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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Subtle Empire, Part 1

  You must be familiar with 'the arrivals'








I disagree with such far-fetched conspiracy theories, because: 
1. It creates the impression that there is an invincible group with limitless power, putting their signs everywhere. This is giving them God-like abilities, and we know only God has those abilities.
2. It creates an unnecessary fear, and as believers we only need to fear Allah.
3. 'They' (the people creating havoc on earth) are humans like us, and Allah says
وَلَا تَهِنُوا فِي ابْتِغَاءِ الْقَوْمِ إِنْ تَكُونُوا تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
And don't be weak in the pursuit of the enemy; if you are suffering (hardships) then surely, they (too) are suffering (hardships) as you are suffering, but you have a hope from Allâh (for the reward, i.e. Paradise) that for which they hope not, and Allâh is Ever All­Knowing, All­Wise. (4:104)

They are humans just like us, and they can suffer from bad planning, anger, uncertainty and everything else that humans suffer.

We believe in conspiracy theories because we don't know how to explain big events that are beyond our control. So we say they are the works of 'hantu', 'illuminati', and the like, eventhough they are only the results of humans doing what they believe in. We don't know how the system works.

So today insyaallah we will try to dispel this veil of ignorance. We will try to give an insight into how the system works.

I myself gained an insight into the workings of the system while reading a book a few days ago. Its called Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. Its written by a man who previously worked as an economic hitman (EHM).
this is an EHM. He looks like you and me, only with smarter suits.




he will create economic forecasts on how to develop a nation's economy and exploit its resources
Big financial institutions like the World Bank use these forecasts to give loans to the country.




Effectively, the money never leaves the US. It goes out from the financial institutions and into the pockets of  US companies
The contractors then build 'modern facilities'
..Which brings popularity to local leaders
..But the ones who get rich are people at the top, while the people who labour like slaves to support the economy are neglected.
Meanwhile, the loans still have to be repaid.


This debt becomes a chain on those countries : they'll have to do what the US says and become part of the Empire.
They could then be used to protect the interests of the US. Fall in line, or face the consequences.

What happens if people rebel against this system? They have other tools.
They can send in saboteurs and spies to destabilise the county.
If that doesn't work, they still have ye Olde Grand Army.

This is what the author reveals, based on his many years being an insider of the system. I think it has a ring of truth to it. 

As the author argues, this is not a conspiracy theory. Its just a 'close-knit group of people sharing similar values and beliefs', filling up their pockets while at the same time expanding the Empire by putting other countries in debt. This belief is that

Economic Growth will benefit all of society.

Being a student of accounting & economics, this is what we've been taught to believe in every single class. Look at the numbers. Look at how much the country is growing overall. But this is a false concept.

If the country has an output of 1 TRILLION DOLLARS, is it rich? "Yes", i hear you say.

Even if 1 person holds that 1 trillion, the country is still considered 'rich'. Even if the rest of the people live in total poverty, has little to eat and can't send their kids to school.

But the people at the top do not care. "Let the 'engines of growth' become rich. we reward the politicians and the lucky entrepreneurs. The rest can live or die, it doesn't matter, there's lots of them", they say.

This is the story of how we've come to live under an Empire that expands its power very subtly, we don't even notice it. It has expanded through greed, supported by leaders who can be easily corrupted. They have spread capitalist values and materialistic outlooks, creating a 'Pax Americana' (American Peace) all over the globe. People of different colours and languages share the same values : love of wealth. They eat at the same  fast-food restaurants, wear the same shoes, have the same ideas about beauty, because? the Empire said so. 

It's not a global conspiracy : its just people, accomplishing what they believe in, whether that belief is true or false.

This, in my opinion, is the fitna (trial) of the dajjal described by Rasulullah in his hadeeth. I used to think that the dajjal would be a big one-eyed monster.


But if that monster came out, people would immediately know him as the dajjal and it would be easier to shoot arrows at him or whatever.

This fitna is subtle. No guns, no visible armies coming to conquer us. Their weapons are words like 'freedom, prosperity, growth', which sound beautiful. Their front-line armies consist of economists, statisticians, scientists, and other respectable people. Our minds are being brainwashed without us noticing. We are being carried far from our religion. We think we are independent, but in reality we are obedient citizens of the Empire, swallowing whole everything it teaches us. 

Hopefully, this short post has enlightened your outlook on life and dispelled the superstitions. If the one-eyed monster does come out, then i'll be glad. Then everyone can wake up.

There is a way to reform this system, to bring it down, but that's a topic for the next post. 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Bravo!

I don't know if we've been reading the same stuff, but we're definitely of the same mind. Just would like to add a little bit, something, i think, that is a little hopeful. The Pax Americana you're talking about, I'm going to equate that here with neoliberalism. That ideology in itself had to rest on a bed of consent to the neoliberal terms of free competition and the holy trinity of the acquisition, defense and concentration of private property. Such a consent had to be manufactured by the ruling classes: manufactured and built (yes, even in the States), with great difficulty and birthing pains, but manufactured nonetheless. In this I (choose) to see some hope. That maybe we're not naturally economically rational nor are we naturally competitive and self interested, as we've been taught, and I've believed.

The best stuff I've read specifically about this has been by David Harvey (Brief History of Neoliberalism) and by the Chomsky himself. For a bit more theoretical account of capitalist hegemony, I've looked at Gramsci and Lenin. Lefty thought is incredibly rich, it's a shame it's got such a stigma back home. Anyway, looking forward to more. :)

Aiman

The Author said...

@ aiman : hear, hear. if i was economically rational, it would take more than a second for me to decide to buy stuff on amazon :D

self interest, profit maximisation, we're lead to believe that private wealth is THE driver of human activity. there's lots more to life, pity neoliberalists throw all that aside.