Amit's Blog

The Neocolonial Magic: Global Dominance, Media Collusion, and the Betrayal of the Working Class   Neocolonialism, the covert continuation of colonial power through economic, political, and cultural means, took hold after World War II (1945–1975) via Bretton Woods institutions, corporate expansion, and Cold War interventions. The rise of East and Southeast Asia was framed as a capitalist triumph, masking dependency, while media outlets like Time and BBC portrayed Western actions as altruistic. Post-USSR (1991–2021), neoliberalism, led by Reagan and Thatcher, entrenched global inequalities through globalization, with media amplifying its inevitability. Meanwhile, deindustrialization and wage stagnation devastated the Western working class, yet resistance faltered due to weakened unions, co-opted politics, and pervasive media collusion. This essay explores neocolonialism’s roots, its persistence, the neoliberal torch, and why resistance failed, emphasizing media’s role in legitimi...

Through Fire and Reform: Capitalism’s Tumultuous Journey (1914–1980) Part 3 of 4 From the smoke-filled trenches of 1914 to the neon glow of 1980s malls, capitalism endured a gauntlet of crises that would make even the most stoic economist wince. Two world wars, the Great Depression, and the Cold War’s ideological cage match tested the system’s mettle, forcing it to bend, twist, and occasionally grovel before the altar of state intervention. This was no genteel evolution; it was a bare-knuckled brawl for survival, with capitalism emerging scarred but swaggering, thanks to a mix of government muscle, global handshakes, and a knack for reinvention. Yet, as we’ll see, this era of adaptation sowed seeds of tension, setting the stage for the neoliberal circus that followed. Buckle up—this is capitalism’s mid-20th-century saga, complete with heroic recoveries, ironic missteps, and a few well-deserved eye-rolls at its excesses. A World at War: Capitalism’s Command Performance (1914–1945)...

A Tale of Two Titans: The Marshall Plan and China’s Belt and Road Initiative The U.S. Marshall Plan (1948–1952) and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, 2013–present) are landmark geoeconomic strategies, each reshaping global influence through economic aid. The Marshall Plan, with ~$13 billion in grants, rebuilt Europe and Japan as capitalist bulwarks against Soviet expansion, fostering rapid recovery and enduring alliances. BRI, with over $1 trillion in loans, targets the Global South, building infrastructure to secure resources and markets for China’s industrial machine. Philosophically, the Marshall Plan was ideologically rigid, while BRI is pragmatic, prioritizing connectivity over alignment. Implementation-wise, the Marshall Plan’s grants were easier to execute than BRI’s debt-heavy, complex model. Outcomes show the Marshall Plan’s transformative success versus BRI’s mixed results. Geopolitically, both cemented their sponsors’ dominance, but BRI faces multipolar resistance. ...