FOREWORD 2009
Updated 3 September 2009.
Now it is 2009, and I would like to point out that this short booklet has gradually taken form in my mind during the 1960-1970 and eventually was written in 1980; therefore many ideas and statements were formulated during the times of the Cold War, the struggles of Capital and Labour when the Unions and the Labour party in Australia were still militant and Neo-colonialism was rampant in the underdeveloped countries after World War II.
Many ideas and statements therefore reflect what was happening in those times; nevertheless, as it will be shown in this booklet, the nature and mechanism of the system has not changed.
Capitalism, as it happened to every previous system before it, inexorably is progressing by its unstoppable natural momentum towards its demise; if no rational alternative is urgently found, chaos will ensue with ecological changes that may not be favourable to Human existence as we have experienced so far on this Planet.
In the 1980s I tried to get this booklet published, but as I am not an academic I did not get any support. Not surprisingly I was told once that they would not consider publishing a book against Capitalism as they were merchants themselves.
Now I am getting on and I am getting close to find out if number 42 is really the answer to the “question of Life, the Universe and Everything”; therefore before I depart, as I would like to make a small contribution towards saving this small Planet (laugh), I am taking advantage of the Internet and forward this sort of an essay in every possible direction hoping that enough people with a lot of mental stamina or a good stomach may actually read it. The book is free to read, to download and disseminate in any form.
Of the few people to whom I gave the book to read none actually managed to read right through it; they all succumbed to total mental exhaustion by the time they got to chapter III or thereof; I do not blame them, it also happened to me. I feel sorry for them because they will have missed the few jewels that certainly can be found within the booklet’s copious BS.
For this particular reason I have moved Chapters I, II and III to the end of the book; another reason is that because I am not an Historian my brief description of a subject that requires a thousand volumes must be very subjective and inaccurate.
To me, having seen and experienced a lifetime of change, the opinions and assertions that I am presenting seem quite rational and obvious but I fully realise that the majority of younger people, having been born in the present Era and having been moulded into consumerism since their birth, they are bound to take the present situation for granted; they cannot even imagine that a better alternative to Capitalism would have been possible under more favourable circumstances in the past; they cannot even imagine that a better alternative not only is still possible in the present, and easier to achieve given the progress in technology, production and general education, but it is imperative and essential if they want to survive in a better society on a Planet still supportive of Human life.
The book is a real brick; the sentences are too long and there are too many repetitions, the main reason is that I tried to write each chapter so that it would make sense and stand on its own; to do that in most chapters I had to mention again and again the same basic natural features of the Capitalist system to explain why the capitalist socio-economic organism has been and still is evolving in such predictable ways.
This booklet derives from the mind and heart of a person that because of genetic factors, education, environmental circumstances mostly beyond his control, has managed either because of inclination towards fairness, or because of fear of retribution, to follow the better rather than the worst instincts of human nature.
Having an inquisitive mind, a certain ability for looking from different points of view, for trying to understand the logic of cause and effect and the dynamics of action and counteraction but also a great capability to completely forget all names, dates and specially all the small but interesting details that were an important part in the formation of my opinions, all I was left with has been a wide but fairly accurate assessment of the main substance of most situations; like looking from the distance at what is going on on this planet Earth . Therefore my lack of memory for details has been a curse and a blessing at the same time. Having been a tradesman most of my working life I have acquired a certain practical common sense and if my head may often be in the clouds, my feet are always firm on the ground.
I cannot call this work an "essay" because there are no notes or detailed references as I have mostly assimilated most of what I've read in my lifetime, also most of my opinions are primarily based on my diverse life experiences. Looking at all the progressive sites on the Internet one realises how many intelligent, educated, and eloquent people there are analysing the present World's situation; browsing on the Internet I came across an essay in five parts entitled "Global Power and Global Government" that I thought is quite brilliant in the presentation of facts and clear logic supported by hundreds of notes and references. Exploring the site "Centre on Research for Globalization" further, I found it to be quite vast and well organized, a treasure chest of information and progressive ideas.
Therefore I would like to recommend to anybody who may appreciate my effort in writing this bare essay to visit www.globalresearch.ca and there one will find much information that is missing in this booklet.
Unfortunately bright talented writers and researchers, many young and full of energy, will add to nothing unless a catalyst is found to unite them in a concerted effort to translate this virtual Internet revolution into a real life mass movement of people with computers and also people without computers who are the great majority of voters. This will require a lot of organizing, footswork and hard work amongst the people to awaken them from their consumerism induced stupor.
salterre