause and ponder about the whole issue. What are we talking about?
Debt, usually, is contracted when one spends more than he\she earns, compelling one to borrow. The USA have spent more than they have earned over the last 20\30 years, and as European countries are criticised to have done the same in the areas of social security, the USA has been spending incredible amounts on waging wars. That has a cost.
The conundrum in which the politicians in Washington are placed is one that superimposes the logic of politics with economy. The military-industrial realm feeds on war to maintain and expand itself. But war is a matter of society, of politics. And the issue of war has become not one of conducting a just war, but rather to feed this military-industrial monster that is more and more hungry. And will never be satiated.
The issue of the debt ceiling hides the elephant in the room. To promulgate an increase or an extension will only delay the inevitable: when you are in debt, sooner or later, your creditors will find you and cut your cards. Then what? The logic followed by those ignoring the famous elephant is faulty and doomed. The monster will eat until there is no more, and the very machine that is created to protect will be the one destroying us.
Yes, in the short term we can debate that the equation is between social services and the military-industrial complex, or tax increases against the so called “job makers”. Again, it is a false equation, as in the end, none of it will remain. In the present context, war is inevitable, and the monster will be more and more hungry.
A few things occur as we are discussing the debt ceiling. First, and foremost, the sons and daughters of America are bleeding and being traumatized by wars that are not waged for political reasons. And second, as the USA’s influence decreases, at the same rate as its money, it finds itself more and more isolated.
I believe that the USA stands at a critical decision point. It can join the 21st century and lead the way in to post-industrialism and post-modernity, designing new ways to create a world where economy and politics are neither mutually exclusive, nor subservient to one another; or continue on the path of feeding the monster, and assuming the consequences.
War is political. It has been taken over by economic interests. And it is killing us.
Debt, usually, is contracted when one spends more than he\she earns, compelling one to borrow. The USA have spent more than they have earned over the last 20\30 years, and as European countries are criticised to have done the same in the areas of social security, the USA has been spending incredible amounts on waging wars. That has a cost.
The conundrum in which the politicians in Washington are placed is one that superimposes the logic of politics with economy. The military-industrial realm feeds on war to maintain and expand itself. But war is a matter of society, of politics. And the issue of war has become not one of conducting a just war, but rather to feed this military-industrial monster that is more and more hungry. And will never be satiated.
The issue of the debt ceiling hides the elephant in the room. To promulgate an increase or an extension will only delay the inevitable: when you are in debt, sooner or later, your creditors will find you and cut your cards. Then what? The logic followed by those ignoring the famous elephant is faulty and doomed. The monster will eat until there is no more, and the very machine that is created to protect will be the one destroying us.
Yes, in the short term we can debate that the equation is between social services and the military-industrial complex, or tax increases against the so called “job makers”. Again, it is a false equation, as in the end, none of it will remain. In the present context, war is inevitable, and the monster will be more and more hungry.
A few things occur as we are discussing the debt ceiling. First, and foremost, the sons and daughters of America are bleeding and being traumatized by wars that are not waged for political reasons. And second, as the USA’s influence decreases, at the same rate as its money, it finds itself more and more isolated.
I believe that the USA stands at a critical decision point. It can join the 21st century and lead the way in to post-industrialism and post-modernity, designing new ways to create a world where economy and politics are neither mutually exclusive, nor subservient to one another; or continue on the path of feeding the monster, and assuming the consequences.
War is political. It has been taken over by economic interests. And it is killing us.