Last week�s serious turmoil in Wall Street and the collapse of
financial titan Lehman Brothers signified a critical point for
the global capitalist order. It was more than just bankruptcy
� it was a glaring expression of imperialism�s fatal course.
Marx might not have the opportunity to witness how capitalism has
transformed capital into a commodity, but he would not be
surprised by how and why capitalism has amassed such enormous
wealth. He had formulated capital accumulation and its eventual
disintegration long before stock markets across the globe plunged.
In essence, the financial crisis today has just reaffirmed
the inherent contradictions within a capitalist mode of production.
As expected, the US Federal Reserve came to the rescue with
billion-dollar bailouts. It was a classic state intervention
of the market during recession, which contradicts the whole
idea of the �invisible hand.� For a short while, the bailouts
allayed the anxieties of the troubled species in the stock
market. But how long and effective can it keep the US economy
from total collapse and the world economy from plunging further?
The financial crisis today presents features that are distinct from
all other crises that have confronted the global economy
before. For one, the current crisis gobbles up not just small
investors and stock market players but big investment banks that
were unsuspecting havens of bad loans. Furthermore, the US
�war on terror� failed to aid the US economy from rebounding from the
�New Economy� bubble in 2001. At this historical moment, the
global capitalist order stands at the risk of facing its downfall.
What might follow in the coming days are shockwaves of the cascading
US economy in the prices of basic commodities. For a neocolony like
the Philippines, inflation rate will likely hit a record-high,
as prices of oil and basic commodities will surely soar as a result
of the financial strain. Consumption will definitely slow down,
no matter how many advertisements are plastered on any given space. Simply put,
the prolonged worries in the world market will render the local economy as
volatile even as if President Arroyo rears a tough face.
Like any living organism, capitalism has its end. And today�s events
in the global economy seem to portend that it is heading towards
its eventual death.
