While we move towards a world of greater unification, if not brotherhood, global imperialism (driven by large corporations, banks, states, political parties, international organisations of the UN, and pressure groups) continues to attack the poor of the Earth in a ceaseless, systematic, and multipronged manner.
At a socio-economic level, the financial sector dominates the global market almost unopposed. This elite controls the flow of money and the value of products on the global stock exchange, generating more than two billion dollars on a daily basis. The form of capitalism prevalent in the world today takes advantage of the labour of millions of migrants, the unemployed, underemployed, those without labour rights, and the labour of 400 million children.
On the political front, there are waves of privatisation of public services and a gradual overturning of hard-earned labour rights. This process has simply implemented agreements already made with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation – measures first applied in ‘developing nations’ during the Cold War. The profound identity crisis of the official Left of most nations has led them to become domesticated agents of the global capitalist system – not even a workshop aiming to repair that system.
This system, with its totalitarian tendencies, provokes a de-politicisation and weakening of society. The aim is to take away this society’s active role and responsibility in making decisions related to the market, political institutions, and political parties imposed on it.
On the religious and cultural fronts, the digital and technological revolutions present new opportunities for revolution. According to UNESCO, the cultural industries are worth $1.3 billion. Thus, a global ideological project has been set out. The imperialists know that exploiting these new technologies is key to manipulating the consciousness of the masses and ensuring that control is exercised over their education, research, and consumerist habits. In their fight to reinforce their view of humans as pure individuals, they favour the dissolution of families and communities, encouraging lifestyles driven by greed, power, and hedonism. The manifestations of this fight in society are seen in the addictions people suffer, the superficiality present in the media and all around us, and the exploitation of natural sexual desires for financial gain which has increased the objectification of women.
Clearly, imperialism destroys the dignity of people and the society they live in, affecting the weak and poor most of all. It seeks to destroy the historical memory of these people, along with all moral and ethical references to solidarity, justice, and self-government. It also denies and fights against any idea of religious liberation.
Faced with this imperialism, we see the need to empower the impoverished sectors of society. As our friend Guillermo Rovirosa said, “It is necessary to light lamps around the world that, bit by bit, may serve to clear away the darkness of the materialist world. The stage is being set once again thanks to vital testimonies of humility, poverty, and sacrifice”.
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