ECONOMIC COERCION

 

 

 

By Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D.
February 12, 2007
NewsWithViews.com

In my last article, "Planned Slavery," I referred to what has been portrayed as a World Trade Organization (WTO) press release about a Wharton Business School conference ("Africa: Building New Partnerships, Impacting the Global Economy"), which included an alleged WTO representative announcing "a formalized slavery model for Africa," calling it "full private stewardry of labor." Many people believed the WTO had proposed such a model, and even Voice of America (VOA) had scheduled a radio program (later canceled) on the subject.

After I talked with Leslie Friedman of the Wharton Business School and at length with Dr. Laurie Ann Agama (Director for African Affairs at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative), who was one of those featured at the conference panel on "Trade and Investment in Africa: Enhancing Relationships to Improve Net Worth," I corrected my article to say the alleged WTO representative was a fake (see bottom of This Website). According to VOA, the hoax was perpetrated by "theyesmen.org," whose website (www.gatt.org) for the alleged WTO press release mentioned above looks strikingly similar to the official WTO website (www.wto.org). But what I thought was significant was the fact that according to Dr. Agama, there were those at the conference who believed the WTO was capable of proposing such a model!

What does this say about people's impression of the WTO? It says there are many people who see the WTO as extremely powerful, and at least capable of proposing economic enslavement. How could they possibly believe this? Well, for people familiar with conditions in Third World countries, it's not that hard. Older Americans will remember a song titled, "16 Tons," about life in Appalachia. It was made popular by Tennessee Ernie Ford in the 1950s, and contained the lyrics, "I owe my soul to the company store." Coal miners in West Virginia and other Appalachian states were virtually enslaved economically by the company for which they worked. Similar conditions exist in Third World countries today (note the recent movie "Blood Diamond"), and the WTO doesn't seem to be harshly penalizing countries in which it exists.

While the WTO has not proposed such enslavement, the power elite behind the WTO has used economic coercion over the centuries to attain their goals. One means they have employed is indebtedness, and ever since the establishment of the Federal Reserve in 1913, our indebtedness has grown, most dramatically in recent years.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the U.S., and Prof. Carroll Quigley in TRAGEDY AND HOPE (1966) revealed how powerful international bankers wanted "to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland." Quigley went on to say that each central bank "sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."

Quigley then said behind the central banks were international investment bankers who "formed a system of international cooperation and national dominance which was more private, more powerful, and more secret than that of their agents in the central banks. This dominance of investment bankers was based on their control over the flow of credit and investment funds in their own countries and throughout the world."

Quigley identified "the commander-in-chief of the world system of banking control" as Montagu Norman, Governor of the Bank of England, who was "built up by the private bankers to a position where he was regarded as an oracle in all matters of government and business." Norman once said, "I hold the hegemony of the world."

How can the "control over the flow of credit and investment funds throughout the world" economically coerce nations? It was a surprise to many that Israel recently stopped short of crushing Hezbollah in their recent war in Lebanon. Why did this happen? Well, perhaps not coincidentally, Secretary-General of the European Union (EU) Javier Solana met with Israeli officials not long before they ceased military operations. And perhaps Solana hinted that the economic Treaty of Association between the EU and Israel, which went into effect June 1, 2000, and was renewed to last until the beginning of 2007, might be endangered if Israel continued its attack. And perhaps he then hinted that could influence "the flow of credit and investment funds" to Israel.

Of course, economic pressure can be brought to bear upon nations larger than Israel as well. In 1997-98, international investor George Soros economically brought the nation of Malaysia to its knees.

Even larger nations, such as the U.S., can also be economically coerced. The WTO has ruled against the U.S. several times, and Congress has even changed our laws to be in compliance with WTO rulings. Many are saying we should get out of GATT (General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade) of which the WTO was a part. However, to withdraw from GATT or NAFTA, etc., would seriously damage American companies' investments overseas, which in turn would seriously impact the stock market, etc., which in turn would harm most 401Ks, etc. You get the idea. And these companies can also economically coerce workers with threats of job relocations overseas if the American workers do not agree to salary cuts.

There are additional ways in which economic coercion can be applied to individuals. Do you recall when President George H. W. Bush's Points of Light Foundation recommended that college admissions and employment decisions by companies be based in part on individuals' records of service? And today you can see insurance companies basing premium payment levels on whether one adheres to their recommended lifestyle in terms of diet, exercise, etc.

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Unfortunately, many Christians believe economic coercion cannot be brought to bear upon them, but they are mistaken. For example, many have taken their children out of public schools, but have put them into Christian schools which take government funds. In my 200-year education chronology (with about 3000 items in the index), I quote Fabian Socialist George Bernard Shaw writing to Julius Bab in Hanley, Texas, on September 5, 1910, regarding how the government can control such schools. Shaw wrote that "since half the children in the country were in Church schools, their education must not be sacrificed to sectarian bigotry, and that the real way to obtain popular control of the Church schools was to subsidize them and make conditions of efficiency." In other words, once they take government money, the government strings attached will require that they abide by government rules and regulations. Do not underestimate the ability of the power elite economically to coerce individuals, organizations, or even entire nations.

� 2007 Dennis Cuddy - All Rights Reserved

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