How to prepare for the crisis

According to Chinese astrology, 2008 was the year of the brown rat: a time of expected and great changes. Some of them became quite remarkable when the crippling American real estate started to capitulate, as well as the greed-is-good mantra of the free-trade in which it was inspired. But, currently, how to prepare for the crisis?

In fact, the undergoing financial and economic crisis already seems so yesterday, and still one may claim neither heads of States nor the average citizens are aware of how to tackle the current issues. The more news on the crisis is massively broadcast, the fewer reasonable alternatives seem feasible. Therefore, no one is able to predict what will come next in this crisis of capitalism.

Undoubtedly, the nationalisation of the banking system in virtually the entire Western industrialised world and those millons of unemployed citizens worldwide are at the core of the current crisis. Even if one has a job now, no one is able to predict for how long. It is a time of unpredictable, great changes, which demand new paradigms to cope with them.

As the world started to dramatically change in 2008, like expected by Chinese astrology, what may one do in order to survive the current crisis? Since no one has conceived such paradigms so far, a believe would suggest praying for now.

It is the end of the world as we know it

The severe downturn most countries have faced for the past few months is the worst crisis of capitalism, at least since Great Depression. As the nationalisation of the banking system takes place in virtually the entire Western industrialised world, the greed-is-good mantra of the free-market capitulates.

Neither governments nor the average citizens are aware of how to tackle the financial and economic issues properly, especially in countries in which the downturn is supposed to deepen in 2009.

One may claim that the President-Elect Barack Obama, the first African American who ascended to the White House, will be able to cope with some of the current financial and economic problems. Nevertheless, no changes will come without pressure for them. Aside from the fact that Obama has no previous administrative experience, which may indicate lack of proper knowledge on how to manage to, at least, bail the American economy out of the crisis, created by itself.

Undoubtedly, if one hah such expertise in order to technically predict what near future will be like, we could expect capitalism to thrive once again, sooner or later. Unfortunately, there is no expert willing to take a chance. Once and for all, "it is the end of the world as we know it".

Mass media

The mass media is, currently, one of the most powerful and influential social institutions. Whilst information society demands more and more means of communication, mankind gets used to reading and watching the news without much criterion. Also, biased information has been massively broadcast, and quite often its consumers have not been aware of it.

The media has great influence over people's decisions, not only concerning advestisement and consumption. It also plays an important role when it comes to political agenda or religious propaganda. Therefore, the same journalistic fact may have biased and controversial versions.

When journalists cover a military conflict, for instance, they tend to highlight some facts and omit others. Frequently, instead of a personal decision, that is due to editorial interests. The recent conflict involving the Israeli and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip showed that the media coverage may be influenced by political and governmental decisions. Especially due to the fact that journalists were barred from doing their job by the Israeli Army.

Therefore, whenever one reads or listens to the news, one must take into consideration that what is issued or transmitted has to fulfill commercial and political purposes, previously established. Thus, the truth one is told is not necessarily the truth.

Since immemorial time

Since immemorial time, mankind has seeked comfort, moving around a specific territory to achieve it. Nonetheless, centuries before the birth of Thomas Hobbes and La Boétie, with the appearance of the State, mankind agreed on the domination of all men by one man. From that time on, most attempts to get a more comfortable life have experienced social and political phenomena such as national boundaries, be them visible or invisible, and thus an effective limitation to human movement.

For centuries, mankind has been stopped from moving around by international legal institutions: passport, visa, nationality, and foreign affairs, for instance. Neither emigrating nor immigrating is a decision that can be merely made behind one’s free will. Seldom, both depend on previous agreements for that limitation or not.

On the other hand, despite legal limitations, one could say that, historically, men and women who suffered from starvation or political and religious persecutions, and decided to emigrate are amongst the founders of countries like the United States. Hence, leaving one’s homeland for a distant and unknown territory, be it forbidden or not, may seem legitimate from one’s point of view.

Although mankind has always been seeking comfort and, for that reason, able to look for it in a foreign country as well, the necessary allowance for doing so has been outstandingly limited for centuries now. Hobbes was quite right: “man is a wolf to man”.

The importance of Obama's election

The United States of America has faced changes over the past few months. Aside from the American financial crisis, whose effects are expected to have tremendous impact on the real economy worldwide, the election of Barack Obama is also greatly remarkable. On the 4th of November, he defeated the Republican senator John McCain and became the first African-American President-Elect.

In comparison to George W. Bush’s administration, the Democrat President-Elect also represents the possibility of changes. Bush has made all his efforts in order to accomplish his goals: defeating his enemies abroad. Therefore, the severe downturn America has been into proves his incompetence, especially when tackling non-aggressive issues.

Since the United States is a country in which the memories of racial segregation remain alive, the election of Barack Obama has made the ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr come true. In fact, Americans voted for Obama not because of the colour of his skin, but due to the fact they believed changes were possible and necessary.

The importance of Obama’s election will become even more remarkable when he takes office on January 20th, 2009. His great challenge will be managing to bail the American economy out of the crisis. Will the United States still be the most powerful nation and the greatest economy in the world by the end of his first term? Only time will tell.

Raposa Serra do Sol - For or against continuous delimitation

The current Federal Constitution (FC) guarantees to native inhabitants of Brazil the immemorial right to territorial possession, provided that it is technically proved that their physical and cultural subsistence depends on specific piece of land. However, the political issue involving the Indigenous Territory of Raposa Serra do Sol has confirmed reality is far more complex than what may be legally predicted.

Raposa Serra do Sol is a huge Indigenous Territory (IT) in the state of Roraima. Presumably due to the fact there are towns and electors in the IT, several ethnical groups, politicians and rice producers have controversial economical interests concerning its continuous delimitation. The decision on whether or not its delimitation must be continuous has been under Supreme Court’s analysis for months now.

As a matter of fact, article 231 (FC) and infra-constitutional laws which regulate the process of regularisation of indigeous territories state that any non-indigenous inhabitants must be removed from the IT, and rewarded accordingly, by the Union, for any goods or buildings. By the way, the continuous delimitation of Raposa Serra do Sol implies no loss of sovereignty, due to the fact it will remain as Union’s property, as well as any other IT.

Indigenous peoples, non-indigenous inhabitants and, especially, rice producers must respect the Supreme Court’s coming decision. Eventually, it will be definitely a constitutional resolution, no matter it seems legitimate or not.

Is Brazil doing its part to mitigate global warming?

One may claim media has relegated global warming recently. Since the de facto nationalisation of the banking system in virtually the entire Western industrialised world, it seems that coping with the current crisis of capitalism is all that matters.

In Brazil, rising levels of deforestation indicate not only inefficient environmental policies yet established, but also that Brazilian government has rather important or urgent issues, such as the immediate financial and economic ones. Who cares about climate change and global warming when the world goes bankrupt?

Twenty years ago, one of the greatest Brazilian heroes was murdered for defending the idea that the Amazon rainforest was worth more alive than dead. Currently, Chico Mendes would have much to teach worldwide investors and financial speculators about sustainable development, but was shot dead two decades before. Even though, no one has remembered him nor the anniversary of this death, occured on the 22nd of December, 1988.

Undoubtedly, the current crisis of capitalism, as the greed-is-good mantra of the free-market capitulates, has made the mitigation of economic and financial problems more urgent than saving trees. One may say Brazil will regret having let deforestation go so far. Maybe too late.

Future is now

The greed-is-good mantra of the free-market's capitulation to the de facto nationalisation of the banking system in virtually the entire Western industrialised world is at the core of the worst economic crisis of capitalism since Great Depression. What might one expect from now on?

In a country founded on African slavery, the ascension of an African American to the White House is historic. Nevertheless, no one should expect that positive social, political and economic changes will come from Barack Obama without pressure for them.

On the other hand, climate change and global warming have contributed to food price inflation all over the globe. Starvation may be a chaotic scenario, but it is more and more likely. Meanwhile, farming is still subsidised in most developed countries, what makes fair trade infeasible.

In spite of Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and Obama's administration's approach to it, just breaking the stifling conservative orthodoxy of George W. Bush's era would make liberalism a more viable ideological alternative for the ones who want to see real change.

by khalil@bendib.com