Is Calling for a New Money System Right Wing Extremism?

From today's New York Times in describing Jared Lee Loughner...
"He became an echo chamber for stray ideas, amplifying, for example, certain grandiose tenants of extremists right-wing groups – including the need for a new money system…"
Looking Behind the Mug-Shot Grin of an Accused Killer
This article was reported by Jo Becker, Serge F. Kovaleski, Michael Luo and Dan Barry and written by Mr. Barry.
New York Times January 16, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/us/16loughner.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

The corporate press painted a perilous picture linking a domestic terrorist with the supposed exclusive right wing extremist idea that a new money system in our nation is needed.

We may never know whether this is deliberate deception or just plain ignorance. Either way, the Times has done a disservice to the public and tarnished its reputation.

Our current money system is undemocratic and unsustainable. How should one describe a system characterized by:
1. the government permitting financial corporations to create or issue money literally out of thin air as debt (i.e. loans),
2. the government borrowing that money from financial corporations,
3. the government having to pay back that money with interest.

This is either the ultimate form of madness -- if you assume those who run economic affairs of the US are financially incompetent -- or it is the ultimate form of legal thievery of wealth by financial corporations from We the People.

Why should the government borrow money when it could create its own? Why do we use Federal Reserve Notes (owned by the private Federal Reserve system) when we could use US dollars? Why do we divert billions of interest payments annually from our federal budget to banking corporations when we could spend those billions on meeting human and environmental needs of society?

A new money system is essential -- one that is democratic and sustainable.

Calling for a new system is hardly right wing extremism. It's basic. Elementary. Rational. Democratic. Liberating. It's shared by those of all political ideologies.

Calling it an exclusive idea of right wingers is an attempt to distort, distract and demean. It's part of a very long history of working to keep the public ignorant of economic issues, especially monetary matters.








It breeds massive debt,

What's Missing With the Media and the Arizona Massacre

Something important is missing from the obvious criticisms of the right wing's campaign of hate and lies. Of course, this sort of propaganda does set the stage for some homicidal nut. There is nothing remarkable about pointing this out, since everything is interconnected and nothing exists in isolation. But all these calls for reasonable discourse will fall on the deaf ears of the reactionary spouters. It is also somewhat hypocritical for liberals to wax indignant against the right-wing hate propaganda – but more on that later.

The reality is, the right can no more cease to lie and calumny than a great white shark can turn vegan. It comes with the beast. All the way back to the struggle to end slavery, reactionaries have lied and demonized about their progressive opponents. Indeed, the basic method of attack was written about 200 years ago and only improved on since.

The right must lie and demonize because its positions do not stand up to rational evaluation, what they uphold is factually untrue. (1) Furthermore, it is very difficult to demand inequality, suppression of freedom and victimization of minorities in a society that claims to be democratic and pluralistic. Underlying all of this are the repressive child rearing practices that spawned these reactionaries. (The US has the most abusive child rearing and pedagogy in the developed world) These child rearing practices give rise to a character structure that perpetuates denial as a life strategy.

As for liberals, can the smugness and tone down the outrage. From the Palmer Raids – where the IWW were branded Bolsheviks and terrorists to the present day demonization of Hugo Chavez in the US liberal media, liberals have engaged in their share of lies and calumny. Mild progressiveness is fine, but get a little too radical and libs could teach Goebbels a thing or two!

1. Examples - that the US health system is the best, that “permissive” child rearing causes delinquency, that religion is needed to make an ethical society, that problems can be solved through repression.

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - January 10-16

JANUARY 10

1843 – BIRTH OF LORD ACTON, ENGLISH HISTORIAN, POLITICIAN, AND WRITER
“The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later, is the people versus the banks.“

JANUARY 11

1893 – DEATH OF BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, US GENERAL, US REPRESENTATIVE (MASSACHUSETTS) AND GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS
“The government shall issue an amount equal to its taxes…which shall be lawful money and legal tender for all debts, public and private, which by law are not made payable in coin.”

JANUARY 13

1808 – BIRTH OF SALMON P. CHASE, US SENATOR (OHIO), GOVERNOR OF OHIO, US TREASURY SECRETARY UNDER ABRAHAM LINCOLN, CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE US SUPREME COURT
"My agency in procuring the passage of the National Bank Act was the greatest financial mistake of my life. It has built up a monopoly that affects every interest in the country. It should be repealed. But before this can be accomplished, the people will be arrayed on one side and the banks on the other in a contest such as we have never seen in this country." 1863

2007 – ARTICLE PUBLISHED BY JAMES PETRAS, PROFESSOR (EMERITUS), BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK
"Within the financial ruling class,…political leaders come from the public and private equity banks, namely Wall Street - especially Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, the Carlyle Group and others. They organize and fund both major parties and their electoral campaigns. They pressure, negotiate and draw up the most comprehensive and favorable legislation on global strategies and sectoral policies...They pressure the government to "bailout" bankrupt and failed speculative firms and to balance the budget by lowering social expenditures instead of raising taxes on speculative "windfall" profits...These private equity banks are involved in every sector of the economy, in every region of the world economy and increasingly speculate in the conglomerates which are aquired. Much of the investment funds now in the hands of the US investment banks, hedge funds and other sectors of the financial ruling class originated in the profits extracted from workers in the manufacturing and service sector." Global Research - January 13, 2007

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?

Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.

This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.

Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscibe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Any Time Now - online anarchist zine

My apologies to Dick for taking so long to mention the new format ANY TIME NOW ZINE. Check it out, Lots of good information See

http://atnzine.net/

The Phases of Anarchist History

In order to understand the degeneration of the Socialist (Second) International, Karl Korsch in 1920 applied an historical materialist analysis to Marxism. He related Marxist praxis to the level and nature of class struggle. He posited three periods of Marxist activity. The first period ended about 1850, involved the revolutions of 1848 and the Chartist Movement. This revolutionary period gave rise to the “original” and revolutionary Marxism of Marx and Engels. The second period lasted until the 1917 Russian Revolution, and was characterized by the defeat of the Paris Commune and a partial absorption of the working class into simple trade unionism. Marxism, in its turn, became reformist during this period. The Third Period began with the Russian Revolution and revolutionary Marxism was restored with revolutionary thinkers like Lenin and Rosa Luxemburg.

This is not the place to debate the merits of Korsch's three stages, but only to consider applying historical materialist analysis to the anarchist movement in an attempt to understand its ideological Odyssey. Can the anarchist movement be placed in periods related to the level of class struggle in those countries where it had some prominence?

Like Marxism, anarchism developed just prior to and during the Revolution of 1848. This early anarchism was based mainly on the writings of Pierre Proudhon. But unlike Marxism, “Proudhonism” was not a fully developed revolutionary anarchism. In many aspects it was gradualist and reduced class struggle to the formation of worker mutualist societies. (Proudhon was opposed to strikes) Most workers at this time were artisans and mutualism was natural to them. Anarchism's First Period would be roughly 1840 until the late 1860's. During this time, Proudhon influenced the nascent workers movement in France, Southern Europe and part of Latin America.

By the late 1860's, however, a growing class struggle in those countries where Proudhon's thought had influence, began to move anarchism in a more militant direction. (1) Bakunin is the chief anarchist theoretician of this period which lasts until the defeat of the Paris Commune and the crushing of the Spanish and Italian revolts. Thus anarchism's Second Period lasts from about 1868 to 1874.

Post-1874 sees a period of reaction, as well as the “Long Depression” which effects many of the advanced economies up until the mid-1890's. Class struggle wanes, or is severally repressed in the countries where anarchism has any presence. But rather than heading in a reformist direction, an important section of the movement goes the opposite way, into ultra leftism. Two crucial aspects of revolutionary anarchism are ignored, seemingly pushed aside as irrelevant, these are the need to be directly involved in the people's struggles and the need for organization, rejected for “propaganda of the deed” and small autonomous action groups. This Third Period lasts until the late 1890's.

Propaganda of the deed proves an abject failure. Anarchists are marginalized and the social democratic parties get the upper hand, except for Southern Europe and Latin America. At the same time, the 1880's and 90's see a process of industrialization occurring, almost world-wide. Former peasants and artisans are converted into wage workers and the class struggle heats up. Anarchists return to the working class and involve themselves in the formation of revolutionary labour unions, (syndicalism). We can date anarchism's Fourth Period from the late 1890's. Syndicalism develops into a mass movement comprising millions of workers. Anarcho-syndicalists are involved in the Mexican and Russian revolutions, as well as risings in other countries such as Argentina and Brazil.

But Fourth Period anarchism had a flaw. While involved in the people's struggles and the creation of mass organizations, most syndicalists fell into a kind of economic determinism and also underestimated the need for a distinct revolutionary organization. For most Third Period syndicalists, revolution meant the workers occupying and running the work places and the need to deal politically with the state was ignored. The defeat of the Spanish Revolution in 1938 brings the Third Period to a close. At the same time, with few exceptions, workers become integrated into communist, social democratic or even worse, business unions and the parties supported by these tendencies. Autonomous class struggle, which found its theoretical and practical expression in syndicalism, for all intents and purposes, ends at this time, With the defeat of syndicalism, anarchism once more becomes separated from the working class. Essentially, the end of autonomous struggle is the end of anarchism as a proletarian movement.

The Fifth Period begins in 1939 and goes until 1968. This time, unlike the propaganda of the deed period, anarchists do two things – they immerse themselves in theory and attempt to develop a reformist anarchism, a “practical” anarchism that can be applied in a time when mass working class revolt, let alone revolution seems a hopeless fantasy. A major concern is why the working class failed to bring about the libertarian socialist revolution. Sexuality, child rearing practices, pedagogy, and culture are all examined and it is shown how these have an effect upon the workers consciousness and practice. A Gramcian struggle for hegemony ensues as anarchists strive to bring liberatory practice into daily life and overcome those factors which create a subservient population. (The one area where anarchism does have some input into the working class is the promotion of workers control and these ideas begin to resurface in the mid-1960s.) The Post 1939 “movement” allows anarchism to survive. Its ideas have an influence far beyond the small numbers of adherents. Liberatory practices begin to permeate society and the most obvious example of this is the formation of early New Left and the counter-cultures of the 1960s.

1968 signals that anarchism has entered a new phase, the Sixth Period. Autonomous class struggle is back again. Non-syndicalist unions start talking about workers control. Syndicalist unions begin recruiting again, though they remain very much a minority tendency within anarchism. Anarchism at this time is overwhelmingly counter-cultural, except for countries where it has deep roots like France, Italy and Spain. Permanent anarchist organization begins in countries that had not seen such in 40 years. The far-left is largely Marxist Leninist during this period, but anarchism is now a contender, something it wasn't in the Fourth Period.

The Seventh Period begins in 1980 and sees the complete defeat/capitulation of the orthodox left everywhere. The working class, at first combative, is beaten down and defeated. Anarchism suffers as well. While not eliminated, numbers are down and some organizations fragment. But the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, and the re-establishment of “democracy” in Latin America leads to a proliferation of anarchist groups. Anarchists are now found almost everywhere, but the movement is “a mile wide and an inch deep” and is still largely counter-cultural. (Counter-culture seems to be the way that anarchism enters new areas and attracts youth.)

The Eighth (and present) Period is signaled by the Battle of Seattle in 1999 and the Argentine Revolt of 2000. Seattle makes vast numbers of people aware of anarchism. The rebirth of class struggle in France, Spain and Mexico 1994-5 gave rise to the invigorated syndicalism of the French CNT, the Spanish CGT and the libertarian communalism of the Zapatistas, and laid the base for this period. The far left is now basically “the anarchists,” . More than a decade into the Sixth Period, the growing, if not dominant tendency in anarchism is working class oriented, and organizational. Furthermore, the influence of anarchist ideas goes far beyond the actual number of anarchists. Today, it is a rare socialist who is not in favor of worker-management, worker coops and popular power exercised through neighborhood councils. Even if, as some cynical anarchists claim, these socialists are not sincere, it still shows the influence of these ideas that they have to raise them in the first place.

Looking at anarchism in relation to the actual level of class struggle and how this struggle is reflected in anarchist praxis enables us to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of our movement. Western society has an underlying notion of free will and thus we have a culture of finger-pointing and blame. (You freely chose to do this, you vile creature!) Unconsciously, the left shares this culture. People who deviate from what is considered correct in terms of theory and practice are deemed to have done so for negative motives. While “selling-out”, ignorance and stupidity are factors, they don't explain everything. By examining anarchist praxis in the manner above, we realize that most of what happens, including those aspects we disagree with, are the natural responses to a given set of conditions rather than malfeasance and stupidity. The worst we can say about our past errors is that they were short-sighted.

Realizing the almost cyclic nature of the movement and the different periods that it can be divided into, can help us overcome any future errors made as a short-sighted reaction to changed conditions. For example, no period of reaction is so all-encompassing that we have to resort to propaganda of the deed to keep anarchism alive. While anarchism lost its proletarian base in the 1950's, this did not mean this was permanent and that militant, class struggle anarchism was gone forever.

At the same time, aside from the disastrous propaganda of the deed, much has been gained from anarchism's various phases, in spite of the errors committed. An incredible amount was learned from the Fourth or syndicalist phase. Indeed, this period really put anarchism on the map as a serious tendency in the workers movement. The Fifth Period developed anarchist understanding of society to a remarkable degree, making much of the earlier anarchism seem crude by comparison. Without the counter-culturalism of the Sixth and Seventh Periods, it is unlikely that so many youth would have become attracted to anarchism.

1. Many of these Proudhonist associations began to take on a more militant stance.

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR - January 1-9

JANUARY 1

1817 - SECOND NATIONAL BANK OF THE US OPENS
This was the third quasi national bank of the US — following the Bank of North America (1781-1785) and Bank of the United States (1791-1811). While called a “national” bank, it was not public but actually a commercial/corporate bank with the power to issue money directly (just like its two predecessors). Early on, it issued a huge amount of money (more than 20 times its reserves) as loans that led to financial speculation and large corporate profits. A year later, it stopped providing loans, resulting in a severe contraction of the money supply — which led to massive bankruptcies and the Panic of 1819. President Andrew Jackson believed the bank was a threat to the nation. He vetoed a bill in 1832 renewing the bank’s charter (license).

1909 - BIRTH OF US SENATOR (REPUBLICAN) BARRY GOLDWATER
“The Trilateralist Commission is international and is intended to be the vehicle for multinational consolidation of commercial and banking interests by seizing control of the political government of the U.S. The Trilateralist Commission represents a skillful, coordinated effort to seize control and consolidate the four centers of power --political, monetary, intellectual and ecclesiastical.”

1911 - US POSTAL SAVINGS SYSTEM OPENS
The Postal Savings System offered savings accounts to depositors, but no loans. When banks failed after the Great Depression, many people shifted their remaining funds. With post officers serving as bank branches, the Postal Savings System held upwards of 20% of the nation’s savings in the mid 1940’s. Commercial/corporate banks lobbied against their expansion and for their elimination — which occurred in 1967.

JANUARY 3

1977 - DEATH OF CARROLL QUIGLEY, PROFESSOR AND HISTORIAN
“The influence of financial capitalism and of the international bankers who created it was exercised both on business and on governments, but could have done neither if it had not been able to persuade both these to accept two 'axioms' of its own ideology...by basing the value of money on gold and by allowing bankers to control the supply of money. To do this it was necessary to conceal, or even mislead, both governments and people about the nature of money and its methods of operation.” [from his book, Tragedy and Hope, 1966]

JANUARY 7

1782 – BANK OF NORTH AMERICA OPENS
This was the nation’s first private commercial bank. At that time, the nation’s constitution was the Articles of Confederation. Article 9 of the Articles gave Congress the power to “emit bills of credit” -- to create money debt free. By a single vote, Congress voted to transfer their authority to issue money to the The Bank of North America when it approved its charter on December 31, 1781. Thus, the Bank served as a quasi central bank (which created money as loans, called “debt money”). Why did Congress willingly give up their money power? The public argument was that the business of finance could not be competently conduced by a public body (Congress) — only by a small number of private financiers. The first head of the Bank was Robert Morris, the richest merchant in America.
_______________________________________________________

Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system, been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?

Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.

This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.

Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscibe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com

For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Kasich to corporatize Ohio's prisons?

Ohio Governor John Kasich may corporatize the state prison system.
Gov.-elect John Kasich picks private corrections consultant and former warden to run Ohio's prisons system
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/01/gov-elect_kasich_picks_private.html

TAKE ACTION...

Defend Ohio’s Schools, Jobs and Public Services
Saturday, January 8, Noon
Rally at the Statehouse

End Corporate Rule
Rally and March on the Anniversary of the
“Citizens United vs FEC" Supreme Court decision
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2011, NOON
First Congregational Church - U444 East Broad Street, Columbus
flyer at http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/CUFECflyer.pdf