CRUX OF THE US CAPITALISM AND THE US MARINES --“SEMPER FIDELIS”
“We are discarding an entire generation to maintain an economic system that can’t hold up anymore, a system that to survive must make war”
Pope Francis ,Vatican, June 8, 2014
Every country differs from each other in accordance with the types of “mode of production” prevailing in that country. In other words, a country can not be classified in accordance with the administrative differences such as kingdom, dictatorships, constitutional democracy, parliamentary republic.
Moreover, the mode of production is a suigeneris entity which changes via its own different inner factors to a higher level of mode of production say from feudal /semi-feudal to capitalist type of mode of production. These changes can not be stopped, accelerated nor reversed by human intervention.
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The “mode of production” in late nineteenth century began to turn from feudal mode of production into a higher form of mode of production namely into the capitalist mode of production in the Union States. The emerging capitalist mode of production and its idiosyncratic creation of a special form of property relations (socio-economic, cultural and legal norms) in the long-run gave birth to a suigeneris civilization in a continent named USA; it was indeed a gift to the humanity.
However, some economists have asserted that the free market economy (capitalist) is doomed to collapse in due time. In order to save the system from its final death requires to take some necessary and working precautions that they will artificially postpone the time of its inevitable death. The answer rests on determining those causes which carry the free market system into death.
The main culprit can be described as taking into consideration of an example say a metal coin such as a dime; in the free market system say “tail” side represents the aggregate demand where as “head” side represents total level of production. In a free market economy in the short run two sides are always in equilibrium; but if the “time” is entered in to the equation, namely in the long run the equilibrium may fall into a disequilibrium position. In other words, the future of the capitalist “system” begins to go to its predestinated fate i.e. in a death pit.
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In the history of the US there were two cases that system has collapsed. The first one was 1929 Great Depression and the second one have emerged in 2007 as Housing and Banking problems which still is threatening not only the US but all over the those countries that are using Capitalist mode of production. In two cases the equilibrium situations have turned into the disequilibrium positions due to the exactly “the” same reason namely shrinkage in the aggregate demand in the market.
In 1929 upon the emerging disequilibrium the Government of USA interfered to the market and have implemented those suggestions of British Prof.Dr. J.Maynard Keynes as New Deal proramme and result was successful and so US Capitalism did not die at that instance. In 2007 the capitalist crises has risen again and President Obama wanted to use the Roosevelt’s Keynes’ian policies again but the powerful “ruling circles”, instead of Keynesian programme, they have pushed to use Monetary policies of Milton Friedman.
As it is known that Prof.Dr.Milton Friedman is a theoretician belongs to the group of neo-classical economists who do not take into consideration a very important element that is the “time” factor. They also never take into consideration that economics is not a science composed of several mathematical equations but it covers the lives of citizens of a country.
Friedman and his followers accept his almost inhuman understanding that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business (capitalist oligarchs- C. U.) – to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud". As a matter of fact Milton Friedman had very strong influences upon some conservative political figures such as Margaret Thatcher, G.W.Bush, Agusto Pinochet, Alan Greenspan, Ronald Reagen,at all.
President Obama has not been left free to act and cure the disease of the 2007 market’s failure by using the Roosevelt-Keynes formula the under necessity followed Milton Friedman’s biased views but unfortunately as it is known by unbiased economists that the Monetary Policies of Chicago School in a “long term” realities in a free market economies always fail.
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Let us point out the main cause of the matter; the cause of the crisis is due to shortage in the aggregate demand. The shrink occurs in the level of aggregate demand due to inner structures of the free market system. Usually from time to time the market demand decreases and the output created by the producers cannot find any channel to sell their output; in the long run the aggregate demand falls lower than the production. If the aggregate demand continues to shrink then the producers in the market confronts the loses of sales and hence the decreasing their profits. Moreover the rate of unemployment rises. The capitalist is under the pressure to find new markets to sell their output so to prevent his rate of profit from declining.
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In the human history there is an important example which shows how the capitalist mode of production countries follows an aim to sell their outputs to backward namely to feudal mode of production countries by force. The first and perfect sample of how the capitalist oligarchs achieved to open new markets to guarantee the continuation of their high level of profits via the use of military ways and means.
The first war was the American Civil War 1861-1865.(All information on history of Civil War was taken from the several encyclopedic sources). Industrial North “Union” countries felt necessity to declare a war to Cotton Countries. The conclusion was the American Civil War 1861-1865 and Industrial “Union” attacked to “cotton countries” namely South using military forces.
This experience established a sample that if a necessity occurs in order to sell their industrial output to those countries which are less developed according to say to feudal mode of production economies ; say ,North Union Countries to get raw materials such as petroleum, minerals and several agricultural goods from the South and to sell to them weapons and industrial high technology products. The perfect sample of this statement can be verified by the result of the American Civil War.
Confederate forces lost to “Union”. The Union’s mode of production defeated the South’s feudal mode of production. Indeed we can firmly state that Union was successful to achieve the real motive of selling the North’s industrial products to South. The American Civil War was one of the earliest true industrial wars. Railroads, the telegraph, steamships, and mass-produced weapons were employed extensively.
Socio-Economic differences between the industrial North and agricultural South was very deep. The North had a booming manufacture-based industrial economy. In the agrarian South, slaves accounted for more than one fourth of the population. While the North had improved farmland and mechanized techniques, the region also had a booming manufacture-based industrial economy. In 1860, of the 128,300 industrial establishments nationwide, only 18,026 were in the South. (http://www.civilwar.org/education/teachers/lesson-plans/the-gathering-storm/the-gathering-storm-for.html)
The American Civil War is the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 750,000 soldiers and an undetermined number of civilian casualties. One estimate of the death toll is that ten percent of all Northern males 20–45 years old, and 30 percent of all Southern white males aged 18–40 perished. In short the Union forces devasted not only the military power of the South but also economic and social/cultural essence of the South.
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It is a striking fact that after the Civil War the military power of the US have been used in several regional and global wars. It is indeed very interesting truth that the US has never been threatened by any enemy forces from the out side of the boundaries of the US. The US government however long before even the birth of USA (July 4,1776) created suigeneris military weapon called the US Marines corps in 1775.
The US Marines have been used in several wars during the early history of the US and it is still the main weapon of the US; a weapon made (formatted-constituted)by human beings turned into a single “living weapon” called the US Marine Corps who is moreover been donated and equipped with those highly sophisticated several non-living weapons.
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In due time all over the World oligarchs had discovered a method to use of military force on to other countries through a “industry- military complex” operations. Indeed around 1890 the oligarchs put great pressure on the President William Mc Kinley to decide to declare war to Spain. He was extremely reluctant to accept a war but finally he bowed to the pressure of military-industry complex and Spanish- American war took place in the World history.
After 20 years in 1920s relentless, outrageously brutal imperialist country in the human history, England, declared war on Europe. England used as soldiers those men who came from its colonies. As a matter of fact by 1922 the British Empire held sway over about 458 million people, one-fifth of the world's population at the time. The empire covered more than 33,700,000 km2 (13,012,000 sq mi), almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. In all of these victories(!) of England, the country no doubt used military power to enlarge its markets to sell industrial products to feudal mode of production countries and to expropriate especially minerals and petroleum resources from those less developed countries. In the First World war England occupied the petroleum rich areas of the Ottoman Empire and played its very clever insidious plot establishing a Mandatory legal form of Government system in Iraq and later completed its role for the benefit of English Oligarchs by declaring the territory of Iraq as an “independent” country.
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In later years England lost her dominions and so lost its power at the arena of the World affairs. Nevertheless England found a ready too much hungry modern oligarchs in the US and as a matter of fact when Blair and Bush agreed to lie using as a pretext the so-called “Weapons of Mass Destruction” to occupy Iraq and North African countries-- as of old “friends” Churchill and Roosevelt once upon a time had danced together.
In reality Roosevelt was reluctant to say “yes” to Churchill not only because he had already solved the problem of low level aggregate demand in the US market by the use of Keynesian New Deal policy but also because he did not want US citizens to lose their lives.
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Pope Francis of Vatican says in his last speech that a new World War is again emerged. The Pope in his speech on June 8, 2014 states: “a system that to survive must make war,… as a Third World War can’t be done, they make zonal wars...” http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3187/pope_francis_interview_with_spanish_magazine_la_vanguardia_full_text.aspx
Indeed this approach of Pope declares a truth describing today’s situation in Afghanistan, Iraq and some other locations in those places the US Marines are deployed. The US Marines have a very different position among the Armed Forces of the US.
They are bodyguards of the homeland called the US and without any doubt performs very successfully of the designed duty for them. They are brave, courageous and they believe the values of the founding fathers of America which are indeed invaluable gems in the history of humanity; these young men are honest, just, sincere and righteous people. They also believe that if there is any need for the survival of the principles of the US they are ready to give their life and proudly die at one second. Their numbers are over 200.000 and all of these Marines select motto saying SEMPER FIDELIS(Always Faithful).
The Marine Corps are composed of young men coming from different origins; but all of these differences for them are meaningless since each one them carry almost the same personality not only in their beliefs but also in their convinced cells of brains. It is really quite impressive that their origins are from different sources but the result is a man of honor and trust. Every young man comes to the Marine Corps as a normal young men and turns into THE US MARINE. If you meet one US Marine it means you know all of those men who carry the name of THE US MARINE which can be translated as “ The Example of Perfection” in implementing the given orders with carrying a belief that says: ''I left home at 18. I learned to kill another human being before I even learned to do my taxes. I learned how to care about someone else's life, more than my. I have friends in college and I have friends in Afghanistan. My friends in college go home for summer, my friends in Afghanistan haven't come back. I wrote my own will at 19. I don't get enough sleep most nights. I don't know the next time I will see my family. I don't know when I may go home. I don't know much really. But I know one thing... I have 160.000 brothers out there, And they make it all worth it.''
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However the unfortunate point here is that those Marines while courageously fighting not only the enemy of President Karzai in Afghanistan but also some other locations these formidable young fighters is distressingly continue to see undesirable bodily harm. Statistical figures implies that in a year loss of Marines in the “zonal” wars shows indeed a gruesome outcome. From 2001 to 2014 the wounded Marines number was 19964 and the dead toll was 1808. If we add for the same period suicide cases we arrive approximately 7000 dead and 20000 wounded brave and really devoted young men.
It is indeed hard to believe the heroism of these young patriots deserve to be treated really in a high level of respect and to take real protections from those responsible circles; however some sort of devious interest group or groups such as Vatican’s Pope Francis says, to sent the altruistic brave US Marines to outside of USA boundaries to fight again in a zonal war to get natural resources of those countries and to sell weapons to them in order to eradicate disequilibrium and constitute a new situation namely equilibrium in the market. In short the military-industry complex to be successful in the need of obtaining a system in which every factors of production is in equilibrium; the capitalist mode of production arrives in equilibrium and so Oligarchs are satisfied since their rate of profit is again increasing at the sacrifice of those indeed brave young The US Marine.
However some of the interested citizens of USA give a different interpretation on the main functions of THE Marine as follows:( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFzM-CsI-Q ) “ …don't you know that there are no country’s-just corporations …all you are doing is propping up some pig bankers assets thinking that you are protecting 'your country'- …so pig banker can make more fiat currency and laugh at you because you still believe in a fiction of bravado-while they pay you walmart wages and make you wear a costume-or do you need a mouthful of magic mushrooms to become awake and aware of your dilemma? Guys and Gals-please wake up and stop protecting these monsters assets-because they don’t care squat about you…”
In sum the US Marine “Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood” (http://neverforget.xcaliberhost.com/Articles%5CAMERICAN%20SOLDIER.html )
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In our days, military and industry cooperation still continues. For example on June 3 2014, Military and Industrial Leaders exchanged ideas at opportunity forum. (http://www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil/News/PressReleaseArticleDisplay/tabid/8007/Article/165997/military-industry-leaders-exchange-ideas-at-opportunity-forum.aspx)
In the forum, it was emphasized that the communication among the military services as well as between the military and industrial representatives...“Open dialogue and strong relationships between government and industry in time of peace help ensure effective communications in wartime. While we’re still at war now – and there are many crazy unstable events happening around the world – we’re on a path to a peacetime footing.”… “There are 710 million more reasons you should take notice of the unique nature of how we do business and what types of things we buy from small businesses,” he said than $710 million was awarded to small businesses across all of the [North American Industry Classification System] codes and product service codes used by the command.” http://neverforget.xcaliberhost.com/Articles%5CAMERICAN%20SOLDIER.html )
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General James F. Amos, USMC Commandant of the Marine Corps on June 2014 says “we are witnessing the uglier side of the human condition in places like Iraq and Syria now. Throughout the world, we are seeing increased competition for scarce natural resources, increased prevalence and severity of natural disasters … more social unrest, more cyber-attacks, more violent extremism…more regional conflicts, human trafficking, and a disturbing proliferation of military hardware and weapons mass destruction. http://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/142/Docs/140624%20--%20Gen%20James%20Amos%20speech%20at%20AEI%20(CMC%20Final).pdf
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In the history there are several writers and political leaders , commandants and for example a greatest soldiers such as The President Eisenhower at his farewell speech set big risks for he World of military-industrial complex. He said: ( http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/ike.htm ): ...an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.
In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.
Akin to, and largely responsible for the sweeping changes in our industrial-military posture, has been the technological revolution during recent decades. In this revolution, research has become central, it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government.
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Unfortunately, Pope Fransis of Vatican says in his speech that the Third World War is again emerged. The Pope in his speech on June 8, 8 2014 states:
The economy is moved by the ambition of having more and, paradoxically, it feeds a throw away culture. Young people are thrown away when their natality is limited. The elderly are also discarded because they don’t serve any use anymore, they don’t produce, this passive class… In throwing away the kids and elderly, the future of a people is thrown away because the young people are going to push forcefully forward and because the elderly give us wisdom. They have the memory of that people and they have to pass it on to the young people. And now also it is in style to throw the young people away with unemployment. The rate of unemployment is very worrisome to me, which in some countries is over 50%. Someone told me that 75 million young Europeans under 25 years of age are unemployed. That is an atrocity. But we are discarding an entire generation to maintain an economic system that can’t hold up anymore, a system that to survive must make war, as the great empires have always done. But as a Third World War can’t be done, they make zonal wars. What does this mean? That they produce and sell weapons, and with this the balance sheets of the idolatrous economies, the great world economies that sacrifice man at the feet of the idol of money, obviously they are sorted. This unique thought takes away the wealth of diversity of thought and therefore the wealth of a dialogue between peoples. Well understood globalization is a wealth. Poorly understood globalization is that which nullifies differences. It is like a sphere in which all points are equidistant from the center. A globalization that enriches is like a polyhedron, all united but each preserving its particularity, its wealth, its identity, and this isn’t given. And this does not happen.
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The Congress Mandate ( 82nd Congress -1952 ) states that “(The Marine Corps )must be the most ready when the nation is generally least ready, to provide a balanced force in readiness for a naval campaign and at the same time, a ground and air striking force ready to suppress or contain international disturbances short of large-scale war.”
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In other words it seems that the President Obama is trying to contain international disturbances not to go to large-scale war but by taking small but efficient steps. He is bringing those Marines back to USA from Afghanistan at the end of 2014 and he has reluctantly sent for a very small size group of Marines (500-600) back to Irak for a very short period in early July 2014.
We can draw a logical conclusion that President Obama is viewing the reality of our days that since the Pope of Vatican states that the Third World War is in front of our doors then the President Obama’s attitude and the behavior reminds some peaceful mechanism which he was once when assumed the Presidency he wished but was not able to execute the President Roosevelt’s Keynesian policy now.
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For the real solution in order to prevent Third World War the administration of President Obama may achieve by reincarnating or re-establishing similar economic policies of Roosevelt/Keynes ’s economic policies in The United State of America. As a matter fact the system Roosevelt used was mainly depended on capitalist mode of production. It will continue to function in accordance to the data created by the free market mechanism namely static efficiency(efficient resource allocation) will continue in accordance with the scarcity prices which has been obtained by free market mechanism.
There is one additional element which has been added by Roosevelt into the system of capitalism, that is, the dynamic efficiency consideration. In other words growing the economy namely increase the level of aggregate demand by spending Public resources to enable to increase the aggregate demand in the market. Thus will help to increase the profit of oligarchs.
Expenditure by public sources will help the capitalist corporations to continue to achieve a total production of them and to obtain higher level of employment in the market instead of making wars. In other words military and industry complex (namely government expenditure on weapons and preventing the death rate of humans –either US marines or civilians. The point which is used by Rooswelth was spent state resources to enable to increase the aggregate demand in the market by saving capitalist corporation to continue to achieve a total production of them and the obtain higher level of employment in the market. The President Roosevelt used the system under the name of New Deal and achieved to prevent the total collapse of the US economy. Roosevelt used State funds via WPA and really he was successful. WPA created employment for 8,5 million people , 1.046 million km roads, 125.000 public buildings, 75.000 bridge, 8.000 park, 800 airport construction completed , art projects etc.
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As a matter of fact the British economist John Maynard Keynes, when arrived to see US President Roosevelt he knew the real cause was the internal essence of the “capitalist mode of production” which it was causing from time to time depressions since the declining aggregate demand arrives to a level of which is lower than the level of production, thus “glut” comes out. This implies in turn unemployment rate goes higher and higher and the rate of profits declines. Keynes suggested to President Roosevelt to direct Government’s funds to establish WPA to create jobs for unemployed people.
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It seems that President Obama is going to bring a system that will solve the problems in the USA economy. As a matter of fact President Obama replied some questions (President Barack Obama, Part 5 – the Tonight Show with Jay Leno) on TV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCDvhkGaycs and suggested that he is really seriously interested in Roosevelt’s New Deal Policy.
Jay Leno asked:
“ Q: Would it be possible to do a modern WPA, almost like a America Peace Corps where kids get paid a decent wage, you give them food, and they fix up Detroit, they fix up other cities -- whatever -- they fix bridges? I mean, when you travel this country, you see these great bridges and things that were built by -- and they have the plaque, the guys that built it in 1932, in 1931.
Obama: And it was incredibly important for not just the economy in the ‘30s, we use it still -- Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam. It opened up opportunity for everybody. The Interstate Highway System -- think of all the businesses that got created because we put that together. So it’s possible. The question is do we have the political will to do it. And my argument to Congress has been, this is just like your house. You can put off fixing the roof. You can put off doing the tuck pointing. You can put off replacing the old boiler. But sooner or later, you’re going to have to fix it, and it’s going to be more expensive the longer you put it off. When we’ve got unemployed folks right now, we should be putting them to work, and it would be good for the entire country.”
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It is an extremely important point to re- use Keynesian approach for saving our civilization from total devastation of the nuclear war; otherwise prevailing system may give a conclusıon which is predicted by Pope Francis that the Third World War will enter from the doors of military-industry complex namely The Castle of Instable Warmonger Oligarchs.
The most probable alternative will be the annihilation of over millions of citizens and humanity will wish that in the first steps of the stairs to hell should be reserved to those Oligarchs and their civilian pivotal partners.
As Albert Einstein once said “ I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and Stones”
COSKUN URUNLU
Ankara, Turkey
July 22,2014