The structures of the global economy present challenges to any country or political party that wants to try to break out of U.S. hegemony. Even for countries as big and with as much potential as Brazil or Egypt, countries that have experienced waves of relative independence, the inertia of these economic structures helps send them back into old patterns of extraction and debt. In this moment of right-wing resurgence it is hard to imagine political movements arising with plans to push off the weight of the economic past. But that weight cannot be ignored.
Colonialism and path dependence. I would say that this is one of a number of factors. Whether they can be reduced to a single factor or even a few factors remains to be seen. However, this seems to be one of the key factors.
The post focuses on Brazil.
Naked Capitalism
Why It’s So Hard for Most Countries to be Economically Independent from the West
Naked Capitalism
Why It’s So Hard for Most Countries to be Economically Independent from the West
Justin Podur | Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at York University, Canada
For the same reason that for most citizens in the West it is hard to be independent of their banks? Since their banks are privileged* by government?
ReplyDelete*e.g. government-provided deposit insurance instead of allowing all citizens inherently risk-free accounts at the Central Bank or Treasury itself.
...for most citizens in the West ... aa
ReplyDeleteActually, nearly EVERY adult citizen needs a checking/debit account, don't they?
So why don't monetarily sovereign governments like the US and UK provide them?
Cui bono, that they don't if not the banks themselves and the rich, the most so-called "credit worthy"?