G-20 Thugs Attack Financial Injustice

Hooded hooligans scarred the G20 gathering in London's streets today and underscored the need for leaders to crack down on the type of reckless capitalism that has brought the world to its knees.

This mayhem is a harbinger of trouble to come in every country in the world and a threat to G20 leaders to not only impose justice on misbehavior but prevent it in future. Not only are the world's citizens upset, and damaged, by what's happened but there's a threat to the social contract itself in the world's capitalist democracies.

I'm not condoning street violence but it will be helpful if political leaders understand that economic ruination by others -- whether a foreclosure in Detroit or a laid off worker in Cincinnati, Delhi or Bristol -- is also a violent act. It damages victims, not only financially but psychologically and socially. Their hardship is even less bearable given the evidence that the world's crisis was due to the exploitation by ruthless or criminal players who gamed the system for their own benefit.

This crisis has not been a failure of capitalism, as some of these protesters believe. But it is a failure of the financial system and of globalization because there was a regulatory and police vacuum in the international space that led to the collapse. That's why Sarkozy insistence on immediate global policing is not just grandstanding. It's absolutely essential in order to impose the rule of law on global capital markets, as is the case with trading, but which has been missing.

The protester is vandalizing the Royal Bank of Scotland which was nationalized in Britain after years of reckless and negligent behavior. Its Chair was recently forced out of his position but left with a pension of US$1 million a year -- another example where taxpayers of modest means are left holding the bag and the culprits escape and profit from their misdeeds. Obscene payouts to AIG, Wall Street and banking officials have resulted in violence in the United States and elsewhere too and this will grow until all of those responsible are stripped of their ill-gotten gains, go to jail or both.

On balance, these dramatic demonstrators are an unfortunate and necessary step toward global governance and their efforts will help bring about some justice in the global economy and international finance.

Comments

[schatsie]

Exactly, if they had spent the money on REGULATING the jerks that they spend on so-called HOMELAND Security, we would not be in this mess....

[fisharefreinds]

I liked your article alot, but what it will lead to is more prisons for the protestors, "are there no prisons? no workhouses?"
I don't understand why more people are not in the streets right now protesting this complete
rape of our financial system and demanding the end of the Federal Reserve. Instead some very
wealthy organizations and insiders are stealing whatever they can before the whole thing goes down and who will be blamed? all those little people who lost their jobs, paid their taxes, and thought our leaders worked for us and not the banks and "unregulated" everything. The G20 will miss this opportunity too....

[larryjack]

Are you completely daft? How can destroying businesses' property possibly save a job?

I'd guess this kind of crap actually might cost the business money to repair, possibly at the expense of someone's salary or job. If the completely addled thinking put into this "protest" is what the future holds then we're pretty much screwed.

"Hooded hooligans scarred the G20 gathering in London's streets today and underscored the need for leaders to crack down on the type of reckless capitalism that has brought the world to its knees."

Uh, no. If you'd stop hyperventilating, you'd see that it underscored the stupidity of the protesters and the need for law enforcement to crack down on stupid hooded hooligans.

[schatsie]

Get PERSPECTIV­E... the damage that the protestors did WAS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE DAMAGE these banks did...Here in the good old USA, 2.4 MILLION families had foreclosure last year and 1 in 50 children are HOMELESS..­... ALL because the WASP OLIGARCHY is so greedy that you just cannot believe it... The top 400 people in this country earn 1 million every working day, that is 240 million a year, they pay 17% in taxes and NOW THEY WANT A BAILOUT AND A TAX CUT.....

[Diane Francis - Huffpost Blogger]

The failure was the vacuum and who knew that all that globalization of cap markets would be unmonitored when trade was?
I say capitalism isn't the problem but the financial sector was.

I think this was a good outcome, not great because nothing is, but good.

[RoloTomassi]

I would just once like to read a thoughtful review of the mechanics of globalization from someone with your background--but I suppose such would be too much of an injection of physical reality into pristine abstract concepts concerning global trade and all of its wonderful benefits..­..

[LindaWarnke]

But what does that have to do with the protesters? Let's be honest here, I've seen many of these meetings, and they always attract large groups of people protesting everything from capitalism to animal rights. A significant number also show up, it seems, to party and create trouble for fun, because they know the cameras are rolling.
Capitalism does need some fixing, but it isn't going to happen because of some thugs smashing property.

[politicky]

"This crisis has not been a failure of capitalism, as some of these protesters believe"

Unregulated global capitalism is like a tick left to feed until it explodes.

[schatsie]

that is good, ' a tick left to feed until it explodes' i would pay to see these guys explode themselves­...

[Rule Of Law]

Wall Street already controls our country.

"That's why Sarkozy insistence on immediate global policing is not just grandstanding. It's absolutely essential.­.."

With thinking like this, we are handing the control over to the hereditary banking powers of Europe to continue their recolonization of America.

Just say "NO!" to global control. Our laws were once enough, and they can, and should be, again!

[sposton]

Although I am for better regulation I am against all these supra non-democratic organizations that dilute our sovereignty.

[lightningbolt]

Given how little world leaders listen to peaceful protesters, many people assumed that they would only listen if violence was committed. Remember how Bush completely ignored the largest protest in world history right before the war in Iraq? That was a non-violent protest. Nobody listened. This time people are applying pressure to world leaders through violence because it is the only way they will listen. World leaders are responsible for protester violence because they completely ignored peaceful protests in the past. If world leaders want to prevent more violent protests, they should listen to the protesters and do what they suggest.

[sposton]

There would be very little need for protests if our democracies reflected the will of of the people a bit more. This will is now widely described in derogatory terms such as "populism" as if it were some kind of dangerous trend. What is implied is that the current policies by the elites are always more enlightened even when these policies clearly go against what used to be called public interest. Kleptocracy - good and populism - bad! I am against violence of any sort but we can rest assured there will be more and more violence as the non-violent means of asserting our will are being ignored by governing elites.

[lightningbolt]

RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE!!!

[RebelPatriot]

this so called violence is just exactly what the state, or PTB, want.

they fund and infiltrate these black block anarchists.

just as in Seattle @ WTO
just as in Canada @ SPP

the black block anarchists dress in black hoods, black bandana's, black outfits and black boots.

JUST LIKE THE POLICE.

[TruthmongerII]

The first clause of this article alienated me, but reading on I found myself primarily in agreement. Bravo, Diane, for pointing out the violence caused by these criminals who brought down the globalisation model of capitalism. I disagree with your supposition, never backed with evidence, that it is not the capitalist system which is at fault. You appear to believe in an abstract economic model in saying the system did not fail, whereas such models never exist in the real world. The manefestation of capitalism, the system we have lived with, has collapsed in the real world, and no solution is possible because the perps are still in charge. Only revolution, by the so-called "hooligans" as well as ordinary citizens, all devastated by the theft by organised AND freelance criminals enabled by the capitalist system, will right the system and reorder world resources to benefit the people and the environment. We can no longer afford to give the rich a free ride, and prostrate ourselves before these monsters as though they are actually human.

Revolution is the only solution.

[sposton]

I am not a revolutionary but I must agree that without a real threat of one the currently entrenched kleptocracy will not cede one inch. That is why I believe strongly that the current capitalism's right to exist must be questioned by all, revolutionaries or not. If we don't do this we start our bargaining process with nothing to bargain with.

[RoloTomassi]

So, let me ask you Diane...wh­at exactly do you think was the failure in globalization efforts?

Was it the systemic effect from the primary players on the lesser nations, or something else?

Could it be that--as Naomi Klein as advocated--that globalization has been flawed to the core from the beginning?

From your article:

"I'm not condoning street violence but it will be helpful if political leaders understand that economic ruination by others -- whether a foreclosure in Detroit or a laid off worker in Cincinnati, Delhi or Bristol -- is also a violent act."

If that is the case, then is it not a violent act for the World Bank & IMF to force socio-economic hardships on developing nations through their insistence on regimented economic restructuring? It is no secret that the World Bank & IMF have no qualms about aligning their interests with oppressive dictators in order to realize such restructuring goals, often at a great cost of blood.

IMO, your biggest failure in this piece is your timid acceptance of violent protest; frankly, it comes off as a cowardly PC dodge, when ADVOCACY is called for.

[sposton]

The globalization process is entirely in service of financial capital and multinational corporations in search of better labor arbitrage deals. Trade can be good but what we have allowed to create is suicidal to us and our country. Corporations and surplus nations may benefit for a while but at the end this process must hit the wall.

Greenspan is trying to exculpate his guilt by pointing at the global trade imbalances in some weird ways he is half right. The current financial crisis is not just a failure of greed and deregulation; it is a failure of globalist style corporatism that we have licensed to kill us. At the root of global financial meltdown are the unsustainable structural trade imbalances. But you will notice very few discussions are going on about this matter. The kleptocratic interest does not wish us to look at that with a critical eye.

All these current bailouts are a futile attempt to save an utterly corrupt monopolistic capitalism's world order. We must start reforming and dismantling or we risk a complete economic meltdown. And we all know what emerges from such conditions - dictators and world wars.

[sposton]

"This crisis has not been a failure of capitalism, as some of these protesters believe."

In my opinion it is exactly that - a failure of capitalism as we practice it. I believe it is crucial to admit this simple fact. That does not mean we ought to replace everything with socialism but whatever emerges from this failure ought to be significantly different. I am an economic conservative because I still believe in the value of free enterprise that works for all involved. But free enterprise should not have an automatic right to exist; its right must be conditional. If it works keep it, if it does not work reform it or discard it. Capitalism ought to be licensed by our democracies because it offers the best chance for wealth creation. But this capitalism must work for all of us.

Corporations which are too large to fail have no business existing in a free enterprise system. Capitalism is best when it consists of many small, competing and innovative enterprises. Once corporations start growing into giant business organizations their interest rapidly diverge from the rest of us. What could possibly be the rationale for allowing that? Corporations which are too large to fail or are of a scale which tends toward monopolistic behavior have no right to exist. Either we break them into smaller pieces or we a priori socialize them. I dare say we would not have many socialized enterprises - they would break up long before that happens.

[Diane Francis - Huffpost Blogger]

The failure was a vacuum in the financial space internationally. Hockey without referees. This is not allowed in the U.S, Canadian or Euro economic space, either in the real or financial economies.
Globalization of capital markets was not accompanied by a World Investment Organization, a rules-based organization like the WTO which adjusticates dumping and other types of trade violations or alleged ones.

Acceding to an international authority does not erode sovereignty it protects it. The misbehavior of Wall Street, AIG and the sub-prime thieves hugely damaged every economy outside the US and has brought about the bankruptcy of the world's financial system.
There must be referees or the world will NEVER recover.