Chapter Summaries – Shaking the Gates of Hell
Chapter 12: Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank, and WTO
In this chapter, Delgado talks about the influence and key role in the global economic crisis of the three main financial and economic international organizations: The IMF, World Bank, and WTO. The author says that these organizations claim to be the torchbearers of the economic stability in the world, but, in truth, they work for their own benefit. The ground realities of the global economic horizon contradict their claim that their rules help improve the standard of living and lives of general population of the world. The main purpose of these organizations does not seem to be the welfare of the people, but their own survival. Other dominant organization and governments help these three leaders of today’s economic world in achieving their goals, which in turns help them too.
The third member of the trinity is the World Trade Organization. The organization’s main goal is to restrict the governments in regulating the corporations that keep the corporate system running.
Thus, the three organizations make sure that the corporate structure of the global economic horizon keep intact and everyone plays their part to promote it.
I agree with the certain issues that highlighted in this chapter, but I felt that the writer needs to explain more about how the projects like dams and power plants affect the environment.
Chapter 13: No More Mr. Nice Guy: The Corporate Security State
In this chapter, Delgado, at first, talks about the “contradictions of capitalism” by telling that in the past few decades, the economic inequality has increased, creating a huge gap between the elite class and the poor. This has resulted in an increase in crimes. The number of criminals in the prisons of US alone has increased eight times of the number in 1975. The author points out the “inherent contradiction of capitalism that pressurizes the governments to choose between the policies that create equality and the policies that create social repression” (Delgado, 166). The author states that for capitalist system to work, economies should grow and money must be accumulated. He further states that unemployment is a necessary part of capitalism. Unemployment works as a competitive force for keeping the wages down and keeping the labor motivated for work. Unemployment, however, also leads to poverty which is not favorable for business. So unemployment is both beneficial and damaging to the system. This is the contradiction of capitalism.
At last, the author sheds light to “The Patriot Act” that reduces the rights of citizens and non-citizens of US. According to this act, the government is allowed to do warrantless searching, engage in surveillance, and engage in several violations of both the first and the fourth amendments. He concludes by saying that the purpose of network of institutions that benefit from and support the corporate system is to create a national base of support for the new international policies.
I agree with the author’s point of view that there are contradictions in capitalism, the divide between rich and poor people, and the unemployment phenomena.
Chapter 14: The Iron Fist: Enforcing Corporate Globalization
In this chapter, Delgado condemns the military interventions of the United States army, especially in Iraq. He says that these endeavors have devastating consequences to the common people who get affected.
Furthermore, the government is preparing for special warfare with weapons large and dangerous enough to annihilate a whole city. Handheld computing has changed the warfare forever. Satellites allow the access to remote locations without the involvement of that age. The author uses “The Vision for 2020” as an example to prove his point that the US is preparing for a war that will be waged “in, through, and from the space”.
In conclusion, this chapter focuses on how the military is supporting the corporate system in order to ensure its existence and power.
In my opinion, the evidence provided by the author might not be enough to support his claims, but still, he seemed convincing. Given more evidence, especially for his claims like the US military’s involvement in some grand scheme to support the system. He is right about how the US military should have been working on the disarming of nuclear weapons and other technologies that can wipe a good part of human population, off the face of the earth.
References
Delgado, Sharon E. Shaking The Gates Of Hell. 1st ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007. Print.
