Economics and Globalization; With the Example of Sri Lanka

General Classism

“Watching the corporate media report the ‘financial crisis’ is instructive. From the perspective of power, it is important that a steadying hand is applied to the tiller of news and commentary on the crisis, and the global economy itself…”
Medialens.org, 2008

Supporting local businesses might sound like a cliché, but it is a growing necessity. The more we buy from corporate companies the richer they become. With this wealth comes power and the greater freedom to exercise this power. That is, influence upon governments and systems in charge of people.
Why? – The more money a rich man receives, the more he has to invest in political parties who will help his interests grow. Whether this is as simple as lowering tax rates; or as complex as sending fleets to invasion in order to reap benefit from land not owned by the invader.

If you distribute your money between smaller businesses and break yourself from the temptations of evil and heavy marketing campaigns you can re-align power to a set of people who are more economically closer to you. You can align power back to yourself – since, the government and systems in charge would take you more seriously as one part of a small but equal shared economic power. This rather than the earlier and current monopoly-notion of the richer business corporation who has a big economic power and thus an unequal share of right.

The manipulation of rights is at a high end with the wealthiest since they have so much to gain from such twisting of their unjust power. In order to aggregate more wealth not one single land can be mined of her resource – since the world is a place where combinations and communities make for better living… The wealthy stick together to create more wealth and so elevate their own status; whilst those not in this bracket remain where they are or fall to a lower position.
You have all heard of the other cliché: the rich get richer whilst the poor remain so or worse.
A cliché is a cliché for a reason that is quite obvious; it keeps on happening.

All countries, no matter how poor the notion or stereotype of them have richer people and poorer people. In the so called Third World the gap between the wealthy and the poor is obliterating to know. The poor are worse off than in the developed world; this we know. The wealthy continue to live far more wondrous lives and connect with others from the financial elites of other countries. These connections lead to an influx of investments into lands many of which were previously colonized by the British (and now more recently by the Americans).
There are many examples, the obvious: Afghanistan, Iraq. Then further in the past – many countries from South America, of course; African lands and then there are the Asias. One country from this continent being Sri Lanka.

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An Effect From Sri Lanka

"Two different nations, from a very ancient period, have divided between them the possession of the Island: the Sinhalese inhabiting the interior in its Southern and western parts from the river Wallouwe to Chilaw, and the Malabars (Tamils) who possess the Northern and Eastern Districts. These two nations differ entirely in their religion, language and manners.”
Sir Hugh Cleghorn, 1879

After the last colonialists, the British, left the island of Ceylon, the WHOLE island (now know as Sri Lanka) was placed into the hands of the new UNP government. Despite several warnings that the then British rule should divide the land (three separate consensus’, the famous cartographer Arrowsmith and his team not to mention the English politicians who lived in government districts at the time), power was relinquished by a corrupted ballot to a party who placed belief within their own race of people. So much so that other races were not to be tolerated within the island.
Tamil people have been living as indigenous as their now Singhalese rulers. This is clear for those of you who really want to delve deep into archives of history – not just the idiot volumes you can find in most libraries. (The writers of such ‘history books’ were and are burdened by limited budget in order to increase profit margin of sale.)
Yet from the 60s onwards continuing legislations made it impossible for Tamils to live among the Singhalese. And in two decades time the idea was to advance the Singhalese government movement onto the whole of the island thus far inhabited Centrally and Southerly by mainly Singhalese, and Northerly, Northern-Easterly and Easterly by Tamils (again, checking source census’ for this periods – this is percentage correct.)
A civil war broke out between the two main races of the island, most notably during the early eighties and the country has been brutally (rather than peacefully) divided ever since.

Until a ceasefire was brokered…
We (I include myself since I am of Sri Lankan Tamil descent) all aired the hope of optimism. Except those who were realistic; who used this period to increase arsenal and gather information. General preparation for the break of the ceasefire – whether this be earlier than dated or on time.
Now the Tamil nation (named Eelam) would procure her advancement in infantry by means necessary… though being not a recognised country; that is via the label terrorist. However, the Sri Lankan government could do such advancing at the free will of their course. Their existent wealth (being a government, they controlled export taxes and the banks of the land) along with potential wealth (minerals, jewels and more included in the better fertilised North) were both accepted as credit to other nations, most richer than the resplendent land herself. The credit agreement was of a loan and then re-payment structures on bridging the island as one nation. The loan was not just monetary – the loan incorporated arms, training, the use of satellite and various military technology from countries such as the blatant – i.e. Britain and the United States. Then affiliates/allies; Spain, other European countries and even neighbours India. This ‘White’ market was so free and ready that its accessibility was enviable to Eelam, whose leaders relied on guerrilla warfare strategy, ‘Black’ market weaponry and monetary aide filtered through dark and corrupt hands to get to where it was needed most; often a depleted total.

The ‘loans’ to the Sri Lankan government are funded by the wealthiest people on this planet. Those who have control over the governments they pay nominal corporate taxes for. They invest in governments like a man would throw money into a publicly traded stock option. This so that their very own business corporations do not a) collapse profit; causing executives to lose billions of dollars/pounds/euros most of which they are already insured for. And b) to expand business to the newer developing world, exploiting cheaper trade values in the loan process.

This is why governments stay in power – to keep the rich rich. And as they, the corporate investors realise the fluctuations of a country’s economy, they (with the help of a governments because, of course – governments control armies) look to the world economy and invest in invasions and civil wars to conquer lands and mine these areas for further wealth. In this example, Sri Lankan chief exports are tea, precious jewels and textiles. Billion dollar/pound/euro industries.

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Conclusion

There is a simple solution – unity in poverty as there is unity in wealth. Buy and (to some of you sell) your products to those who are at your economic scale or closest to it. Reduce your ‘need’ for mass marketed goods. We as a civilisation have lived in times without mobile phones, designer jeans, brand new vehicles and hair products. Items of the present may help us, but do some thinking and buy from the smaller merchant who is too poor to place his/her face on a billboard or between an ad break for your favourite sitcom.
Most ethnic minorities (and not just Sri Lanka as used in the example) will note the demise of revolutions within their home countries due to the spread of wealth amongst the world’s largest earners, that is, media titled ‘world leaders’ and their want to control one worldly economy for their private and wickedly greedy super rich clique…

To the ordinary person – no matter how wealthy you think you can become; how rich… You’ll never succeed without losing the identity from where you came from – poverty. Only power to the ordinary person will truly eliminate the gulf between the Classism of money. This is only achievable if you place your last ounce of power into the cause…
And this power? – The economic power: choosing wisely and thus ethically is where to spend the money you have and will earn.

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References:

Arrowsmith, John, 1802. The Arrow Smith Map (of 1802)

Balasingham, Anton, 2004. War and Peace: Armed Struggle and Peace Efforts of Liberation Tigers

Cleghorn, Sir Hugh, 1799. The Cleghorn Minute (of 1799)

Coronel, Felipe, 2008. The 3rd World

Coronel, Felipe, 2008. Harlem Renaissance

International Federation of Tamils, 1992. The London Seminar 1992: Towards a Just Peace

Marx, Karl, 1890. Das Kapital Vol. 1. (As translated by Hans G. Ehrbar, 2002)

Medialens.org, 2008. ‘Creative Destruction’ – The Madness Of The Global Economy