Western economies mired in monumental crisis

This began as a crisis of capitalism but the ruling elites have successfully reframed the event as a failure of the last Labour Government.

A recovery has been engineered through a combination of population growth, credit expansion, state guarantee for mortgage lenders, PPI compensation, financial repression and optimistic stories in the national press.

The economic situation remains dire. The fiscal position is perilous, the balance of trade horrendous and financial repression has transferred a huge amount of wealth from the poor to the richest members of society.

We are descending into oligarchy and witnessing the emergence of Neo-Feudalism.

The number of people becoming a member of the precariat is growing rapidly and their place is fixed by virtue of wage slavery and debt servitude.

The situation is no accident; this has been engineered as an act of deliberate policy under the guise of “empowerment” by the mainstream political parties.

Some economists now suspect new technologies could do the jobs of millions of workers. Previous technological revolutions saw workers moving from the extractive industries to the manufacturing industry, and then from manufacturing to the service sector.

This time, however, may be very different. If this assessment proves to be correct then competition for jobs will remain intense and wages will continue falling in real terms.

Leading politicians and much of the national commentariat claim we are firmly on the road to recovery.

This may fool some people but anyone prepared to read and think independently will recognise that the Western economic model remains mired in the midst of a monumental crisis.

Kevin Hey

Castle Road, Colne