The Mfecane of 2011

[JCMach1]

I can hear you all scratching your heads right now. What the hell is a Mfecane? I first learned about this major event in 19th Century native African history by reading James Michener's The Covenant, and the images presented within that novelized description exceed those of modern-day Darfur. To keep it somewhat short and simple, think of it as a societal purge by a self-defined chosen people conducting ethnic cleansing of "undesirables" in seeking their version of Lebensraum. To ensure that the job was completed, they also resorted to scorched-earth tactics to prevent any rival group rising and threatening their hegemony.

A case for a similar motivation in strategy could be made for today's Republicans. Their slash-and-cut budget reductions are as single-minded and ruthless as the policies followed by these native Africans, and will prove to be equally as heedless of the obvious consequences. Allow me to detour into history again – a bit more recently this time – to set the stage...

People without resources cannot participate in a consumer economy. Up until the mortgage bubble burst, consumer spending accounted for 70% of the US economic activity. US wages have been stagnant at best since Jimmy Carter, and earning power dropped accordingly. If survival is going to be the primary motivator of consumer spending, a whole lot of currently wealthy people are going to find themselves on the wrong side of this economy as their customers spend their money on necessities instead of the their proffered products. There is little evidence that these US "entrepreneurs" are a dialed-in as their UK counterparts, probably still believing in Obama being a socialist Kenyan Muslim impostor, and that the Rapture will be occurring on May 21. They will be easy prey for their brothers-in-billion-dollar-bonuses.

There is still time for saner heads to prevail, especially since it's very clear that "our" elected representatives aren't the ones making the real decisions. Based on the remarks of Geithner, Greenspan, and Standard and Poor's, those in such a powerful position aren't interested in riding the economic bomb to detonation. They also aren't interested in trying to live in the economic wasteland that the Republicans seem insistent on creating. I guess maybe they realize that even they don't have enough money to buy enough security protection from starving mobs, and want to head it off before things get out of hand.

It would be the smart thing to do – and be very humane toward those who haven't benefited nearly as much.

Read more: http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/the-mfecane-of-2011/page-3/#ixzz1K2el6wd4