The US has become a de facto corpocracy. It is an almost wholly owned subsidiary of unaccountable mega banks and corporations. This is increasingly apparent in the privatisation of prison systems.
Under the Corpocracy shareholders and the state profit from the forced labour of a million prisoners. At the same time inmates are charged for board, rent, footwear, clothing, power, healthcare and other essential goods and services. Many become so indebted they can never escape the system, even once they have served their time. Those unable to keep up their repayments after release are-incarcerated
This Orwellian system relies on ever increasing numbers of bonded workers for industrial and economic growth. The FBI reports s that one third of Americans now have a criminal record.
To the banker’s mind it makes perfect sense that corporations should own the prisons with minimal state interference. The role of the state and judiciary becomes one of ensuring an abundant supply of cheap labour to ensure a rich return on investments.
Don’t think it can’t happen here.
Cygnus 
Excellent piece and well stated ! — The US privatized for profit prison system has guaranteed occupancy — the state pays for unoccupied cells.
Don’t think it can’t happen here — there’s ISDS and governments unwillingness to properly tax the financial elite which ultimately leads to government having to borrow funds while offering some of her sovereignty as collateral to their creditor — until there is hardly any left but a role in deciding policy itself.
Privatized prisons have made an entry, It’s worth investigating whether theyalso have guaranteed occupancy contracts.
Selfishness rules — Ayn Randian Dystopia: The Five-Step Process to Privatize Everything
At the heart of privatization is a disdain for government and a love of mindless individualism.
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Thanks for the alternet link SF. We seem to have abandoned Australia’s once proud title of Commonwealth and its egalitarian principles. The cult of the individual pursuit of power and wealth can only end in fascism. In our case the MSM and major political parties seem bent on reproducing Mussolini’s Corporatism controlled by the state except the Anglosphere is going for corpocracy controlled by Big Banks and Big business. As the founder of Rothschild’s Bank remarked “Let me issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who writes the laws.”
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The name of the commonwealth does not appear to be particularly inspiring to our present representatives – hasn’t been for a long time either – Now that R has been mentioned it should come as no surprise that the means of credit have been privately owned, always have been.
99% of all new income still goes to the top one percent in the US.
And still they borrow and pay interest with their nations sovereignty, every other nation that blindly follows her is run by a ship of fools – carefully chosen, willingly manipulated puppets in a theater.
Sure you’re well read, NONE DARE CALL IT CONSPIRACY page 35 is a classic that MLK liked to quote from in his speeches.
In simple yet brilliant detail – It describes how governments lose their sovereignty to the international banking class, something which still happens with each and every FTA via ISDS or similar.
Inverted Totalitarianism and Sheldon Wolin come to mind.
Bottom line, same as always, the world needs a new economic system that’s not based on perpetual economic growth for corporations.
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Never mind page 35, go to # 3 the money manipulators.
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Thanks for the new references SF. It looks like pretty standard solipsistic Illuminati grand conspiracy stuff. When choosing between conspiracy or cock up I think cock up is standard human behaviour. I don’t think Stark was a documentary or that our drift into fascist corpocracy is the result of a grand master plan for world domination. Its more likely a whole lot greedy corporations seeking ever more influence for themselves and shareholders with complete disregard and contempt for notions of the common good. They have corrupted democratic processes, politicians and public servants to the extent that they no longer serve the populace.
A new economic system based on homoeostatic principles is needed to stop the destructive boom/bust cycle wean us off the mad obsession with and avert catastrophic breakdown. To bring this about we don’t need revolution but political evolution. Two Australian examples of attempts to bring this about would be the Democrats and the Greens. We really do need to “keep the bastards honest”.
We also need fundamental tax reforms and a national ICAC system with state branches.
If democracy is to survive it needs to reform along social democratic lines, Nordic style. We need better and wiser people to stand for office and an incorruptible public service with strong institutions that resist undue influence. If our elected governments and public servants were up to their tasks they would be harnessing capitalism, not bowing to it.
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Well stated ! — We do need a new Economic system that’s not linked to the fallacious pursuit of Perpetual Economic growth — Something which is quite simply unattainable on a planet with finite resources.
Human rights and the environment are suffering as a result.
Capitalism and the destruction of life and earth.
The only alternative model that has made the most sense to me is Eco-Socialism.
A whole lot of greedy corporation are owned by a minority indeed !
A Swiss study from 2011 showed how 147 Technocratic * super entities * rule the world and have control over 40% of the worlds wealth.
In turn the big banks own these * 147 *super entities.
The financial elite own the * banks *
And then there’s this one Financial Core of the Transnational Corporate Class
.
Government appears to have become a stepping stone for career minded opportunist hoping to land a lucrative appointment in the corporate world — the more they benefitted the ”Corporotocracy” will reflect in the appointments received — After all — 37 of the worlds largest economies are those of corporations — that might serve as a motive.
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Typo – 37 of the worlds 100 largest economies are those of corporations.
https://www.popularresistance.org/report-state-of-power-2014-exposing-the-davos-class/
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I read recently that the 13 th amendment to the US Constitution, which banned slavery, specifically exempted prisoners.
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Contemporary slavery and serfdom takes many overlapping forms including:
– ancient forms such as being born into an historical slave caste;
– bonded labour to work off unrepayable debts passed down through generations;
– forced migrant labour, particularly in the case of “illegal” immigrants;
– sexual slavery;
– forced marriage;
– child labour
– resurgent extreme Islamic forms of religiously sanctioned slavery;
– government sanctioned prison slavery;
– the non-payment of wages by unscrupulous criminal employers;
– human trafficking through coercion, deception, abduction, lease or purchase.
There are estimates that put the current number of slaves between 21 and 46 million with around 18 million being in India. Slavery is also increasingly common in the so-called democracies such as Australia, Europe and the USA. The profits are thought to exceed $35 billion per year.
Many lending institutions such as banks commonly enmesh people in loans they can’t afford so that most of the working hours throughout their lives have to be devoted to paying off the ballooning interest in accrued debt. This can be considered as a modern form of serfdom.
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