the shapeshifting oligarchs
some turkish pipes, i thought it was appropriate
with the ongoing riots throughout the arab world, like yemen or egypt, and an ongoing revolution in tunisia, some of our terms might not apply. when arab nations are better at citizenship, communist nations better at capitalism, and capitalist nations better at oligarchy and feudalism, we can’t use old words that easily, nor our old stereotypes.
so the real free media can now be found in the colonies and the arab world, places where the supposed autocrats wouldn’t let it exist. hell, even wikileaks is led by an australian. and wikileaks was instrumental in these revolutions, as was social media.
these countries remind us of how it is like to rebel, like most european countries (and the us) did, a long time ago. what i am skeptical about is what will be implemented. will these countries use liberal democracy? i would expect liberal democracy as the choice for government, after all people just want new shiny things, unblocked facebook and iphones. if they do, then it’s just a matter of a couple of years until they become part of the oligarchy’s peasants. if, on the contrary, they choose a left wing democracy like what is happening in south america, then maybe, just maybe, it could work and transform the way the world works. let’s see how the new bribes that will come work with the new governments.
so far, the places that have resisted the bribes have done so on nationalist superiority, native pride, and, to some extent, racism (see china). the ones that, on the other hand, chose to join the “global economy” carelessly, became just another peasant on the oligarch’s land.
like the roman empire, that transformed into the catholic church to survive (the pope is the pontifex maximus, which was the title for the roman emperors), the authoritarian regimes are transforming too. the ruler portrait on every home and store is dated now. it is being replaced slowly, and the countries that still live it, like tunisia or egypt, are overthrowing it.
but this is a necessary transition to maintain power. we no longer have a portrait of our ruler in our homes in europe. but we have the jeans, the computers, the music and the stereotypes anyway.
so like the roman empire changed its domain from force to religion, the oligarchy is changing its power from political rule to economic rule. religion is no longer necessary. politics is no longer necessary. consumerism is the new opiate of the masses. so little has changed in essence. as usual, something has to change so everything stays the same.
but i do love these moments where naive citizens fight back, and still wish for a day when their desire is not for democracy, but for something entirely new and unheard of. but where are the other voices? who ever thought a liberal demoracy would become the best thing a liberated people would strive for? where are the new voices for different ways of organizing society?