Imran Jan |
What happened in New Zealand wouldn’t stay in New Zealand, and surely, didn’t start in New Zealand. The world seems to be divided between two extremist ideologies at the time; Islamic extremism and white supremacist extremism. It is as if though there is a turf war between the two. Yet, ironically, both complement each other despite the fact that both are opposing each other. Interestingly, both have the same father.
The focus has been to counter the Islamic extremism, which even Ali Soufan admitted in his interview on CNN. White ultra nationalist extreme thought was left alone to flourish unchecked. These white supremacist terror groups are popping up everywhere. The Identitarian movement, which began as a youth movement, originated in France. The movement is part of the counter-jihad movement as well as a part of the global alt-right.
The world seems to be divided between two extremist ideologies at the time; Islamic extremism and white supremacist extremism.
Many of its adherents firmly espouse the ‘white genocide conspiracy theory’, which basically says that policies such as immigration, abortion, racial integration etcetera in predominantly white countries or ‘white-founded countries’ are to deliberately weaken the white people by dismantling their collective power and by turning them into a minority. The New Zealand shooter’s manifesto is based on the same thinking.
There has been tremendous commentary all over. Trump, with his finger on the pulse of his electorate, said he didn’t think the white nationalists were a growing threat around the world and that “it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. It’s certainly a terrible thing.” Well, that is exactly what the Muslims around the world have been saying about Islamic extremists too; that it is just a few and that those few do not represent the rest.
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However, I must also point out that right now the media is jumping on this terrorist attack in New Zealand to continue with their tirade against Trump at the cost of really understanding the problem. Almost nobody is really asking a simple question; how did this white supremacy begin? Let us not be blinded to the reality amid all this mist. The western powers sponsored Islamic Jihad to counter communism in the past. That Jihad turned on its sponsors later and became the worst Frankenstein.
The movement is part of the counter-jihad movement as well as a part of the global alt-right.
This white nationalism is also the creation of western policies and let me assure everyone that this extremism also has the potential of becoming the next Frankenstein. The backing of Islamic extremism by the west to counter communism was driven by the greed for money making. White nationalism is caused by policies aimed at a profit as well.
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The Emergence of White Supremacy
The story of the modern white supremacy cannot be understood without understanding the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in the United States. The system kept the external exchange rates of member states controlled by tying its currency to gold. The Bretton Woods system was in place in the United States from roughly between 1950 and early 1970s. During this time, there was unprecedented economic growth. And that was an egalitarian economic growth. The people on the lowest quintile did handsomely well financially.
Following the Nixon shock, the Bretton Woods System came to an end. The restrictions that the Bretton Woods system placed on finance were dismantled. Finance was freed, speculation boomed. Pretty much the entire economy became financialized because the power of the economy shifted from manufacturing toward financial institutions. Banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions became extremely powerful in this new fictional economy.
The backing of Islamic extremism by the west to counter communism was driven by the greed for money making.
Capital started flowing everywhere. Wages stagnated for people. Instead of benefit going to the general population, a few pockets started bulging. Rich corporations started looking beyond borders to maximise profits and reduce costs. The term ‘globalisation’ was coined, which the general masses have been made to believe that it meant rich corporations coming to their land giving them jobs and benefits. Nothing can be further from the truth. The primary purpose of all this has been to find cheap labor and exploit resources. Globalisation is a propaganda term, Noam Chomsky rightly argues.
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Capitalism’s Exploitation
The rise of the neoliberal economic policy paved the way for western corporations to go around the world in search of business and resources and pay almost nothing to the indigenous people by cutting deals with the leader of the country. The satrapy was provided with all sorts of support and wealth in order for the western corporations to continue to loot their wealth, thereby depriving the locals of any benefits reaped from their resources. The so-called ‘business friendly’ legislation in the resource-rich countries was made possible by opportunist ‘business friendly’ local legislators whose coffers were filled.
Many of the Middle Eastern countries, for example, had strongmen who were propped by the west for extracting oil. Western companies in cahoots with their political leadership and intelligence agencies went to horrible lengths to ensure a continuous and cheap flow of oil. Assassinations, coups, kidnappings, invasions, aerial bombardment, covert operations, black ops are some of the nefarious activities of the West’s endless actions to gain access to oil.
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Deprived by West, Headed to West
Stagnated economies, joblessness, despair, hopelessness, and lost faith in their unrepresentative governments prompted people in those countries to seek alternative sources of income. Rich western nations became a migrants’ magnet. Heading west became one of the most lucrative options for young men to earn a living and help their families back home. The more the crony and selfish capitalism spread its tentacles around the world, the more jobless young men it created.
Here is a thought-provoking fact; most of the migrants arriving at western borders seeking refuge, asylum or work are from countries where the devastation is caused by the very western society. Put differently, the very countries that are opposing migration from various countries including Syria, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and so forth with varying degrees, are the ones that created war, devastation, hopelessness, and poverty in these hapless countries.
The term ‘globalisation’ was coined, which the general masses have been made to believe that it meant rich corporations coming to their land giving them jobs and benefits.
The west is responsible for compelling these people to escape hunger and imminent death and knock on the unwelcoming doors of western society. Likewise, the joblessness and the stagnated wages in the west are also because of the very new liberal economic policies. Disgruntled western citizens who couldn’t afford a decent living started shopping for an ideology and found it very conveniently in white ultra-nationalism. It lets them see themselves as victims of immigration, which as they see, brings to their land immigrants who take their jobs and hijack their culture and way of life.
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In all this noise, anger, and hate; the one real villain that caused all this in its quest for profits is completely ignored; the corporations. The Alternative Help Association (AHA) is the German offshoot of the Identitarians. On the surface, their mission seems noble. They have sort of plagiarised Bush’s war on terror. To stop terror American forces go to the terrorists’ countries and hideouts and kill them there instead of letting them reach America. AHA wants to preemptively stop the migration by helping people in their home countries.
A better way would be for these citizens of western society to ask their governments to stop creating the swamp abroad so that people don’t have to flee hunger and death. French President Emmanuel Macron forcefully rebuked the rising nationalism sweeping across Europe and North America and called it a “betrayal of nationalism”. Macron warned that nationalistic and racist tendencies are nothing but “old demons coming back to wreak chaos and death.” Yes, these demons are old and made in the west.
Imran Jan is a political analyst. He can be reached at imran.jan@gmail.com. Twitter @Imran_Jan. The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.