Witnessing the Decay of Western Hegemony and the Role of the Organic
Intellectual <
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00437.htm>
Excerpt:
"As western society struggles with rising tensions, both within and outside
of its borders, as those being colonized begin to throw their shoes in
despair, and those who thought they belonged to the empire begin to realize
that their dream is no longer sustainable, the organic intellectual is able
to grasp the severity of the global crisis. As bankers announce their
losses, the banking cartel slowly collapses. First, the major investment
banks and hedge funds, then their traditional counterparts, all showing
loses which only a year ago had been presented as ground breaking profits,
as slowly the deck of cards unfolds and everything crumbles. Soon the job
cuts begin..."
Witnessing the Decay of Western Hegemony*Saturday, 27 December 2008,
12:06 pm*
*Column: Pablo Ouziel*
Witnessing the Decay of Western Hegemony and the Role of the Organic
Intellectual
*By Pablo Ouziel <
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0812/S00437.htm#a>*
Abstract: While the military might of the world's leading nations continues
to expand, it has become apparent that western colonialism is abruptly
coming to an end, yet the consequences are still not clear to any of the
pundits traditionally involved in the discourse which has helped to build
it. For many decades in the west, we have thrived on imperial expansion led
by the United States of America and its allies, and legitimized by
international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank
and the United Nations. Today, this oligopoly of world domination is rapidly
deteriorating and what only a few months ago seemed like the only option for
humanity is today being severely put to the test. The organic intellectual
must face these challenging times by offering viable alternatives to society
so that a new world order can emerge out of the rubble left behind by
liberal democratic capitalism.
*Introduction*
Antonio Gramsci differentiated organic intellectuals from traditional
intellectuals, by emphasizing the role of the former in cultivating roots
within their communities to help develop a self-inspired organic
consciousness. Accepting their position within the dominant ideology,
according to Gramsci, organic intellectuals will ultimately support the
working-class in developing an alternative hegemony within civil society.
For many decades, society has been indoctrinated with the belief that
liberal democratic capitalism was the benevolent solution to all world
problems. Through this model of society, hunger was going to be eradicated,
wars would come to an end, the environment would be saved, and justice would
be distributed equally amongst all members of the human species. Entering
the new century, western society celebrated the new millennium with the
euphoria of success, once and for all; we had entered the final face of
existence, the one, which would bring upon the earth the mythical wonders of
the Kingdom of Heaven. However, without having witnessed the passing of the
first decade of the 21st century, this dogma has been broken and as many
across the globe struggle for survival and society is marred by the
continuous threat of revolving crisis, the time for the revolutionary
transformation of the western ideal is upon us. Yet, the fundamental
questions remain to be answered, how can we act? What can we do?
It is the role of the organic intellectual to answer these questions. If
there are any left who have not yet awaken from their slumber, the time has
come for them to abandon the *petit bourgeois* existence of the petty
professor attending wine tasting events, the government bureaucrat
justifying the wonders of his mind while working on the golf swing at the
local country club, or the 1960s hippie, that after a stint in the Berkeley
student movements went on to become a prosperous businessman. In today's
holistic global crisis, one which threatens every single aspect of our
existence – from the food we eat, to the air we breath, and to the way we
interact between each other – those who in their youth considered themselves
conscious individuals fighting towards change, can no longer hide behind the
mask of the liberal democratic ideal of a capitalist society striving
towards justice, peace and prosperity. All of these having remained ideals,
while a reality of extreme misery for the majority, coexists today with the
growing prosperity of a shrinking minority capitalizing on the growing pains
of humanity.
In today's crisis, we will all perish together or we will overcome it
together, and as professor Chomsky often states, "so much depends on will
and choice". Yet, the choice at this point is between prolonged misery,
constant crisis, environmental deterioration and continual war, or the
possibility of working together in unison to overcome the hurdles, which we
are facing. If we are to honestly look at what is happening in society, on
any given day we can observe that the interests of the majority are not
being respected and instead, the elites benefiting themselves, pitch to
society the benefits of their choices by attributing everything to the
trickledown effect – a warped inversion of reality which supports investing
on those at the top in order to protect people at the bottom. I often wonder
when I hear such discourse bombarded by government officials and experts
through the traditional channels of propaganda, whether the rest of society
is awake and paying attention, or simply asleep and indifferent. I can never
be quite sure, because if indeed society is awake and paying attention, then
we live in a world of fools, yet, if the indifference is attributable to
being asleep, the task of waking up is a daunting one. One, which can only
be carried out by the organic intellectual committed to revolutionary social
transformation.
*Decay of Western Hegemony*
As western society struggles with rising tensions, both within and outside
of its borders, as those being colonized begin to throw their shoes in
despair, and those who thought they belonged to the empire begin to realize
that their dream is no longer sustainable, the organic intellectual is able
to grasp the severity of the global crisis. As bankers announce their
losses, the banking cartel slowly collapses. First, the major investment
banks and hedge funds, then their traditional counterparts, all showing
loses which only a year ago had been presented as ground breaking profits,
as slowly the deck of cards unfolds and everything crumbles. Soon the job
cuts begin, across continents furious workers revel against their enslaving
owners, demonstrations, walkouts, sit-ins, failed negotiations between trade
unions and shareholders. The sky is falling and the capitalist always
strives to win. For a while, dormant workers watch their colleagues being
laid-off, at first it seems an unavoidable aspect of capitalism, the dirty
side of a casino culture, which rewards some at the expense of others. But
then, neighbourhoods begin to witness empty houses, people evicted,
squatters moving in, the law can do little to prevent it, the numbers are
too big to contain. The lobbyists in Washington are eagerly fighting for
pieces of the bailout money prepared by a government, which faced with
complete anarchy must regain a foothold in the corridors of power.
Confidence must never be lost. Hence, a new face in the White House, a new
man, a new dream, perpetuated by the chanting of hope. But things will never
be the same in America, as young bankers spend their holidays in despair not
knowing if their job awaits them in the coming year, the dark thoughts of
unemployment begin to creep in. Obama proposes solutions, three million jobs
to be created by rebuilding the fallen infrastructures of the great American
empire. An empire, which in its boom forgot to cement its foundations and
now collapsing, will offer its unemployed bankers the opportunity to go and
fix roads.
As America crumbles, its allies must wait and hope. they too must hold tight
to the idea of a rebirth, they too must put their expectations and dreams in
the hands of Obama. For the allies, there is not much more that can be done.
They accepted the American way of life, they indulged in the great American
credit card culture and now, millions of people around the globe are tied to
the demise of Wall Street, thus the saying, "when America sneezes the rest
of the world catches a cold." So, as frantic politicians of the axis of good
scramble for some sense of stability for their countries, industries
collapse, unemployment raises, and currencies begin to witness the prospects
of inflation, deflation, stagflation, stagdeflation, and ultimately, what
few dare to mention – depression and eventual collapse.
At this point, relations which in the good times presented themselves as
strong and unbreakable begin to shake, governments of the allied countries,
the client states, are trapped between their commitments to the emperor and
the demands of their people – their people need to eat and the emperor
demands that his people eat first. So, the economies of the allied countries
begin to fall one by one. As they do, chaos breaks within their borders and
internal factions begin to fight for power, possibilities of revolution or
civil war are no longer too far fetched as American influence retreats and
the ruling parties are left in a vacuum, like sitting ducks, waiting for
factions to fight for the reigns. First, the riots break out in the weaker
allied countries such as Greece, where corruption has been so blatant that
the disillusioned youth go out to the streets. At first, it looks like a
minor incident, but soon it is apparent that youth everywhere are inspired
by such actions. As the months go by, riots spark up in numerous countries,
those that no longer feel a part of the empire are now eager to burn it.
The majority of people no longer see the governments as representing their
interests, rather they are understood to be puppets of the ruling elites,
the capitalist class, and this makes them the enemy. It didn't have to be
this way, but politicians have become so complacent that they flaunt the
wealth accumulated through legalized corruption, something, which although
accepted by the courts, is no longer accepted by the angry mobs. So
politicians begin to flee into exile – first, they fly to the ally
countries, but soon they realise that they are not welcomed there. Their
presence can destabilize already fragile situations, so they hop from
country to country, finding eventual refuge in some far away land, in the
same way that Nazi war criminals ended up in the jungles of Latin America.
In the meantime, the military might of America and its allies keeps getting
stretched, and the wars that were begun can no longer be effectively fought.
With the unpopularity at home and the increased resistance of those being
attacked, it seems like a retreat is in sight, however, the military
commanders and the corporations involved in the creation of weapons of mass
destruction, refuse to let go of this opportunity to continue their
expansion. So the war continues, with every shell fired helping to discredit
an act, which was presented as a necessary evil to liberate humanity from
tyranny. Now the war is seen for what it is, an unjust act of aggression
designed to conquer whole populations and generate profit for the small
ruling elites. The United Nations, once believed to be a fair moderator of
conflict, is now showing its face as the mechanism for justification of the
mega-powers – it is no longer sustainable, it is now viewed as an aggressor.
The International Monetary Fund is running out of funds and must call on the
rising empires to support its transactions. As for The World Bank, it just
passes from corruption scandal to corruption scandal, until soon it too will
become obsolete. So, as the international institutions crumble and the
allied countries collapse, America is left in debt with an internal
discomfort brewing and external wars being lost. What was once a colonial
project based on the strategy of sticks and carrots, has run out of carrots
and all that is left, is the stick to continue the expansion. It is at this
point that the American empire must decide between an all out war against
the rising empires, or the acknowledgment of defeat. All empires rise and
fall, what America can do, is to choose between a graceful fall and the
third world war. For those in power the choice is clear, it is now essential
for the people to speak loud and promptly. Will there be war, or will there
be revolution? It is the role of the organic intellectual to promote
revolution rather than war, but how? And what kind of revolution?
*The rise of the organic intellectual movement*
Mahatma Gandhi knew that soldiers had weapons when he chose to promote the
path of non-violence. He also knew that only through this method India had a
chance of transitioning from colonialism to a self-ruling nation, without
descending into civil war. He understood the sacrifice people would have to
make when they stood in front of guns with only their faces of indignation
to protect them from their oppressors. The sacrifice proved worthwhile.
Similarly, as liberal democratic capitalism comes to an end, the only option
for western society to liberate itself from the chains of its ruling elites
is to confront them through organized non-violent actions. It must be the
role of the organic intellectual, to promote this path and educate the
oppressed about its benefits, while proposing effective methods of direct
communal action.
As the situation deteriorates in the west, there is no doubt that violence
is going to increase. As the population begins to react to what is
happening, governments will increase their police forces and will redeploy
their militaries to monitor civilian streets – events, which are already
apparent in certain areas of the United States. Yet, violence breeds
violence, and we can no longer afford to take this route. So, as governments
take bold steps to increase the controls of the civilian population and the
clampdown on dissent becomes apparent, those who are currently ruled, need
to understand the tools they have at their disposal in order to invert the
pyramid of power. However, this reversal of the power structure in society
requires sacrifices, and the sooner we all understand this, the faster we
will be able to obtain true democracy based on peace, equality in front of
the justice system, and sustainable prosperity for all.
Helping people understand this reality is the role of the organic
intellectual. Of course, this is not an easy task, and it requires many
people working together, using the tools at their disposal to build
effectively coordinated information networks designed to empower the
population. Many networks already exist at present, actively educating and
organizing communities through grassroots efforts aimed at direct action,
yet, the kinds of coalitions, which can reshape society in a revolutionary
way are currently lacking friction. In America, the last time anything like
this was actually lived was in the 1960s. Since then, groups have been
fighting for their rights isolated from each other, which has allowed
liberal democratic capitalism to contain them and appease them, without
jeopardising the continual and coordinated expansion of the colonial
project.
It is therefore the need to organize and unite outside of the elite power
structures, which must be prioritized if there is going to be any kind of
revolutionary transformation of western society. Once this step is
acknowledged by the organic intellectual, and dealt with in a coordinated
manner, efforts can then be directed to the numerous direct action
initiatives, which are urgently needed: Putting an end to home evictions and
making sure that everyone has a home. Organizing global trade unions, which
can counteract capital strikes by paralyzing the capitalist economy and
lobbying the demands of the workforce. Initiating consistent global
demonstrations, requesting the halt of military investments and the
dismantling of the war industrial complex. The start up of cooperatives
focused on the development of new forms of sustainable technologies and
alternative methods of production. The creation of community based and owned
banking institutions. Coordinating the development of collectively owned
community farming initiatives. The structuring of worker managed goodwill
delegations, travelling around the world encouraging substitute forms of
collaboration between countries.
Of course, these are only a few options out of the many which can be
proposed and acted upon by an organized population, so these can only serve
as suggestions, as organic intellectuals strive to unite existing grassroots
efforts in coalitions designed to radically transform society. Sympathizing
with the reality of the majority of workers – whose workday is committed
without much choice to staying afloat within the strenuous capitalist
economy – it is understandable that a critical mass is only achieved after
many have been forced into poverty. However, it is the role of the organic
intellectual, to educate the population about the consequences of not acting
boldly and committing to the revolutionary project while still in the
workforce, rather than having to do so later, when exposed to the charitable
mercy of the ruling elite after being laid-off.
As things continue to deteriorate in the western world, these words will
make much more sense. I do hope however, that a majority grasps this view
before it is too late to avoid the third world war. Although, judging by the
reflexes of society in predicting the current financial crisis, it might
take a declaration of war before people understand where we are heading. The
truth is, that unless the population is empowered and revolutionary, this
event seems unavoidable at this point in time, when the ruling elites are
amassing more power, the working class is clasping to its wages, and the
industrial military complex is expanding at the fastest pace in the history
of mankind.
************
*
*Pablo Ouziel is a sociologist and freelance writer*
--
Ashok Agrwaal
56 Todar Mal Road
New Delhi-110001
Tel: 91 11 23714531(o)
http://works.bepress.com/ashokagrwaal/
http://reversingthegaze.blogspot.com/
http://reversingthegaze-self.blogspot.com/
http://reversingthegaze-ruleoflaw.blogspot.com/
Visit: http://groups.google.com/group/article21now
