A Star Reader's Perspective On Caterpillar Inc.

I have been offline for the past several days, the reason for which I may write about later. For now, I am taking the liberty of reproducing the excellent lead letter appearing in the print edition of today's Star in which the writer, Dr. Robert Bahlieda, offers some penetrating insights into the significance of what is happening at the Electo-Motive plant in London, Ontario.

The lockout of the Caterpillar workers in London, Ont. reflects the brave new world of neoliberalism, an extreme right-wing ideology that has taken over Western and global society in the last 25 years.

It is a white, elitist, winner-take-all philosophy that emphasizes tax cuts, competition, de-regulated free markets, toothless labour protections, sharply reduced wages and limited social program funding. This has become the new normal under the mantra of globalization.

In this theory, according to its propaganda, North American working people are always to blame for the economy’s problems through their unwillingness to work for paltry wages without benefits, pensions or full-time jobs. They are also viewed as ingrates who scoff at low-paid work and foolishly demand civil and human rights as employees.

They hold the deluded belief that the world should be a place where society works for the well-being of all rather than the few. They are socialists.

Huge multinational corporations like Caterpillar on the other hand are the true aggrieved party in society, always struggling to increase market share and margins for demanding shareholders in order to create more jobs and grow the economy.

Emboldened by a litany of economic crises in the past two decades, the conservative right smells blood in the water and have ramped up their rhetoric, extremism and attacks on working people, minorities and the poor all over the world.

In the Darwinian universe they envision and believe in governments should drop the charade of democracy and allow business to take over the running of the world. Effectively this is already happening through globalization and free trade agreements, while governments have been left to play the roles of castrated eunuchs ministering to the demands of free-enterprise and wringing their conveniently tied hands.

It is a world where any job is a good job and those who fight for living wages are branded obstructionists or left-wing radicals. It is a world where anyone who resists authority is demonized. It is a world where the private-sector media takes on the social conscience and investigative roles that are the responsibility of democratic governments to protect citizens from the rapacious greed of free marketeers and others who would exploit society for their own gain. It is a world where the many toil for the few and are thankful for doing so.

Instead of being outraged by this situation and giving broad public support to movements like the Occupy flash protests, we sit passively by while we celebrate these corporate titans as though they were mythical gods benevolently dispensing wise, paternal advice to us all.

It is a Milton Friedman world of democracy through capitalism. In the 1960s this situation would have induced millions of people of all ages, colours and backgrounds to occupy every public space around the world — and politicians and governments would have been compelled to listen.

Instead, today we change the channel and move on. Democracy is going away with a whimper. It is the world of the Tea Party, the federal Conservatives and Mayor Rob Ford. Welcome to the brave new world of the London, Ont. Caterpillar workers.

Dr. Robert Bahlieda, Newmarket