Re: Massive Starvation For World Feared Over Myanmar And Chile

On May 8, 8:00=A0pm, Vngelis <meberr...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Global Famine
> by Michel Chossudovsky
> Global Research, May 2, 2008

I remember a discussion some 20 years ago in the pages of the
theoretical journal of the =93Slaughter WRP=94 as to the question of the
=93stagnation of the productive forces under modern imperialism =96 at the
time much of it was a rather abstract discussion. So much of this
article is testimony to that thesis: the capacity is there (the
productive forces) but the contradictions in the capitalist system are
leading increasingly to an impasse in the distribution of those
benefits to the people.

One aspect he tends to by-pass is the impact of the crisis in the US
dollar in driving the speculative mania in the grain markets. In the
1973-4 oil crisis, following on from the Nixon devaluation of the $US
=96 in fact cutting it adrift from gold altogether and subsequently
seeing it devalue, the price of all basic commodities, including
grains, minerals and so on skyrocketed. As Marx said, in a crisis all
seek to exchange money for commodities that congeal real value. That
is what happens in Chicago now.

I presume that the stated motive of the IMF/World Bank neo-liberal
aficionados regarding the restructure of the agricultural mix of third
world (and other) countries was the principle of comparative advantage
=96 get out of staple food production and leave this to the prairies =96
produce flowers and oranges for the European/US markets. What a sad
climax to this misused policy.