Clear and present danger: wars incubate fascism

War and preparations for war are extremely toxic to society. These are times to be brave.

Let’s not do this again…

The war drums in Europe and in the Middle East are growing ever louder and it is clear that the imperial oligarchy desperately needs a big war to shore up their power base and to divert the anger of their populations against an external enemy. In Germany, where the largest protests in history are ongoing and even gaining in size, we suddenly have a leak of secret documents out of the German Defence Ministry that suggest that Vladimir Putin is preparing to attack NATO countries in 2025 and show step-by-step how Russia will escalate the conflict to an all-out war over the next 18 months.

UK Defence Minister: the era of peace dividend is over!

Recognize the ghouls: the left eye always has a crazy expression.

On Monday, 15 January 2024, Britain’s Defence Minister, the “right and honourable” Grant Shapps posted a theatrical video on X, announcing that “we” must prepare for war:

“In 2024 Britain Stands at a turning point in our history. … The world’s become acutely dangerous. All around us, our enemies are preparing and we are just seeing the start of tragic consequences. From Ukraine to the Middle East, the South China Sea to North Korea, South America to Africa and new theatres from cyber to space warfare, all of which could have disastrous impact at home. How we respond will define our future. And the choice is clear: the era of peace dividend is over. And now, just like our enemies, we must plan and invest for an era of confrontation…”

Whenever they say, “we,” “our enemies,” etc - keep in mind, they mean themselves and the imperial cabal that employs them. They see the rest of us merely as indentured labor, tax donkeys and cannon fodder. But if there’s one comforting aspect to RtHon’s surreal announcement, it’s that after nearly 24 hours, his post only got 938 views. All the same, his words should not be taken lightly as they echo the mindset of the high cabal.

NATO is mobilizing

Accordingly, NATO has been busy preparing its member nations for war and moving troops and equipment toward Russia's borders across Poland, across Slovakia and elsewhere. Governments and media in Finland and Sweden are ratcheting up the narrative about the coming war against Russia and the new Polish government just announced a stunning new directive on military draft. It states that if you are called for military service, you must report for duty within six hours. Failure to report is punishable with three years in prison. Avoidance of military service will be punished with a 5-year prison term.

War is the perfect smokescreen for totalitarianism

Beyond the obvious danger in terms of destruction and loss of life, war and preparations for war are extremely toxic to a society. This is because the perceived emergency and danger from the external enemy creates the psychological smokescreen that enables the nation's political class to consolidate their hold on power in ways that wouldn't be possible during peacetime.

Under a national emergency, the governing authority can suspend democracy and human rights, silence all dissent, political opposition and independent media, introduce military draft, confiscate property and coerce forced labor. And as the ruling establishment eliminates opposition and consolidates unchecked power, they can resort to picking up individuals off the streets to force them into the military, building labor camps and concentration camps, and even directing large-scale killings of dangerous and deplorable segments within their own populations. 

Beware the “barbarians at the gates” ruse

This is why wars are so irresistible to the ruling establishment in times of crises. Roman oligarchy frequently faced social revolts at home and their default remedy was always to raise alarm about the “barbarians at the gates,” because they understood that, as Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote, “In times of war, the law falls silent.” This recipe has been used by the ruling oligarchies up until the present day. In 1993, after the Soviet Union collapsed, George Soros wrote a long article titled, "The Coming World Disorder" in which he underscored the beneficial, stabilizing effect of the Cold War order: "... both sides were mobilized for war, ... and internal conflicts within each camp were kept frozen by the external threat."

Of course, that stabilizing effect of war is beneficial to the ruling establishment, not to the society at large. The Cold War was deliberately contrived for this purpose as friends and allies were rapidly turned into enemies and vice versa. Soviet Union’s collapse left the cabal exposed and vulnerable: with no barbarians at the gates, the people might begin to question the prevailing social order. Douglas MacEachin, director of the CIA’s Office of Soviet Analysis described already in the 1980s the importance of the USSR’s role as America’s best enemy:

“The Soviet Union is so fundamental to our outlook on the world, to our concept of what is right and wrong in politics, to our sense of security, that major change in the USSR is as significant as some major change in the sociological fabric of the United States itself.”

This whole idea of using threats and insecurity as the organizing principle in society was well understood by George Orwell who was close to Britain’s ruling establishment. In "1984" he wrote as follows:

"War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair. ... The war is waged by each ruling group against its own subjects, and the object of war is not to make or prevent conquest of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact."

The most recent example of this was the outbreak of war in Israel where the Prime Minister Netanyahu was under siege with his political life and personal liberty in jeopardy. Hamas attack on 7 October, which had all the hallmarks of a false-flag operation, largely dissipated Israel's social revolt against the government for a time and rallied the nation to “fight Hamas,” the external enemy.

As Europe's nations sink ever deeper into self-stoking economic, social and political crises, we can expect to hear and see further sensational reports about the imminent Russian invasion, the “barbarians at the gates” all over again! Predictably, we can expect tighter control over the media, crackdown on dissent and political opposition, metastasizing authoritarianism and ultimately a return of the military draft, all in the name of democracy and freedom. To protect freedom, we’ll have to destroy freedom!

Hybrid totalitarianism in drag

Presently, our “liberal democracies” are morphing into hybrid fascist totalitarianisms. By hybrid, I mean that many of the society's institutions will probably continue to operate as usual: we'll have elections, only sans the unacceptable candidates and deplorable parties; we'll be able to sue people over unpaid bills or botched surgeries, and football games will still be on TV. But key institutions of society, those dictating matters of war and peace, including the media, credit allocation, industrial development and law enforcement will fall beyond democratic control. In fact, in most western nations we already have fascist dictatorships in drag.

The farther they consolidate unchecked power, the greater the danger of us sliding into another devastating war, especially on the old continent. That's what happened in Germany in the 1930s and in Ukraine after 2014. In both countries, the Nazis / neo-Nazis were deeply unpopular at first, and the majority of people stood for peace and against war. In 2015 elections in Ukraine, the two extreme right parties (Svoboda and Pravy Sektor) won less than 1% of the popular vote each. In 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky won 74% of the vote because he was promising to end the conflict with the breakaway republics in the Donbass and normalize relations with Russia. This is what the people of Ukraine wanted.

But the fact that most people abhor war is no obstacle to the banking oligarchs who control the levers of power. Recall, in 1914, 90% of Americans were against the US joining World War I. No matter: the City of London - Wall Street axis wanted the war and war they got. Likewise Zelensky, once in power jettisoned his promises to the Ukrainian people, outlawed 11 opposition parties, consolidated a media monopoly, banned Russian Orthodox Church and expand the power of the military and the SBU. Today, Ukraine's SBU is sweeping men off the streets to shove them into the trenches, together with 17-year old boys, and old men.  

Disbelieve demonization!

The cost of liberty is passive acquiescence eternal vigilance and we must be particularly vigilant about the relentless demonization of external enemies like Russia, Iran, China or North Korea. Such propaganda is almost entirely woven out of lies contrived by an army of think tanks, intelligence agencies, fake journalists and social media patriot types, all paid by the unsuspecting taxpayers.

In the US for example, the Congress introduced the "America COMPETES Act" (2022), appropriating $500 million for anti-China propaganda. As a result, many Americans today are being conditioned to think of China as an enemy and expect to be at war with China in the near future. In light of that information, we should by default treat any and all negative press on Russia, China or other potential enemies as untruths, until proven otherwise. Furthermore, we should reject all misdirection: our real enemy is right here at home, lusting after future wars.

Meanwhile, neither the think tanks contriving those lies, nor the US military believe that they can prevail in a war against China, but as Orwell had warned us, the wars are now being pursued purely as internal matter... The real war, which is already afoot, is on us.

It is time to be brave!

This should not be our children’s future - let us not allow it to be.

For anyone who wants to prevent the future in which their sons might be swept up off the streets and sent to war, this is the time for vigilance and the time to be brave.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the lord your God will be with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

How exactly, should we be brave? To begin with, we should take the clue from the ruling degenerates themselves. In her speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid it out perfectly clearly:

“For the global business community, the top concern for the next two years is not conflict or climate. It is disinformation and misinformation… These risks are serious because they limit our ability to tackle the big global challenges we are facing…”

What von der Leyen considers “disinformation and misinformation,” is what most of the rest of us call truth. Therefore, to limit their ability to tackle big global challenges, and these include getting rid of most of us and enslaving the rest, we must persevere on the path of discovering, assimilating and disseminating the truth about all things that matter.

“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed.” - Archibald MacLeish

Keep in mind, being brave includes also the risk of embarrassment and being wrong. Push on all the same: if you happen to blunder, others will catch your errors and correct you. Collectively, we could only fail if we fell for misdirection or if we simply surrendered for fear. That, we’ve no right to do for we would be surrendering also on behalf of future generations.

Alex Krainer – @NakedHedgie is the creator of I-System Trend Following and publisher of daily TrendCompass investor reports which cover over 200 financial and commodities markets. One-month test drive is always free of charge, no jumping through hoops to cancel. To start your trial subscription, drop us an email at TrendCompass@ISystem-TF.com

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