THE ECONOMIC CRISIS OVER THE OCEAN
Sitting in London watching the collapse of Wall Street, the global financial markets and the U.S. presidential race is a useful lesson. It helps to physically be across the ocean to feel how incredible the U.S. power is to the rest of the world. The waves on one side of the Atlantic rippling are felt here on the other side. Lead stories in the news are dated Washington or Wall Street with 10 Downing Street as second, even at a time of great uncertainty in the political system here in Britain. Still, some interesting lessons for progressives in the U.S.
Gordon Brown, the British PM, who was taken for a complete has-been and failed leader just two weeks ago has received a new lease on his leadership largely due to the financial crisis in the US and elsewhere. He is seen as able to deal with the crisis better than the Tories, a party totally dependent on the City, the UK's Wall Street equivalent. The question, though , is what he will do with his new safety net. Will he extend the net to the left or the right? The challenge for him-as it will be for a President Obama--will be how much to save the bankers in order to promote a more just society overall. Yet in order to rebuild a left, we must have the breathing rooming offered by an Obama or a Brown.
Yet you can also feel here the pull toward Europe--and one thing that the US left and progressive community must do in the hope of an Obama presidency is to renew American ties overseas to figure out how progressives can react together in a global economy. Global capitol means that our fight for social justice must also be global.
Why should Brown or the U.S. save bankers whose sharp practices lead, in no small part, to the current crisis. As an example, I had may saving in WaMu because they were fairly conservative institution. They're mortgages were all portfolio loans. I took my eye off the ball and along the way WaMu went in the tank due to derevities. I pull my saving and contributed to the implosion of WaMu.
Save Banks? Maybe, but with vary strict asset purchase criteria and deep discount to boot.
The global economy, as constructed by U.S. Neoliberal capitalists have eviscerated the U.S. labor market and white collar workers alike. The offset is cheaper commodities, sold by the like of Walmart, the newly under employed can afford to buy on credit.
Obama is turning out to be DLC lite, his current stance on bailout is in effect,better a pig in a poke than taking measures to fully understand and react rationally to the problem.
That Obama is better than McCain is damning by faint praise.
October 3, 2008 12:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
"our fight for social justice must also be global."
If any good comes out of globalization it will be a move toward global social justice. For the first time, we can stand in solidarity via the Internet. Not today or next week, I'm sure, but at least the possibility exists.
October 3, 2008 7:53 PM | Reply | Permalink