A Brief Overview of History

In 2003, before I started my New Earth Times blog, I wrote a series of articles for Grassroots Press in which I presented some basic historical facts.  Here are parts 1 and 2.  If I ever find part 3, I'll tack it onto the end.

Part 1: The Elite vs. The Rabble

Americans have traditionally had a limited grasp of history beyond the superficial "authorized version" we learn in school. In recent years this situation has become even more extreme, because 70% of Americans get their news from the cable news networks, where yesterday’s news is quickly replaced by today’s and tomorrow’s spin. Americans live in a timeless reality which is always changing, but seems to remain the same. Having little sense of history, we are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again.

I would like to contribute a very brief overview of history, concentrating on the perpetual conflict between the "elite," who own most of the wealth, and the "rabble" -- everybody else.  Until the establishment of agriculture 10,000 years ago, humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers. Possessions were few, and limited to what could be carried from place to place. This tended to keep people relatively equal. This all changed with agriculture. Now, for the first time, humans were sedentary (and thus easily controlled), and produced surpluses of grain and other food which had to be stored and defended. These surpluses meant unprecedented power for whoever was able to control them, and the first elite was born. For the first time, organized war became possible.

It’s fascinating to consider that the socio-economic system we have in modern America goes all the way back to prehistoric times. The true elite (typically 1% of the population) is far too small to dominate the other 99%, so they have always depended on "enablers" to enforce their will upon the rest of the population. There are three classes of enablers: a) the priesthood, who promote the "authorized mythology"; b) government bureaucrats, who collect taxes, administer the realm, and settle disputes between the rabble; c) the military -- aided in modern times by police -- who defend the realm from invaders, and also keep the rabble under control.

There are dozens of ancient civilizations that fit this pattern -- Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Rome, the Aztecs. In each of these cultures, a small elite class, with the aid of their enablers, dominated the rest of the citizens, and controlled most of the resources. This is exactly the system we have in America today.
Most of human history since the rise of agriculture has been a continual nightmare of war and exploitation, with elites always in control. Although they comprise most of the population, the rabble have typically been unorganized and relatively helpless. They have lived as peasant farmers or small-time artisans. In times of war, they were pressed into military service, where they died in vast numbers.

This pattern was modified somewhat during the 16th century, when European sailing vessels discovered that there was a whole world to exploit. For the first time, the amount of wealth flowing into Europe was greater than the elites could absorb, and a small middle class formed from the surplus wealth.

When the English invaded North America, they found a continent unbelievably rich in natural resources -- timber, minerals, fish and game, abundant water, rich soil. A peasant could move out to the frontier, make a primitive living, and be freer than any of his ancestors had been for millennia. Middle class and elite Englishmen who moved to America found themselves amazingly wealthy. Before long, a new American elite formed, many of them originally from lower-status stock. They chafed under the constraints the English elite imposed upon them. They wanted to be free on their own terms.

Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of America should be required reading for all high school students. He maps out the true dynamics of the American Revolution. We have all been raised on the standard view of the revolution, in which American patriots became tired of taxation without representation, and threw off English dominance.

Actually, it was the American elite who grew weary of English dominance. Many rich Americans were far wealthier than their upper-class English counterparts, and were tired of being treated like second-class citizens. They were tired of paying taxes (sound familiar?). It was the American elite, led by the wealthy George Washington, who hired and trained the Revolutionary Army.

After the Revolutionary War was won, a political system was organized that gave most of the power to the elite, but offered enough concessions to the upper middle class that they would identify with the elite rather than the rabble. A new era, and an unimaginably wealthy plutocracy, was born.

Vast fields of coal and iron ore were discovered, and so this country was built on steel -- steel rails, steel locomotives, steel skyscrapers. It was also built on the backs of a limitless supply of immigrant labor -- people who were so grateful to move to America, they were willing to work for almost nothing. Exploiting them were the elite, the filthy rich, for whom enough is never enough.

May 2, 2003

(Next issue: PERPETUAL WAR)


Part 2:  The Corporations Achieve Immortality

　

Last issue I talked about the ongoing saga of the elite (who control most of the wealth and set the agenda) versus the rabble (everybody else). At the end of the article I promised to talk about the elite’s strategy of perpetual war to ensure perpetual control, but before I do that, I need to talk about how the elite achieved immortality and unlimited power.

The elite’s favorite organizational tool is the corporation, which allows owners immunity from liabilities. The owners can do business as a corporation and be personally immune if the corporation goes bankrupt or gets sued. This excellent deal is called "limited liability," and it’s no wonder corporations are so common.
The original English corporations were granted royal charters. There were few of them during colonial times, but they were very powerful. The one we remember best today is the British East India Company, which had the monopoly on tea in the colonies. The Boston Tea Party was an anti-corporate protest that made the history books.

After the Revolution, Americans were suspicious of corporate power, so corporations were tightly controlled. Corporate charters, which were granted by the states, had to be periodically renewed, and could be revoked if the terms of the charter were violated. This is a far cry from the slash-and-burn corporations of today.
The turning point for corporate power began during and after the Civil War, when corporations made such huge profits that they were able to buy off legislatures and judges. (Some things never change.) Abraham Lincoln foresaw "an era of corruption in high places" until finally "the republic is destroyed." His words seem to be coming true today.

Thanks to a compliant legal and legislative system, corporations continued to grow in power and influence. The enormously powerful railroads spearheaded this process. Corporate charters no longer had time limits, and thus corporations became immortal. Finally, in 1886, in a casual comment appended to the case "Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad," the US Supreme Court granted personhood to corporations. No longer were corporations "artificial persons;" they were now full-fledged citizens, with full Constitutional rights, including free speech.

Since corporations are far more powerful than all but the wealthiest citizens, and have vast resources to hire lawyers, judges, and politicians, they have been successful in subverting our original "one person, one vote" form of government into the plutocracy we have today.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a temporary setback for America’s corporate elite. The rabble were suffering so badly that there was danger of revolution. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was a member of the elite himself, saved the day by doing just enough to prevent revolution. Many radical solutions were proposed, but few were implemented. Why try surgery when a Band-Aid will do? His most lasting legacy is Social Security, which the elite have been trying to destroy ever since. Stay tuned on this one.

World War II began the modern era. For the first time, the US became a global superpower, and by the time the war was over, America reigned supreme. The corporate profits from World War II were beyond belief. The Civil War and World War I were extremely profitable, but World War II was ridiculous. What to do with all this new power?

One advantage to enormous wealth is that you can hire the best brains money can buy. The elite evidently hired the very best as World War II came to a close. The brilliant strategy they devised has still never received the credit it deserves.

Democracy had always been a mixed blessing for the elite. The rabble required relatively little control, since they were self-limiting -- their imaginations were limited mostly to getting along and feathering their own nests. Americans worked hard, followed orders well, and had minimal expectations. Being left alone, and being free from jack-booted stormtroopers, was enough to keep them relatively content. But one potential problem: the rabble had that pesky vote. They could always be led astray by liberals or populists.

1945 was an unprecedented historical juncture point. During the 30s, the rabble had shared the collective trauma of the Great Depression. Then, during World War II, taking terrible losses, they vanquished some truly despicable enemies. Shared trauma brings solidarity. Solidarity can be dangerous if misdirected. What if the rabble decided to TAKE OVER?

It was decided that war would continue indefinitely. Communism would become the new enemy. Fear would become an important management tool -- the rabble would now fear Communism and nuclear war. The economy would remain on a permanent war footing; the taxpayers would continue to subsidize the armaments industry. And -- probably the most diabolical plan of all -- the tax burden would gradually be shifted from the elite onto the rabble. More about this next issue. The Cold War had begun.