capitalism – Page 2 – Engaging Peace

The Epic Ideological Struggle of Our Global Era: Part 1. Multiculturalism versus Homogenization

Posted on August 29, 2016September 1, 2016 by kathiemm

By Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D

Homogenization

We live in a global era! This is a fact misunderstood, denied, distorted, ignored, or used for advantage by those with power and privilege. Our lives and fortunes are

interdependent. Single, isolated events, once unknown or disregarded, now generate and multiply ripples across the world. Causal explanations informed by ideologies seeking control and domination through uniformity can only result in conflict. Epic ideological struggles are at hand.

Amid our global era, dominated in thought and action by a few nations, we are witnessing a struggle between homogenization versus heterogeneity. Uniformity versus differences is appearing at all levels. It is a struggle for diversity versus imposed identity. While past decades were defined as struggles for world domination between communism and capitalism, our global era has given rise to ideological struggles across technological, political, religious, and economic efforts to establish a mass global society – a world order – promoting and sustained by “homogenization.”

For those seeking control, uniformity, and conformity, differences – diversity — in a mass society are seen as sources of distraction and disruption. Mass surveillance, monitoring, and archiving generate uniformity. Individual and group variations are being compelled to yield privacy, rights, and variations in life styles to pressures for an ordered and planned society – homogenized in all areas. Within this context, multiculturalism, as an ideology, is considered a foe.

Uniformity, Conformity, Compliance: The New Orthodoxy

Developments in information processing and technologies are exercising powerful influences on social, economic, political, and moral systems. They are enabling and facilitating forces in power to control and dominate variation — diversity — favoring efficiency and compliance with uniformity. Differences are targets for imposing order. They are considered sources of “chaos” or error to be subdued and integrated into a homogenized world in which “order” is the ethos. But chaos is the fruit of diversity – and diversity is the source and expression of life itself. Efforts after order – rooted in the assertion of control by those with power, wealth, and position – serve narrow interests. Ultimately, oppression emerges as arbiter.

The inability of those in positions of power to deal with challenges to their preferred ideology of “homogeneity” is the major struggle of our times – an ideological struggle being imposed upon the world of variation, in favor of an ideology of uniformity unsuited for our global era. The myriad of differences in thought, appearance, and ways-of-life in varied expressions face extinction from the massive power invested in monolithic and monopolistic proportions in different industries and services including Big Ag, Big Education, Big Energy, Big Government, Big Medicine, Big Phar, and Big Military. There is an inherent ideology in all these “Bigs” – an ideology favoring dominance and control. There is no room for variation from the perspective of the Bigs!

But don’t believe them! Read about the multicultural alternative in my next post here on engagingpeace.com.

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii, Manoa Campus, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822. He is the author and editor of twenty books, and more than 300 publications noted for challenging the ethnocentricity and biases of Western psychology and psychiatry, and for advocating peace and social justice.

The “Just Enough” Policy: Behavioral Control of Collective Protest through Minimum Reward, Part 3 of a 3-part series

Posted on April 11, 2016April 9, 2016 by kathiemm

The Paradox of Advances and Losses

by Anthony Marsella, PhD

Virtually everyone, except perhaps the very young and uninformed, is in disbelief at our national situation. Most adults never imagined a world filled with so many challenges to security, health, and wellbeing. Old timers (i.e., over 70 years) ask, “How did it all happen? It’s not just the changes, but the speed of things!” They gaze into their memories, and utter those timeless words: “It seems like only yesterday.”

There are, of course, many positive changes occurring, especially in our social fabric and formation. Long denied civil and human rights are increasing across different population sectors. Advances in medical sciences and practices fill us with awe as countless lives are saved, and longevity increased. The list is endless, and should evoke optimism. But amid the advances are losses that bring a sense of insecurity and fear.

That is the paradox! The mix of advances and challenges leave us filled with ambiguity. We become immobilized as we search for answers or yield to complexity. Conscience calls, but trade-offs are calculated. Citizen activism is rising, fueled by access to information and knowledge previously unknown. Whistle blowers risk pain and punishment, as conscience rises in the face of injustice.

Who or what is the foe? We are told that the process and product of globalization has resulted in increases in health, wealth, and happiness. But is globalization really hegemonic, controlled by a few nations, corporate monopolies, and powerful individuals? Who is it benefitting?

The concentration of power, wealth, and position is, in my opinion, our greatest threat. It seeks a homogenization of social orders, cultures, and fundamental values. In the heady post WWII days, a strong sense of national pride and identity was natural. But! We were warned by Eisenhower of the impending dangers of a “Military-Industrial Complex” and the capacity of this Complex to dominate our nation’s future. Eisenhower, unfortunately, did not tell us the Complex would grow, and become a “military-industrial-congressional-educational-moral-technological-cultural-managed complex,” now resistant to change because of complexity, resiliency, and concentration of wealth, power, and position.

There is a calibrated mental calculus now in use by those with wealth, power, and position. They are firmly entrenched in every institution, and their interests are narrow and self-serving. We argue over the benefits of capitalism and other neo-liberal policies even as neo-cons re-assert their interests. And through all of this, the “Just Enough” principle is played out confusing, immobilizing, frightening a public unaccustomed to the unfolding changes. Is this a planned conspiracy? I do not know! I do know the wealthy, powerful, and positioned know each other, gather, and benefit from their relationships. I know they function in secrecy, while our privacy is removed. They set the vision. Their appointed “acolytes” implement the vision. Conspiracy? “A rose by any other name, is still a rose.”

What we have today is not much different from the gilded-age period when monopolies in banking, steel, oil, and transportation brought together “barons” in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Together, they grasped their mutual interests. Today we have a return in the form of “Big” agriculture, banking, education, energy, finance, medicine, military, pharmacology, transportation, and on and on. The times return!

The words of an old Arab saying come to mind: “The times are father to the child.” We are experiencing a time of “Just Enough!” The question remains to be answered whether “Just Enough” will be understood, questioned, and replaced by “Not Enough?” Resentment is “smoldering”! Citizens recognize the tactics being used. That may be the topic of my next commentary: Behavioral control through oppression. Ahhh, the endless historical story!

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Anthony Marsella, Ph.D., a member of the TRANSCEND Network, is a past president of Psychologists for Social Responsibility, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, and past director of the World Health Organization Psychiatric Research Center in Honolulu. He is known nationally and internationally as a pioneer figure in the study of culture and psychopathology who challenged the ethnocentrism and racial biases of many assumptions, theories, and practices in psychology and psychiatry. In more recent years, he has been writing and lecturing on peace and social justice. He has published 15 edited books, and more than 250 articles, chapters, book reviews, and popular pieces. He can be reached at marsella@hawaii.edu.

This is the third in a three-part series originally published on https://www.transcend.org/tms/2014/06/the-just-enough-policy-behavioral-control-of-collective-protest-through-minimum-reward/

Reflections on Government Change, Reform, Renewal, Suggested Topics for Discussion, Dialog, and Debate, Part 1

Posted on March 18, 2016March 19, 2016 by kathiemm

by Guest Author Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., March 17, 2016

Introduction Several months ago, a friend and colleague familiar with my relentless idealistic aspirations for improving government, said to me: “So what would you change? How would you improve the situation?” How would you make it better for everyone?

A good question and one well warranted! I suspect the request was meant to silence my complaints, even as my friend agreed my complaints and criticisms were justified. The difficulty is, the problems are disproportionate in number and complexity. Reciprocity and interdependency of the problems defy any hope of simple solutions.

Appeals to the branches of federal government (i.e., Executive, Representational, Judicial) are futile, because these branches are the source of many of the problems, and will only serve to promote their special powers and influence. Corruption, cronyism, and competition have infected all branches, and, some claim, limit function and purpose, requiring a nefarious and reprehensible “shadow government” consisting of a “military-industrial complex” favoring special interests.

The problem is the existing “System” of governance! It is politicized, asymmetrical, and unresponsive to needed changes, sustaining abuses and inequities. The “System” is the vehicle for consolidating wealth, power, and position of a few at the cost of the many. Citizen activism seems to have little impact. In a previous publication, titled “The Just Enough Policy,” I argued government keeps citizen protests minimal, by offering “just enough” to maintain citizen comfort (Marsella, A.J. (2014). The just enough policy: Behavior control of collective protest through minimum reward. War, Peace, Justice: An Unfinished Tapestry. Aurelius Press, Alpharetta, Georgia, pp 97-104).

Even with official government claims of deference, respect, and admirations for our iconic founding documents, voiced for election image purposes, the “System” engages in passing thousands of laws, regulations, and privileges whose content and consequences eludes even the most ardent of reformers. The laws, regulations, and privileges morph into scores of new departments, institutions, agencies, organizations, and support services, impossible to eliminate or control, and with little transparency and accountability. Each department, institution, agency, and organization becomes a power unto itself, acting to perpetuate its existence, even as it no longer has a function or cause.

Laws, regulations, and privileges enacted by the “System” become endless responses to urgent crises; power asymmetries; unmet defense, social, and economic requirements; special industrial and corporate interests insuring profits and dominance; and political accommodations to elected and appointed government officials quietly lobbying for favorite projects (e.g., bridge to nowhere). All are the stuff of the megalithic “System” defying change. From this “System,” just and unjust governance is enacted daily. Inconsistencies, conflicts, and abuses in enforcement and applications thrive, subject to the interests of those in power.

Citizens have lost trust in government and institutions. Surveys place public trust in government at less than 10%. Current presidential debates, even amid their differences, reveal the extent to which institutions serve the interests of special interests. Each candidate argues we are in moral, political, and legal collapse. None offer profound recommendations for change, fearing perhaps being termed a radical or worst. Citizens are required to accept myths whose continuation is reinforced by biased media propaganda and “strat com” (i.e., strategic communications – biased lies).

A Sampling of Myths

Myths are important, yet as they fall, we are left with uncertainty and disappointment. Myth are widely held perceptions and expectations accepted as “true.” Myths function to guide our behavior by constructing beliefs we consider as “accurate” assumptions about the world. Some of the most critical myths are now considered untenable and in need of major critique and reform. These include:

Capitalism is the best foundation for a national economy, only moderately subject to corruption and abuse. Clearly, capitalism and its Wall Street castle has demonstrated its inherent tyrannical and exploitive nature.
Democracy is the foundation of our government system. Tragically, it is clear democracy has yielded to oligarchy, cronyism, and nepotism. It is perhaps better termed “demonocracy” and “hypocracy.”
Two-Party Political System, long the foundation of elected government, has proven to be an anachronism, in need of change in response to national diversity in political, ideological, moral, and economic profiles. Political interests claim ownership of the two major parties, placing power in the hands of a few. Cronyism, corruption, nepotism, and oligarchy dominate the structure and process.
Equality before the law is proven daily to be violated in American society. Equality is, in fact, subject to a distorted distribution favoring the privileged. “Black Lives Matter” is a visible response to the inequities.
Freedom, as choice, is not available to all. Rather freedom is subject to status markers (e.g., men have more freedom than women; whites more freedom than people of color; rich more freedom than poor). The “System” is the greatest source limiting freedom; Government and private sources are engaged in mass surveillance, monitoring, and archiving.
Moral Authority of the United States of America is lost. We have no moral compass that has not been erased or destroyed by our political and economic actions. We have, as a nation, pursued scores of reckless regime overthrows, and engaged in invasion, occupation, and exploitation. “The ends justify the means!” is the Government’s motto. Ethics, law, and justice are no longer arbiters of policies and actions.
Peace is not a USA goal! The peace we seek as nation is a peace permitting selfish exploitation of special interests (e.g., commercial, foreign government allies). We are a violent society and nation. We are a culture of war!

What can be done? What changes must be made? See my next post.

Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus, University of Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii). He is widely recognized as a pioneer figure in cultural and international psychology and psychopathology. He has published 20 books and more than 300 journal, chapter, and popular articles. He is the recipient of numerous national and international awards.

How to Feed the Power Hungry

Posted on January 21, 2016 by kathiemm

Cartoon from the records of the National Child Labor Committee (U.S.). During the Progressive Era many organizations were formed to outlaw the child labor that was a feature of Gilded Age industrial revolution, which included teenage girls working long hours in mills. The cartoon shows a child laborer supporting the world with her labor, including an uncaring robber baron industrialist.
Image is in the public domain.

There are two easy ways to feed the voracious power-wielding groups in this country, those contemporary robber barons who gobble up the sustenance, the lives, the well-being of millions of people and the planet on which they struggle to survive:

1) Succumb to their lies, their distortions, their fear-mongering, their racism, their endless worship of capitalism, and their militarization of everything; how succumb? by voting for them;

and

2) Don’t vote. Stay home. Tell yourself, the world is an unholy mess. Your vote won’t matter. There is no difference between political parties. That’ll get them. Not.

This is a big year. Another Presidential election, Congressional elections, other elections, and if you’re a US citizen 18 or over, you have the right to vote. There may be no right more important than that one. Thousands of people were locked up, beaten, and murdered so that you and your compatriots would have that right.

From small communities to the nation as a whole, countless decisions are decided by votes. Congress votes to preserve or destroy forests, wildlife, the atmosphere.

The President votes by approving or vetoing Congressional votes.

Community level governments decide whether or not to put more money into education, recreation, local social services based on voter behavior.

It’s not too late to make a new year’s resolution and this one won’t involve giving up things you like.

Vote.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology