Globalism: The End of Free Markets? Be Afraid!

Global mega-corporations and tech giants are not just monopolistic threats to competition, creating inferior goods and higher prices; they threaten the future of free-markets. As these 21st Century monopolies move workforces to developing nations and consolidate market share, they are undermining job markets and purchasing power in free-market oriented developed nations.   Developed nations have slower growth rates and are losing economic influence to developing nations with cheap labor. As the global market place expands, developed nations and the U.S will inevitably lose control of international institutions governing global economic policies. Leaders in developing nations, primarily China, will take control.

Globalism is allowing powerful non-democratic and sometimes corrupt economic systems to unduly influence free-markets as they grow more powerful. Eventually they will regulate free-markets to meet their needs. Expanding from G7 to G8 (Russia now suspended) and establishing the G-20 (with China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc.) set this in motion.

Globalism is now perpetuated by, and perpetuating, oligarchic governments. Their populations benefit disproportionately compared to developed nations. These nations’ leaders didn’t earn their growth by previously wise economic policies – they gain because historically bad policy and controlled markets left their people poor and their economies week. With globalization and mega-corps investment, their elites become unfathomably wealthy and powerful. The average person may or may not do marginally better, but they remain in the “Matrix.”

Some say this is only fair, “it’s their turn.” That idealistic fluff is propagated by today’s economic global elites like Soros, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates, Google execs etc. through their massive media resources and lobbying efforts. In reality they seek a larger market share – put more simply – greed.

Globalists by nature are interconnected. They are willing to do anything to avoid short term market volatility. When mega-corps and oligarchs control so much of the market and wield unchecked political influence, too many from the top all the way down the investor chain have too much to lose to take healthy actions to correct false bubbles. As global leaders seek stability with short term efforts like printing more money or granting zero interest loans, they dig a much deeper global economic hole.

What economist can honestly say markets are free today with massive central bank interventions on a global scale? How long can Quantitative Easing (QE) last without significant and sustained growth? How do negative interest rates incentivize growth risks? How long before these intervention efforts become unsustainable? Who will put the pieces back together when the inevitable reckoning finally comes?

In the next crisis, will an oligarchic global economic leader, perhaps the Chinese Communist Central Committee, act to protect its people, its growth, and its political power? Will it dictate global economic regulations, information and modify statistics for its protection? History gives an answer – communist oligarchs protect themselves. As China rapidly, efficiently and thoughtfully prepares to counter U.S. economic power and militarily capabilities, China will dictate terms.

International economic organizations like the G-20 are structured on democratic, free market principles. Like in any pure democratic organization, China’s sheer volume of people, economic and political power ensures their non-democratic, oligarchic leadership will one day dominate global economic institutions regardless of a crisis. Their ascendance is supported by massive investment interests and lobbying efforts from Wal-Mart to Amazon, Microsoft to Google, Volkswagen to Samsung, and Chinese government run or semi-private mega-firms among many, many others.

China is strategically testing their emerging power against the West’s global free-market leader, the United States. China is flexing muscles in the South China Sea, expanding her military and aligning with other oligarchs. China is expanding exponentially in global banking, emerging markets, real estate investment and debt purchases even as their economy is at risk. The U.S. is seeing almost no growth, cutting defense, and cowering at any international confrontation. Free-market advocates should be worried.

The end state to Obama/Clinton globalist economic policy offers power to international institutions. If these policies continue, eventually the global economy won’t be run by liberal free-market minded governments. Ultimately, globalism and mega-corporations will mean the end to free-markets.

To some elites, this is the ideal – ‘why should the little people have a say in complicated economics?’ said the dictators of the past. To those who actually believe free markets have greatly improved mankind, this is frightening.

Humanity’s future could be dictated by a small group of economically powerful and self-centered “idealist elites”. They seek market share while facilitating oligarchs with no history of democratic principles, deplorable human rights records and pursue personal data like heroin addicts searching for a fix – or propaganda like the Soviets.  They seek ever more efficient cost savings through robotics, tech advances, and consolidation of markets. People, thus democracies, become a problem, not a higher purpose.

The question becomes, will globalists succeed? They control the propaganda machines. There are few muckrakers defending the weak. The major media corporations, mostly controlled by tech giants, defend the global system. Elitist media moguls are in a frenzy to defend Hillary Clinton as the “stable” leader.

But Globalism isn’t working as promised in the U.S., or in the EU – the only two true culturally, historically and effectively “Western” free-market drivers. Americans lose well-paying jobs while developing countries’ leaders get richer, global executives get richer, and average people everywhere work harder for less.

The backlash from voters in developed democratic nations is just beginning. Tsipras, Le Pen, Bernie, Trump, BREXIT are the all products of this frustration. Teddy Roosevelt was the product of a similar backlash to Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, Mellon etc.s’ corrupt control of politics a century ago.

Like in 1904, this election will test the power of the elite. I predict the elite will fail, I hope they will fail, or mega-corporations like Google and the Chinese Communist Central Committee will one day dictate global economic policy, and America’s future. Americans need to vote to put America first and save what little is left of free-markets. More importantly, Americans need to vote to ensure America survives.

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