Power, money & politics (AKA Lies, Lies and more Lies)

The release of the Panama Papers and the excellent work undertaken by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) (https://www.icij.org/) stirred within me feelings of rage, resentment and resignation. Perhaps its my age catching up with me, or simply a growing cynicism about the motives of the rich and powerful - whether they be simply rich, simply powerful (e.g. a politician), or both - no matter if they entered into that condition with relatively pure motives or with evil. I think the latter could be exemplified by the big buffoon Clive Palmer who has begun to unravel recently (don't go graphic), or by even bigger buffoon Donald Trump, himself beginning to unravel - thankfully. Its harder to pick those who entered into their power or wealth with relatively pure motives, but I'd like to think someone like Bernie Sanders or - wait for it - even Malcolm Turnbull may be in that camp.

I have long wondered about the concept of inevitable decay and the way institutions seem inherently to tend towards corruption. I work for a tertiary education institution and over the past decade have observed how the stratosphere above a certain level of management seems to be populated by apparently psychotic individuals who are prepared to go to any length to achieve their personal ambition. This leads to a micro-managed, risk averse environment where the very things that a university stands for - innovation, invention, open-mindedness - are discouraged in case something rocks the boat of the particular psychotic manager within whose purview something may occur. So the very things that are supposed to make a place of higher education a... well... a place of higher education, are quashed to protect someone's ambition. 

But I digress. Niall Ferguson, in his excellent expose of the degeneration of modern institutions, maintains that the four key drivers of our modern western world are Democracy, Capitalism, the Rule of Law, and Civil Society. If these are the pillars of 500 years of civilised development, it seems that we may be witnessing the death throes of at least one or two - in what I would call their pure form. 

Churchill famously quoted an unknown author in 1947 when he said: "Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time...". It is my melancholy impression that this "...least worst..." form of government has been molested, corrupted and gamed for the good of the psychotics in our midst who would manipulate it for their own benefit, oblivious to the tragedy that befalls their unwitting victims. I cannot help the image of Clive Palmer coming to mind, but also at a local level, the flamboyant, reckless and apparently corrupt Salim Mehajer of Auburn Council infamy, is also an example of the gaming of democracy for their own benefit. Unfortunately Niall Ferguson is not enthusiastic about the prospect for renewing our "...least worse..." system. Perhaps he is old as I am am and has lost optimism. It seems the lunatics have taken over the asylum when it comes to democracy.

So what about the second pillar, Capitalism? While it may seem superficially to be "business as usual", over my lifetime I have seen a move away from what I would call granular capitalism towards a system that is far more ... shall I say 'chunky". Yes, I know it isn't a finely tuned theoretical construct, but this is a blog, not a dissertation (although it may be by the time I'm through...). What do I mean by "chunky"? It is the juggernaut of transnational mega corporations supplanting - even annihilating - the individual entrepreneur who was content with the corner store. 

It started with American corporations gathering up Australian and other parochial long-established companies like Victa lawn mowers, Golden Circle juices and Arnotts biscuits, and is now evident as European behemoths and, more lately, Chinese leviathans gradually pick off useful targets to feed their growing populations as well as the cavernous wallets of their owners. Kim Stanley Robinson many years ago wrote an intriguing series about the establishment of a colony on Mars, and the eventual terra-forming of that planet, fit for human habitation. I enjoyed the first two books in the series, but couldn't bring myself to complete the third, as it depicted a Mars that, while now suitable for humans to live on, was corrupted by trans-planetary corporations that didn't just control the government, but the daily lives of individuals. What had started out with such hope degenerated into a morass of misery. It seems to me that we are well down that road at a global level today, and the glitz and glamour of marketing does its best to distract and convince us that we have some control. 

No, I'm not clinically depressed. Nor am I a nihilist. What does gladden me is the faithful few like the ICIJ who seek to shine light into the dark and murky world of the rich and powerful who would like to keep their avaricious activities away from the judgement and condemnation of the community. More power to them and their ilk.