Saturday, September 13, 2014

American Kulak — Return of the Magyars: Hungary’s President Calls Out the US as Morally and Financially Bankrupt

Another background post that gives insight into anti-neoliberal globalist thinking and sentiment in Europe, here Eastern Europe, and the rise of Eurasia as distinct from Western Europe, as well as historical context, e.g., divisions along ethic and religious lines such as the Catholic and Protestant versus Orthodox and Islamic lines that previously shaped the region historically.

Somewhat long but important as background to developing social, political and economic trends. It's not a matter of agreeing or disagreeing with the views but rather of appreciating the various views and how they are influencing the contemporary news and its likely unfolding, There are many factors in play that are either not recognized in the Western media or spun in terms of the Atlanticist view.

I have been saying for some time that globalization was not going to smooth and that it's progress would ignite historical differences and divisions on the way from ancient tribalism to the modern nation state to a world order that unites while preserving differences. Just as achieving the motto of the United States — E pluribus unum – From many, one — so too, birthing a realization of "one planet, one people" will be similarly conflicted and proceed in fits and starts.

It's not helping that the most powerful player is forcing the process along ideological lines that are especially favorable to the interests of what is fast becoming a transnational elite, resulting in de facto oligarchy masquerading as de jury democracy. Now resistance to that effort is arising even among former supporters and promoters like the Hungarian President Viktor Orban, resulting in his demonization in the West as an authoritarian fascist.

If you don't read the whole post, at least read these excerpts from an Orban speech:
Everyone was only talking about competition in the world economy. Globalization on the international scale made it necessary to do a lot of talking, writing and analysis about it, and this phenomenon is known in details. We can more or less know why a major economic interest group, for example the European Union, is competitive, or why it is losing its competitiveness. However, according to many, and I belong to them, today this is not the principal question. It remains an important question. As long as people live off money and economy, this will remain an important question. Yet there is an even more important race. I would articulate this as a race to invent a state that is most capable of making a nation successful. As the state is nothing else but a method of organizing a community, a community that in our case sometimes coincides with our country’s borders, sometimes not, but I will get back to that, the defining aspect of today’s world can be articulated as a race to figure out a way of organizing communities, a state that is most capable of making a nation competitive. 
This is why, Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen a trending topic in thinking is understanding systems that are not Western, not liberal, not liberal democracies, maybe not even democracies, and yet making nations successful. Today, the stars of international analyses are Singapore, China, India, Turkey, Russia. And I believe that our political community rightly anticipated this challenge, and if we think back on what we did in the last four years, and what we are going to do in the following four years, than it really can be interpreted from this angle. We are searching for and we are doing our best to find – parting ways with Western European dogmas, making ourselves independent from them – the form of organizing a community, that is capable of making us competitive in this great world-race.… 
Consequently, what is happening today in Hungary can interpreted as an attempt of the respective political leadership to harmonize relationship between the interests and achievement of individuals – that needs to be acknowledged – with interests and achievements of the community, and the nation. Meaning, that Hungarian nation is not a simple sum of individuals, but a community that needs to be organized, strengthened and developed, and in this sense, the new state that we are building is an illiberal state, a non-liberal state. It does not deny foundational values of liberalism, as freedom, etc.. But it does not make this ideology a central element of state organization but applies a specific, national, particular approach in its stead.
Orban is rejecting the neoliberal ideology holding that free markets, free trade, and free capital flows result in a self-organizing and self-augmenting global system that spontaneously produces maximum utility for individuals and that "there is no such thing as society."

Quite clearly a challenge to the neoliberal globalization that is creating power, privilege and wealth for the few. Needless to say, the neoliberal globalists are not pleased, especially since Orban is not the only one saying this. In fact, they are giving it a name, "Putinism."

9 comments:

Matt Franko said...

"the neoliberal ideology holding that free markets, free trade, and free capital flows result in a self-organizing and self-augmenting global system that spontaneously produces maximum utility for individuals "

Maybe the "neo-liberals" are simply operating in this Darwinian context as they were probably taught and are simply believing.... ie things happen "on their own" and eventually "things will take care of themselves....", "nature knows best", "no One in charge..." yada yada....

I (personally) dont see how one could be a Darwinist and yet have a problem with the "neo-liberal" ideology... seems hypocritical (to me)...

rsp,

Kain said...

Ouch, the Hungarian PM actually cited ShadowStats. I'm now completely skeptical of everything he has to say, hah.

Ignacio said...

"Darwinism" (evolution) has nothing to do with that bullcrap. Species can be more adaptive through coordination and cooperation of individuals (this includes governance, institutions and sometimes, hierarchy and leadership).

If the "Ayn Rand" types are using pseudoscientific arguments to push agendas does not make it true.

Ryan Harris said...

Right. The politics of division and elitism are getting harder to maintain in a wold connected.

To me the interesting story of the past several months was when Putin denied Russian involvement in Ukraine, while creating this complicated media blitz that blamed Europe/West/Obama for attacking Russia through Ukraine. No evidence. No troops. Nothing. No Hummers in Ukraine. But lots of Russian Btr-80s. But it was adopted as truth. Nevermind that Obama doesn't really do foreign interventionism, nothing more than a few pictures of politicians shaking hands were produced as evidence. Then the bodies started coming home in Moscow, and there were funerals. At fist they hushed up the families and made them stay quiet. But then several mothers got into the media and demanded answers and the government had to change their tact and admit they had invaded Ukraine but then switched to a new line. Meanwhile, there aren't bodies or official or unoffial money flowing to Ukraine from the United States in any quantity. To me it showed how nimble the propaganda makers have to be to maintain public opinion. It's gone beyond spin, to where you admit and deny facts and create a narrative that is forgiving. Like yeah, we lied, but it was only because the Americans and Europeans were posing an existential threat. In the past the politicians would have been able to control the facts and hold their political divisions.

This is the new reality for regimes, where they can't stop the flow of information, or control the facts, so they try to create a narrative and get people to take sides. I think it is like the climate change debate domestically. The majority get worked up for their side and completely ignore facts once their minds are set. As long as you keep a supply of good, thought provoking articles that support the team, that is all that is required.

But if you look at the US there is a cautionary tale in all this new media world, the Republicans failed when their narrative and set of facts became too exclusive and laughable. Rush and Newt and all the big idea team crumbled. So they have instead tried to marginalize the crazy guys, like Norquist, bent on philosophical purity and are trying to solve everyday problems for their constituents and build loyalty that way. While the Dems have doubled down on philosophy and are going all out on rhetoric to divide on race, elitist policies and dubious facts. Look at all the Democrat stuff that Tom posts lately, it sort of makes you scratch your head and ask what planet these people live on and how this strategy is going to get a majority to believe the nonsense, when you can look up simple basic facts and none of the claims are true. I guess they hope that not enough people bother?

We'll see in the upcoming elections how it works out for Putin, Erdogan, Orban, UKIP, Labour, Dems and Republicans and many others who are learning the new media games of manipulation in real time. My bent is that real facts will win when parties get too unhinged from reality. Everyone needs a bit of spin, but go too far and unhinged parties get twisted in their logic and facts, they alienate and frustrate voters that have pragmatic needs. The Venezuelans are having a hard time maintaining political control with their top down old-fashioned control of facts. But I guess we'll see how it all works out.

Jeff65 said...

Ryan,

You cite nothing that contra-indicates the perspective you claim is falsified. Of course, there is propaganda happening. The alarming thing is that you seem certain your perspective is less influenced by propaganda. Hopefully people like you will come to your senses before the nukes start flying.

Jeff65 said...

Ryan,

My last sentence in the previous comment is too adversarial. Apologies. But the sentiment remains. Too many in the west accept what we read in the headlines and see on TV as the plain truth.

9 out of 10 articles I've read on the Ukraine are prefaced with "(Insert name) said". Who said? An objective party? Did the reporter do any fact checking? These questions are never answered. When I dig for my own answers I always have reasons to doubt the article's objectivity.

Ryan Harris said...

Sort of ironic, isn't it Jeff?

I actually didn't take a position on the conflict, I didn't think the Committee of Soldiers Mothers was controversial since media on all sides acknowledged the event.
I just thought it was interesting how the Russian government adapted to the emergence of the funerals and the mothers that came together on social media and admitted they had troops in place. It had no impact on the Team Putin or Team West narratives. Both sides already knew what was going on the ground. Both sides knew the talking points. Knew the spin. Knew the narrative. That is the interesting part. Everyone knows everything ahead of time. But they know what is being lied about and why.


So for the basis of my "fact"

You can take the view of the Russian Official Media
Vedemosti gives, names, dates, units and numbers of dead soldiers that were in Ukraine

Or the Ukrainians
Kyiv Post

Or the Europeans
AFP report

You can of course take a suspicious view, Ron Paul says the mothers are CIA operatives!

No one, seems to deny my fact about the soldiers mothers and dead soldiers tho, even Ron Paul, although he thinks the mothers were CIA operatives or something crazy.

Jeff65 said...

Ryan,

What was the relevance of the "no Hummers" quip? There is no question the west is directly supporting Ukraine's effort to slaughter its own dissenting citizens. IMF loans are fungible.

If Russian troops are not present, they must be invented. Otherwise the hypocrisy of "right to protect" is laid bare. Hasn't the US/NATO bombed Lybia and threatened to bomb Syria specifically for slaughtering their own citizens?

Ryan Harris said...

I've been watching for US equipment to appear in Ukraine battles. Hummers are easily identifiable sign of US equipment being provided to Ukraine.
So far, none that I've seen. I have seen "The West's" (European) armored transports and Russian equipment -- But Ukraine may have purchased those years ago.