If you are making a fortune doing something, and that something was harmful to the planet but in a somewhat invisible way, what would it take to get you to stop completely? What would make you pick your better angel, especially if you were already a sociopath, or worse a psychopath, and that fortune you make is unwittingly supported by the masses? When you look at the talking heads at the many global conferences, these ‘movers and shakers’ are the heads of state and the heads of transnational corporations who have two basic agendas – keep the current flawed economic system running, and make as much profit as possible. And yet, these are the very people who we let talk about global environmental issues and the best ways to resolve them. Yes, there are lots of NGOs that attend but the media and the big wigs largely ignore them. There are a lot of elephants in the room and the biggest of them is energy. Our whole modern world revolves around our need for energy to power everything we do from farming to transport and manufacturing everything in our consumer society. I love it when say, Shell or Exxon for example, are asked about ways to reduce fossil fuels pollution and give lots of words that say very little of consequence
Of course, there is a lot more involved. When you look at our global systems through a ‘Systems Analysis’ perspective the complexity is mind-boggling. Which is why I think too many people allow these talking heads to do all the talking. Not that they know more about anything than most well-read laypeople would know. The big difference is that laypeople tend to have a more compassionate view of the world, while the talking heads really don’t give a shit, except about making more money for elite investors at everyone else’s expense. But we go along with it because we seem to be able to convince ourselves that making more money for elites must somehow be helping us – like our retirement funds.
In early 2021, the WEF (or the WTF group as I call them) had some encouraging news for us all that they were working on creating a great reset in which we would all own nothing and be happy about it (see previous post A New Beginning – Part 7: The Great Reset, Part 2 {January 2019}). It would be good to mention here that many of the economic and corporate talking heads in COP26 are also member partners of the WEF. I heard one big corporate head say his company pledged zero emissions by 2050? Plan of action? Why 29 years to get there? Because the system is so interlinked that unless everyone does it together the fear is that some decent companies would make changes, thereby reducing profits while unscrupulous ones would simply keep on doing business as usual and start gaining more market share. Result, lots of talking but few ready to make the commitment.
So why don’t governments set restraints in place to force markets to change to resolve the problems? They can put the brakes on how technology is harming us and the planet, BUT that means reducing the profits of the technologies we rely upon and that makes the industrial sector unhappy. World leaders are mostly elected and while they can enact policies to resolve environmental problems, they are part of the system, and need lots of money to get re-elected and that money comes from the corporate world, which is fixated on maximizing profits.
Can you name, possibly the richest and most pervasive company on the planet? While there are numerous mega-corporations (like big Ag, Big Pharma, Bi oil and gas, etc.), one you probably have never heard about is ‘Blackrock’ who just happens to have a very big voice in the WEF and COP26 for instance. What does Blackrock make? Nothing tangible. Just lots of money from everyone else making stuff. Blackrock is an ‘Asset Management’ company and the biggest one on the planet among many other Asset Management companies (e.g., Vanguard, OTP). You probably don’t realize it but you are invested with Blackrock in everything you do. Even if you just sit and read a book, you are tied to Blackrock because they are a major investor in the publishing company that produced that book, and also the manufacturing company that made the chair – they own a part of everything.
Asset management is simply the process of developing, operating, maintaining, and selling assets and to cultivate market value so ownership can increase its returns (i.e., profits), Taken from a business text, “Asset Management may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings or equipment) and to intangible assets (such as human capital, intellectual property, goodwill or financial assets). Asset management is a systematic process of developing, operating, maintaining, upgrading, and disposing of assets in the most cost-effective manner (including all costs, risks and performance attributes).” That’s a bit of a mouthful but it means that the worlds business-financial and public infrastructure world are coordinated to optimize all costs, risks, service/performance and even sustainability, although sustainability for a business is about keeping the business going and not what we environmentally minded folk might agree upon.
Now if cleaning up the world, reducing pollution and creating a truly environmentally sustainable planet were profitable, then Blackrock would be first in line to do it. BUT no prize for recognizing that business as usual with fossil fuels and toxic chemicals is cheaper and more profitable (the heat, beat and treat mentality – see earlier post, The New physics and Cosmology part 4 – New Fantastic Technology Potential {October 2020}).
Blackrock, founded in 1988, owns or is the largest global shareholder of all major businesses including all banks, most mainstream media, insurance companies, global real estate, and pension funds besides all that manufacturing and energy we need for our consumer lifestyles. They have nearly $10 trillion in assets, which is bigger than the GDP of nearly every country in the world (except the USA and China), which means that Blackrock contributes directly or indirectly to all global environmental problems. But doesn’t this make them a kind of monopoly, which most governments have policies to prevent? Technically it is not a monopoly because this company doesn’t individually own everything, but it engages in what is known as ‘Circular Ownership’ – when company A owns part of company B who in turn owns part of A. It looks like two separate owners but is really the same owner. Now expand the number of companies doing this with each other, but all the ownership money actually derives from one source.
From Wiki, “BlackRock has sought to position itself as an industry leader in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). The company has faced criticism for climate change inaction, its close ties with the Federal Reserve System during the coronavirus pandemic, anticompetitive behavior, and its unprecedented investments in China.” And these kinds of people are the ones we let speak for us at WEF and COP26 and many other global venues in which global policy is decided. So, when I see large motorcades taking all these leaders to a nice building to talk about solving global problems, excuse me if I stop watching and just go make a cup of tea. The problems of the world will be solved by a bottom-up movement with lots of localized action, and not by some mythically benign top-down approach with philanthropic claptrap and an entrenched belief that more money somehow will save the world. As George Carlin said, “It’s a big club and you ain’t part of it.” Time to ignore the big guys that make us codependent upon them and make our own common peoples clubs and do our own thing with billions of us making the financial choices and living cooperatively in communities that care for each other.
To Be Continued ………………….
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