The Financialised Economy -- October 02, 2020

 

 

The Financialised Economy

By LARRY ROMANOFF – October 02, 2020

 

 

Extreme financialisation is a serious structural defect in the US economy, and which is unsustainable in the long run. As Richard Eskow noted in a Huffington Post article,

 

"... the US has financialised its economy to a frightening degree ... more than half of all corporate profits will soon be captured by banks and other financial institutions - from the movement and manipulation of money, rather than from goods and services".

 

In a report in 2013, the Chinese global credit rating agency DaGong made the following observation:

 

"Due to the high economic financialisation, more than half of the profits in the real economy come from the returns of financial activities. If we exclude the factor of the virtual economy, the U.S. actual GDP was about 5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2009, and per capita GDP about $ 15,000."

 

This compares to published figures of about $13 trillion for the US GDP and about $45,000 in per capita terms. What does this tell you? Americans live in the Matrix, in an artificial economy where people become rich by speculating on houses and derivatives and making book-keeping entries rather than performing productive work and producing real goods. In every case in history where finance had become the largest sector of the economy, the nation was in decline. The philosophy of the heavily-promoted model that favored finance over manufacturing has already collapsed - as is more than obvious in the destruction of its economy, but the Americans blindly continue to promote this cancer as the epitome of development. The reason is that this increasing financialisation permits the oligarchs and puppet-masters who control the financial sector and most of the MNCs to vacuum enormous amounts of cash out of the system. If continued, the American economy will of course self-destruct at some point, dry up and blow away, leaving an empty shell. The signs are so many and so apparent we cannot escape concluding this is the intent.

 

Western Price-Gouging in China -- October 01, 2020

  

Western Price-Gouging in China

 

By LARRY ROMANOFF – October 01, 2020

 

 

One of the major trends affecting society during the 1970's and 1980's was the reversal of position of (largest) manufacturers, (middle-sized) wholesalers and (smallest) retailers. Market power and influence corresponded with size. The manufacturer of a product appointed a few wholesalers to handle its lines, and obedience to price and marketing practice was obtained by the knowledge that lucrative contracts could be terminated, in which case a corporate life could be measurably shortened. This was even more true in the relationship with retailers, who often had marketing and promotion practices dictated to them, as well as firm pricing policies which could not be ignored. Those relationships may not have been the best for all concerned, but the markets were stable, distribution was efficient, and behavior was mostly responsible even if not always totally ethical. But with some retailers becoming extremely large, the balance of power shifted 180 degrees to the point where today some retail groups have almost absolute control of markets.

 

 

Price-gouging and price-fixing are a standard feature of Western capitalism, with virtually all foreign companies participating in these practices. Most governments focus their attention on price-fixing conspiracies because some laws exist to prevent the practice. Price-gouging by individual firms often escapes the regulatory net, although this should not be the case because the principle of using market position to overcharge is essentially the same. In one recent case in China, six LCD manufacturers, Samsung and LG from South Korea and four firms from Taiwan, were levied fines and other costs of nearly 800 million RMB for having engaged in a massive conspiracy to set prices at an extremely high level. The evidence was that these firms held a total of 56 meetings in South Korea to reach agreement on LCD pricing, adding huge costs to Chinese manufacturers of computers, mobile phones and similar devices since the LCD panels alone account for about 80% of the total cost. In addition to the heavy fines, these firms were required to refund nearly 200 million RMB to their customers. These same firms were also investigated and heavily fined by US and European authorities for the same violations. The fine in the US was $1.2 billion, nearly $900 million in Europe, and another $200 million in South Korea.

 

 

International luxury brands have long set much higher prices for their products in China than in many other countries. In fact, luxury goods in China are not only priced high, but rarely or never discounted, these practices being so consistent and widespread, they are almost certainly the result of the same kind of collusion that was proven in the auto and baby milk markets. By contrast, it is common to see discounted luxury goods in Europe where major luxury brands such as LV and Gucci often offer discounts of 30% to 50% on many items during holidays and festivals. Executives of these foreign brands are always quick to blame the price differences on China's luxury goods taxes, but these are not large compared to the huge price differences, and many of these goods are actually produced in China so import taxes are not a factor in any case. Chinese luxury goods prices that are often two and three times those in North America or Europe, derive almost entirely from a marketing strategy that assumes Chinese are infatuated with foreign goods and have more money than experience. Neither of those assumptions is true any longer, as evidenced by the dramatic plunges in the sales of these goods in China. Once the Chinese discovered the vast price differential, they either abandoned the purchases or did their buying in Europe. This part of the honeymoon is over.

 

Patents, Copying and IP Protection -- October 01, 2020

 Patents, Copying and IP Protection

By LARRY ROMANOFF – October 01, 2020

 

The area of IP protection is one that deserves more international attention by voices other than American ones. American belligerence on the subject notwithstanding, IP and patents are neither a religious nor a moral issue, but are inherently a cultural matter that should never have been permitted to become so embroiled in legalism. China's pluralism makes it much more a kind of 'open-source' or 'public domain' society, while the Americans live in a black and white world where - back to Galbraith - individuals have a higher standing than does society as a whole, and where private wants and ownership are inherently superior to those of the public good. It isn't that the Chinese have no patent laws, nor that China's government or the Chinese people don't respect 'intellectual property rights'; it's just that their pluralism gives them a very different perspective of society's priorities. The Chinese have much less concern about the absolute ownership of ideas, concepts and creations, much like you telling me a humorous story and not being offended if I fail to credit your 'ownership' when repeating it to someone else. This is not a moral failing but just a different way of looking at the world, and there is no basis on which we can claim the American way is morally 'better' than anyone else's. In fact, China's approach is true of much of the world, mostly the parts that are not politically Right-Wing and embroiled in Christianity.

 

In China, when someone sets about commercialising a new product, many other people may be taken with the idea and do the same, and in the resulting flurry of activity we have true competition, rapid evolution of ideas and products, and the greatest resulting social good. To the extent there is any social utility in the creation, it will have been expanded to the maximum by virtue of the Chinese system, and society as a whole will derive the most benefit. The first attempt in the invention of any new item will almost certainly be primitive and not fully formed. It is precisely at this stage that the thoughts and ideas of many others can contribute to a desirably short evolutionary process, creating a multitude of improvements that would never otherwise occur, as we saw when PC architecture became open-source.

 

NL -- Manlio Dinucci -- "DE KUNST VAN DE OORLOG" -- Explosieve Gaspijpleiding in de Middellandse Zee

  

"DE KUNST VAN DE OORLOG"

Explosieve Gaspijpleiding in de Middellandse Zee

door Manlio Dinucci

ENGLISH  FRANÇAIS  ITALIANO PORTUGUÊS TURCO

 

In het oostelijke deel van de Middellandse Zee, waar grote aardgasvelden voor de kust zijn ontdekt, is een bittere strijd gaande om de vaststelling van exclusieve economische zones, tot 200 mijl uit de kust, waar elk van de kustlanden de rechten op de exploitatie van het veld heeft. De direct betrokken landen zijn Griekenland, Turkije, Cyprus, Syrië, Libanon, Israël, Palestina (waarvan de gasvelden in Gaza in handen zijn van Israël), Egypte en Libië. De confrontatie tussen Griekenland en Turkije, beide leden van de NAVO, is bijzonder gespannen. De belangen zijn niet alleen van economische aard. Het echte spel dat in het oostelijke Middellandse-Zeegebied wordt gespeeld is geopolitiek en geostrategisch, en omvat de grote wereldmachten. De EastMed-pijpleiding, die een groot deel van het gas uit dit gebied naar de EU brengt, past in dit kader.

In memoria di André Vltchek -- 24 settembre 2020

 In memoria di André Vltchek

 

il 20 settembre è morto André Vltchek, giornalista e scrittore americano di origine russa. Lo hanno trovato morto nella sua auto a Karaköy, Istanbul, in circostanze “da chiarire”. Non lo conoscevamo, ma collaborava con l’Antidiplomatico, sito che per primo ha accolto Piccolenote, riservandoci una finestra più che gradita tra le altre.

La notizia della sua morte, e il mistero sulle sue circostanze, ha portato dolore e costernazione ai redattori dell’Antidiplomatico. Dolore e costernazione ai quali partecipiamo, pur di lontano e col rispetto dovuto, ché Vltchek, come si evince dalla nota nella quale L’Antidiplomatico informa della sua scomparsa,  non era solo un collaboratore, ma altro e più significativo, e caro.

Nel nostro piccolo, lo ricordiamo anche noi, dando spazio alla prima parte di uno dei suoi ultimi scritti, che L’Antidiplomatico ha ri-pubblicato per ricordare il collaboratore, l’amico, scomparso. Uno scritto che fa prossimo il lontano.

Ora l’occidente si dovrebbe sedere, restare in silenzio e ascoltare “gli Altri”

Sono anni che ci viene detto cosa pensare; quello che è corretto e ciò che è sbagliato. E ci viene imposto da persone bianche che vivono o provengono dall’Europa e dal Nord America.

Sono a conoscenza di tutto. Sono i più qualificati.

Quando scrivo “bianco”, non intendo solo la razza o il colore della loro pelle. Per me “bianco” identifica la cultura a cui appartengono, la loro identità.

Noi russi, cubani, venezuelani, cinesi, iraniani, turchi non siamo veramente “bianchi”, anche se il nostro colore della pelle in realtà lo è.

André Vltchek’s Sudden Death by ROBERT HUNZIKER -- September 25, 2020

 SEPTEMBER 25, 2020

André Vltchek’s Sudden Death

by ROBERT HUNZIKER

In Kenya during Al-Shabaab standoff

EDITOR’S NOTE: CounterPunch received word from Rossi Indira, Andre’s partner who was with him at the time of his death, that Andre died from complications with diabetes. Andre had been very ill for several weeks prior to his death, he could barely walk and one of his legs was paralyzed. Rossi tells us that he also refused medical treatment. Andre’s funeral is being held in Istanbul. For a full list of articles he wrote for CounterPunch, please visit his author page.

Exposing Lies of the Empire (PT. Badak Merah Semesta, 2015) first introduced me to André Vltchek’s remarkable journalism, weaving together unforgettable narratives of Western imperialism and capitalistic fundamentalism. He’s widely considered one of the world’s most gifted thinkers, and even though I did not personally know him, I always looked forward to reading his articles. His words came from direct personal experience on the front lines of battlefields or wherever humanity suffered and struggled. He knew slums as well as palaces and villages that had been bombed into the ground. He was a true revolutionary fighting for the underclass, a lifetime communist and advocate of Chinese globalism, which he described as beneficial to former colonized countries throughout the world.

A philosopher, a filmmaker, an exceptional investigative journalist, he’ll be missed by millions of the unnamed that he fought for justice and redemption from forces of colonialism, past and present.

He died unexpectedly in the middle of the night September 22 when traveling in a chauffeur-driven car with his wife from Samsun on the Black Sea in Turkey to Istanbul. When they arrived in early morning hours at a hotel, his wife tried to awaken him, but he had passed. Turkish police have ordered a forensic analysis of his mysterious unexpected death.

He famously exposed atrocities from Afghanistan to Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Hong Kong to Xinjiang. He not only exposed the ruthlessness of ruling elites via the pen, he traveled to see what was true, what was false, what was shocking. Following in his footsteps leads to a disquieting litany of the “shocking.”

Only recently in Hong Kong he granted a personal 20-min video interview to DotDotNews. Here is a link to André Vltchek telling his own story. It is truly a remarkable story:

In the interview, he states: “I am fighting against anything that could be described as imperialism… as something that is overthrowing people’s governments… forcing an ideology on people… basically, what the West is doing for decades and centuries thru colonialist and then imperialist domination of the world… So, I go everywhere where the countries are being destroyed.”

In East Timor where he was filming in 1996, the Indonesian military arrested him and hung him from the ceiling and tortured him for 24 hours. Thereafter, he could not use his left arm for one year. He was reporting on the U.S. backed Indonesian coup of 1965 in a film called the “Downfall,” produced and directed by André. It took him 15 years to complete the film during which time he was condemned to death twice. He’s likely one of the only journalist in the world whose body is filled with battle scars via torture and/or direct closeness to battle zones.

In his words: “The horrible state of the world which I witnessed in all countries in all parts of the globe within more than 160 countries… I am convinced that only the struggle against imperialism can save billions of human beings who are tortured and destroyed for all these centuries… Western imperialism is the only problem this planet has.”

RIP André Vltchek.