The age of greed

Northern Rock, Fannie Mae, Fannie Mac, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, XL, Alitalia, HBoss, AIG. Morgan Stanley… these are just some of the big names in the news today, most if not all of them global in the reach of their tentacles. Bankruptcies, failures, government rescues (at your and my expense), last minute bail-outs… these are just some of the panic reactions. Billions of dollars, pounds, euros, yen. I can’t be bothered to check all the figures, the dancing numbers simply overwhelm me. One wonders, though, how the executives’ golden parachutes fared. It’s not a wild guess that none of them will go hungry, however contrite they may appear behind their sound bites. Politicians, expert biters of sound, chase air space to explain themselves – for what? To keep their jobs. God knows it might be difficult for most of them to find gainful employment if they lose this one…

Is it necessary here to get into the speculation surrounding the price of oil, which is blamed for almost all our ills rather than the obvious stupidity of lending money to millions knowing full well it may never be paid back? Sub Prime loans, they call them, in the usual sort of euphemism that they think will mask the truth. Do we need to look into the ever more evil speculation on commodities like maize, sorghum or wheat, now predominantly used to make fuel instead of food for starving millions all over the so-called Third World? Must we check up on the  speculative land deals in Alaska, where oil is present in munificent quantities and which are fully backed by U.S. Republican Vice-Presidential candidate all-wrapped-up-in-God-and-willing-to-make-war-on-Russia Sarah Palin?

Is it necessary here to go into the greed exhibited by everything that has surrounded the war in Iraq including some of the soldiers caught pilfering from their victims? Or Afghanistan? The ‘private armies’ that go to war in our names? The sale of arms by global corporations and private enterprise?

The list is long, endless. And so is the greed, the spiritual vacuum, exhibited by what seems to be the vast majority of the world’s leaders, be they in politics or business. They lead by their pockets, and we are forced to follow like lambs to the slaughter – and paying for it like the fools they take us for.

(c) Alexander Bewick 2008