“Since the 1980s, financial activities and assets have played an increasingly dominant role in the global economy. At the same time… global GDP has been growing more slowly. The result has been an ever-larger gap between the volume and value of financial activity relative to the real economy. And that gap has left economies more susceptible to financial instability… and more dependent on fiscal and monetary support from governments. Governments, however, are stretched thin. We are therefore in uncharted territory. The threat of financial crisis at a time when governments are ill-equipped to respond is probably the greatest risk currently facing the global economy.” ‘Financialization has increased economic fragility.’ (Econographics Dec 2023).
Why is this the greatest risk, against the backdrop of increasing wars, military spending and the threat of nuclear conflict? They are tied into the necroeconomic model of gentrification. A model of exclusivity that uses government or ruling bodies to attack the poor.
Political metamorphosis
The role of government has altered, even if many of its activities remain, none are unaffected. Politicians’ metamorphosis occurs before our very eyes, as soon as one is assigned power and authority over a particular region, or party-agenda. This contortionist conformity eventually being primed for government, they awaken like Gregor in Kafka’s tale; in their mind’s concept of themselves unchanged, but faced with a hideous reality that they have been transformed into something unrecognizable that wasn’t necessarily what they signed up for. What used to be their liberal dedicated milk of human kindness and motivation for the public good – public office – has soured to a measly spattering of contaminated yoghurt and puss. They have to constantly fend off public outcry and determined counter-offensives, with deluded expressions that they are always “doing their best.” But their best efforts have already been appropriated for other causes.
As stated in ‘Necronomy 1’ and ‘Necronomics 2,’ what appeared to be fairly localised developments in Palestine, with western allies provoking retaliations from Lebanon and Iran with arms-length responses from Russia, China and North Korea, is morphing into a global frenetic land-grab to dictate the diminishing returns and resources of the global economy. The arms trades becoming the economic succubus, for new austerity upon austerity measures and further decrease in public amenities and services – to a CRIMINAL degree. Criminality upon un-prosecutable criminality.
With neoliberalism confining the formal employment sector to 12.5%, (25 to 40% of which is the gig-economy), the rent-economy and A.I. making other industries unsustainable; this makes the general public a fiscal burden and even their taxes paying for everything a minimal contribution to fiscal money-laundering; just as with most charitable, NGO and UN contributions.
Previously, I stated that financialization, which removed profit from the process of production, was greater than all material assets. That was the theory financialization could attain to, if it continued as the major generator of wealth. But I was wrong. The corporate wealth of the elite we have seen expressed in Net Worth. We also saw this constitutes a fraction of the gross global economy of equity and debt, but with the dichotomy that this minimal wealth is still the major influence dictating the entire economy. That wealth has not been idle in seeking new forms of wealth.
The above report continues… “Financial innovation flourished—with many new financial instruments, especially derivatives, which facilitated active trading and hedging by market participants… Of particular concern has been the pattern of volatile capital flows to emerging markets and low-income countries, leading to debt build up and subsequent crises—disrupting and retarding their growth.” This from between 4 and 5% in the 1980s to around 3% today. So, decades of increased riches beyond comprehension, for the few, is now being choked by what capitalists blame on the poor. It’s a new colonialism; a new slave trade and the slaves are dispensable and in ever increasing supply. Yet their policies are drastically reducing that supply. This is what the new human-trafficking looks like. It is DOMESTIC and foreign policy. So, what is driving it? Exploding population and diminishing resources? To some degree, but the latest indicators are that this is a disingenuous claim.
It isn’t difficult to enumerate the processes mentioned in the previous articles, to see where economic stability and prosperity lies in the minds of corporate elites and the governments in their pockets. But what is the scale of this and what is the core wealth generator, if armaments, drugs and digital services are costly investments (speculated to accumulate) in securing this brand new world? Is it strategic political and military presence to destabilise and pick off fossil fuel and mineral-rich nations? Or is there a more disturbing bull-elephant in this china shop now?
The brand new world
From the above report: “Panic has been transmitted increasingly quickly through social media and online banking—as demonstrated by the 2023 US regional banking crisis. This has rendered obsolete some financial regulatory safeguards such as banks’ liquidity coverage ratio (requiring them to maintain adequate high quality liquid assets to meet unexpected deposit withdrawal).”
This may have been the trigger, but the bullet started to ricochet into a new wealth. Actually, an old wealth generator. Property. This is what has transcended the wealth generated by financialization, outperforming speculative returns for shareholders and even the arms and drugs trades. Consequently, real-estate is the new largest, fastest growing wealth generator for the future, set to construct new Dubais, new Mumbais, new Singapores. This makes sense of the UK royal family selling dredging rights on all former colonial off-shore territories to the largest US building firms, as sea sand is the best for building. (See ‘The Blue Commons: rescuing the economy of the sea,’ Prof Guy Standing, 2022). So, who else is seeking off-shore resources? And where does land development demand the highest premiums? The necroeconomic land-grabs we are currently witnessing in poor countries, is a grab for the most prosperous LAND. This ties in precisely with analyses on where future carnal conflicts are set to arise. LAND AND SEA – NOT OIL, ARMS or DRUGS – IS THE NEW BLACK.
“Across ten countries that account for about 60 percent of global GDP—Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States – the historic link between the growth of net worth and the growth of GDP no longer holds. While economic growth has been tepid over the past two decades in advanced economies, balance sheets and net worth… have tripled in size. This divergence emerged as asset prices rose—but not as a result of 21st-century trends like the growing digitization of the economy… in an economy increasingly propelled by intangible assets like software and other intellectual property, a glut of savings has struggled to find investments offering sufficient economic returns and lasting value to investors. These savings have found their way instead into real estate, which in 2020 accounted for two-thirds of net worth.” (‘The Rise and Rise of the Global Balance Sheet: How productively are we using our wealth?’ McKinsey & Company: 15 Nov 2021). This is balanced against liabilities, which has exponentially increased the valuation of property and the rental markets.
This bodes badly for the poor and those on moderate incomes. This is why local councils, national governments, despotic rulers and drug overlords have been employed on the front line of this rabid expansion of the gentrification-war. But to build the new empire requires not only the land but sand.
Focusing on the poorer countries, conflicts and economic instability; let’s have a shifty at those lands, beginning with the country the term ‘Necroeconomics’ emerged into modern literature from. RECENT & CURRENT CONFLICTS: Georgia; Ukraine; watch out Romania; Bulgaria already in economic crisis; Iran; Turkmenistan; (Black Sea, Caspian Sea).
Syria; Palestine; Lebanon; Libya; Algiers (see ‘Algeria’s Economy: The Vicious Circle of Oil and Violence’ International Crisis Group 26 Oct 2001). “When millions of Algerians from across the country demonstrated in early 2019 in opposition to a fifth term for then president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the tenuous premises of Algeria’s social contract seemed to unravel. It was as if an earthquake had shaken the country.” (Mediterranean). (‘In Algeria, the more things change the more they stay the same.’ Arab Centre Washington DC; 3 Oct 2023).
Sudan; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Djibouti; Somalia; Yemen; Pakistan; Iran; Kuwait; (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf).
(‘In Algeria, the more things change the more they stay the same.’ Arab Centre Washington DC; 3 Oct 2023).
DEVELOPING & FUTURE CONFLICTS: You know the trick now, just follow the coastlines. But significant conflicts have already been projected for – Taiwan; Borneo; Cambodia (trying to reach UMIC – upper middle-income status); Vietnam (in economic slow-down); North Korea; (Gulf of Thailand, Sth China Sea). Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands; (Bismarck Sea, Solomon Sea, Coral Sea, Pacific Ocean).
Mexico; Panama; Guatemala ; Belize; El Salvador; Honduras; Cuba; Nicaragua; Haiti; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Colombia; Venezuela; Guyana; Surinam; (Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean).
I’ll leave the rest of South America and the African continent to your imagination. Many of these countries are suffering economically due to climate catastrophes, famine, drought and political corruption, but it makes them fertile ground for the multi-national colonial economic cold-war that is super-heating the planet more rapidly, towards the drop-off point and extinction of all life.
A world away?
As described in Necronomics 2 – people are under the misapprehension we are dependent upon money and the controllers of it. The move of governments in actively ignoring International criminal law, regarding arms, warfare and war crimes; their systemic destruction of public amenities and services, to indulge privatisation and corporate monopolies; the fight to remove human rights and leave international law bodies, to replace with sovereign state; manipulating voting with photo-identification, so that governments get in power on the smallest majorities, if they do not utilise A.I. simulations; disenchantment of the electorate and betrayal of law and immigration strategies ARE UNDERWAY AND WELL DEVELOPED. These moves show that as stated earlier GOVERNMENT IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR IT AND SUSTAIN IT WITH TAXATION. This is not the future everyday people want or need.
Whilst we still have rights in democratic lands, WE MUST COME TOGETHER WITH ALL NATIONS to examine the only solution that can turn back or remove this necronomic myopic wilful destruction for profit. That is by forming the Parallel Non-Monetary Economy which offers INDISCRIMINATE SELF-GENERATED PROSPERITY and rewarded collective direct-action to the general public, as well as greener incentives for the elite and corporate enterprises. It changes law. Do the maths: global population 8 billion. If using the equivalent of less money than banks currently use for domestic accounts, (a fraction of the world’s population), the worst-case scenario – not taking into account formal employment – represents an equivalent $8,788 Trillion in collective economic IMMEDIATE PUBLIC power. Now wouldn’t the elite want a slice of that? They can. Only on the terms of the public citizen’s Parallel Non-Monetary Economy. We can turn around this entire way of existing in harmony with each other and the planet WITHIN 2 TO 3 YEARS.
THERE IS NO TIME LEFT. PNME study groups need to mobilise in every nation in the world. Please check out the following and articles 1 and 2.
‘Necronomy 1: The Neoliberal Approach to Death.’ https://internationaltimes.it/necronomy-1-the-neoliberal-approach-to-death/
‘Necronomics 2: The “Neoliberal” Approach to Life.’ https://internationaltimes.it/necronomics-2-the-neoliberal-approach-to-life/
And the eight-module interactive video workshop:
‘The Parallel Non-Monetary (Eco)nomic Revolution of the 100%’
Intro; 1-8 modules; and ‘What is the PNME?’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e24VTG4NGQA&list=PLNo7acWESakwjYqGG5iPNOiATvs8m0I9L
More detailed analysis is in the book: ‘A Chance For Everyone: The Parallel Non-Monetary Economy’ (Kendal Eaton, Sounding Off UK Publications, 2020).
FREE DOWNLOAD VERSIONS / discussions / articles / video presentations / illustrated supplements: ‘Turning Costs to Income: the Parallel Non-Monetary Accounting System’ & ‘The Parallel Economy: Past, Present & Future’ / hardcopy links: achanceforeveryone.com
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/641184856394195
To collaborate or book an interactive workshop for a group, please email: [email protected]
Kendal Eaton
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