Humanity has matured over the million years it’s been kicking around on this rock. However, many of the empathetic ideologies we’ve developed took a very long time to become mainstays. While many of our other ideals are still suppressed by power structures too large to topple.
Despite this, we certainly took power out of the hands of the rash. Yet, we quickly discovered that left the door open to the greedy. And for all intrinsic purposes, we haven’t escaped the greed era yet. For the greedy are more drawn to power than any others. As Frank Herbert so elegantly puts it:
“Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely, absolute power attracts the corruptible.”
Is the EU fighting this greed? Did America? What can we do to check this power?
Well, the founding fathers of the United States painstakingly wrote mountains of legislation to do exactly this. They understood the problems the European bankers wrought on free enterprise amid the renaissance and set out to mitigate this corruption as much as possible.
The United States has also attacked monopolies, which should be the prime directive of governments of capitalistic societies. For when a monopoly exceeds the power of a state, that state is no longer in control of its own markets and subsequent destiny.
Essentially, monopolies stifle competition and harm consumers. Hence why breaking them up was a priority for the US government. Here are some memorable instances:
Standard Oil: In 1911, the US Supreme Court ordered the breakup of Standard Oil, which controlled over 90% of oil refining capacity in the country.
AT&T: In 1984, AT&T, the largest telecommunications company in the US, was broken up into seven smaller companies.
Microsoft: In the late 1990s, Microsoft was accused of using its monopoly power in the PC software market to stifle competition. The company reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice in 2001.
These are just a few examples. The US government has taken action against other monopolies as well, in industries ranging from railroads to beef packing. Yet, we haven’t seen the US do much of anything for 20 years. And there have been many moments when they could have.
We also have scarcely seen the US do anything to banks. In fact, quite the contrary, they bailed out the banks using taxpayer dollars. Many assumed this helped, and I wish it did, but when you bail out systems with assets using taxpayer dollars and printed money, it devalues the currency, and subsequently makes all assets more expensive. Which in itself is a redistribution of wealth. The more assets someone has when money is inflated, the richer they become. This was one of the main hammer blows to the middle-class, and upper-middle-class of the 21st century.
Then there’s the Federal Reserve (Fed), which is its own monopoly if you think about it. The Federal Reserve drives commerce in the United States, and if it is corrupted in any manner, that would also stifle competition and, subsequent growth and creative commerce. I and many others believe the Fed has been corrupted by its own aristocracy, and lost touch with its true duties. In fact, many feel the founding fathers’ worst fears have become a reality:
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.” Thomas Jefferson
As the wise Thomas Jefferson predicts, the Fed has too much power. And the people the bankers hang out with aren’t “the people.” They’re “those people,” the 1 percent, the oligarchs of America. These billionaires influence the Fed’s decisions, and the Fed favours loaning them before anyone else. Why? Because it’s easier than complex stimulus plans.
In other words, when the Fed creates money, it isn’t distributed to the masses in a bid to stimulate the economy. It’s given to people with assets who can capitalize on inflation and have no incentive to spend said money.
This has taken a massive toll on one of the most progressive countries in the world. America, now, is not the United States that helped the world defeat fascism in the ’40s, it’s not even the United States the founding fathers envisioned, and it’s hardly United at all.
Now, let’s talk about the EU. The EU is something the founding fathers could truly be proud of. It was built on the back of millennia of mistakes and lessons. Many of which learned from the United States.
The EU has taken several steps to break up banking monopolies and promote competition in the banking sector. Some of the measures taken include:
Implementing the Second Banking Directive in 1989, which enabled greater competition and cross-border banking activities.
Introducing the Single European Payment Area (SEPA) in 2008, which standardizes payment systems across the EU and allows customers to make electronic payments anywhere in the EU using a single bank account.
Regulating state aid to banks, to prevent individual countries from providing an unfair advantage to their domestic banks.
Establishing the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in 2014, which gives the European Central Bank (ECB) the power to directly supervise significant banks in the eurozone.
Encouraging consolidation and restructuring of the banking sector through various mergers and acquisitions.
Now, the first three in this list are a no-brainer, while the last two are suspect to debate. Yet, all of these measures aim to increase competition and reduce the dominance of a few large banks in the EU. Whether or not they will create new problems is yet to be seen. However, they have a unique ability denied to single-state Feds. They have multiple watchdogs from multiple cultures. This allows for many scrupulous perspectives.
The EU is essentially what the founding fathers envisioned the United States could be. Many ecosystems, economies, and cultures all united in defence of their goals. These are free markets that can promote humanity’s greatest gifts to ourselves, ingenuity and solutions.
Now there are some that could pick apart what I’ve just said, including myself. Yet, this is the closest hope we have to these goals. Humanities growth lies in its trade and economies. Not just goods, but ideas. The EU’s decisions revolve around collaboration. So if anyone should dominate the world through influence, I vote for them. I don’t think I need to state what the other superpowers’ goals are, they are clearly defined through actions.
The European Union should be considered a superpower for several reasons, including its political and economic influence, military power, and technological advancement. With a population of over 500 million and a combined GDP of over $17 trillion, the EU is one of the largest economies in the world, making it a significant player in the global marketplace. Additionally, its member states make up a large portion of the United Nations Security Council, giving it a strong voice in international politics. Furthermore, the EU has an exceptional military. In summary, the EU’s size, wealth, political influence, military power, and technological advancement all contribute to its status as a superpower.
Another aspect that makes the EU a worthy superpower is its ability to form and maintain alliances. The EU has strong partnerships and trade agreements with many countries and regions around the world, which enhances its influence on the global stage. Furthermore, the EU is at the forefront of promoting democracy, human rights, and environmental protection, and it plays a leading role in addressing global challenges such as climate change, terrorism, and the refugee crisis.
Finally, the EU is also a cultural superpower, with a rich heritage and a diverse and dynamic population. The EU is home to some of the world’s greatest works of art, literature, and music, as well as a thriving film and entertainment industry. This cultural richness has made the EU a leader in promoting cultural exchange and understanding around the world.
When I was a naive child, I did not see the use of bickering superpowers in the world. But then, I was privy to enough history to change my mind. This deluge of history I waterboarded myself with for 20 years gave me a new perspective. I now see a counter to evil is crucial to humanity’s evolution.
Yet, the superpowers around the globe throughout my adolescence were selfish. Clearly selfish. Not only for themselves but for the few in their country. The “Elite,” those who were born into considerable wealth and leverage that against humanity their entire self-conscientious existence. These mediocre who assume their power is deserved. They perpetuate an archaic status quo because change and ingenuity scares them, it threatens their inherited dominance.
Well, I, for one, believe the EU is the closest thing this world has to shaking off these antiquated fools and the greed era. Its ecosystem is the least attractive to tyrannical parasites. However, it’s far from, perfect.
Take the war in Ukraine, for instance. Here we have an opportunity for the EU to grow. Here we have a massive and capable population reaching out to the EU. Yet the EU throws money at the problem instead. Why? Because it’s unsure what its voters want.
The major policymakers in the EU understand Russia will never use nuclear weapons. They also know Russia is no threat to them and wouldn’t act if the EU were to solely help defend Ukraine’s sovereign land with forces from the EU. Yet, they know their people don’t know these things. And they worry about sending boots in to help Ukrainians because they think it would threaten their candidacy.
So, the EU needs some work. Yet, here we have something great, something the world can be proud of and everyone wants to trade with. The EU is cool again, and it has its wonderful people and its policymakers to thank. The European Union is a superpower that deserves to influence the world. And any country in need should be brought on board as quickly as sustainably possible.
If it carries on this way, we need not worry about the tyranny of other states. For they are not united and divided, they’ll fall.
Originally published at j-kovacsik.medium.com on March 30, 2023
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