Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War' [View all]

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/01/25-1

Published on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 by Common Dreams

Dystopia: Corporate Rule Breeding 'Global Class War'
- Common Dreams staff

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, normally an opportunity for the global elite to congratulate one another on their continued dominance of world economic matters and policy victories, has been unable this year to ignore the growing popular movements that have risen to challenge many of the forum's fundamental prescriptions for growth and economic stability.

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Further proving that the forum has taken a more pessimistic tone this year is the title of one of today's sessions, 'Seeds of Dystopia,' which mirrors the WEF's Global Risks 2012 Report, released earlier this month. Among those who share the financial worries of a continued economic slump and predict further social and political upheaval, is Nouriel Roubini. An economist and co-author of the book Crisis Economics -- and also known as Dr. Doom for some of his (accurate) predictions of past economic events (read 'meltdowns') -- Roubini spoke on today's panel. The Business Insider delineates some of Roubini's key points:

Roubini & Co. Scare The Crap Out Of Davos
'Social unrest, Roubini says, is tied directly to economic uncertainty'

•What is connecting everyone in the world these days is economic and financial insecurity, the rise of income and wealth inequality, challenges from poverty, unemployment effects of financial crisis.
•Freakouts about debt loads, moreover, are leading to budget cuts — which, in Europe, at least, are making the recession worse.
•225 million people worldwide are unemployed
•1 in 3 people on the planet are poor or unemployed
•1% of the world's families own 40% of the wealth
•Wages as a percent of GDP are at an all-time low
•Corporate profits as a percent of GDP are at an all-time high
•Current policies will lead to explosions
•This inequality is "Great Gatsby revisited"
•We're in a "vicious circle"... fiscal austerity to solve debt problem is making everything worse

..more..