Mike Whitney – The Unz Review March 2, 2021
Why is Vladimir Putin standing up to the richest and most powerful men in the world? Why is he bad-mouthing their “pet project” Globalization and trash-talking their “Great Reset”? Does he really think these corporate mandarins and “silver spoon” elites are going to listen to what he has to say or does he realize that they’re just going to hate him more than ever? Why is he doing this?
Here’s what’s going on: At the end of January, Putin was given the opportunity to address the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland (online). The WEF is a prestigious assembly of political leaders, corporatists and billionaire elites many of who are directly involved in the massive global restructuring project that is currently underway behind the smokescreen of the Covid-19 pandemic. Powerful members of the WEF decided that the Coronavirus presented the perfect opportunity to implement their dystopian strategy which includes a hasty transition to green energy, A.I., robotics, transhumanism, universal vaccination and a comprehensive surveillance matrix that detects the location and activities of every human being on the planet. The proponents of this universal police state breezily refer to it as “The Great Reset” which is the latest make-over of the more familiar, “New World Order”. There’s not a hairsbreadth difference between the Reset and one-world government which has preoccupied billionaire activists for more than a century. This is the group to which Putin made the following remarks:
“I would like to speak in more detail about the main challenges ..the international community is facing…. The first one is socioeconomic….. Starting from 1980, global per capita GDP has doubled in terms of real purchasing power parity. This is definitely a positive indicator. Globalisation and domestic growth have led to strong growth in developing countries and lifted over a billion people out of poverty….Still, the main question… is what was the nature of this global growth and who benefitted from it most…..
… developing countries benefitted a lot from the growing demand for their traditional and even new products. However, this integration into the global economy has resulted in more than just new jobs or greater export earnings. It also had its social costs, including a significant gap in individual incomes…. According to the World Bank, 3.6 million people subsisted on incomes of under $5.50 per day in the United States in 2000, but in 2016 this number grew to 5.6 million people....
Meanwhile, globalisation led to a significant increase in the revenue of large multinational, primarily US and European, companies…In terms of corporate profits, who got hold of the revenue? The answer is clear: one percent of the population.
And what has happened in the lives of other people? In the past 30 years, in a number of developed countries, the real incomes of over half of the citizens have been stagnating, not growing. Meanwhile, the cost of education and healthcare services has gone up. Do you know by how much? Three times…
In other words, millions of people even in wealthy countries have stopped hoping for an increase of their incomes. In the meantime, they are faced with the problem of how to keep themselves and their parents healthy and how to provide their children with a decent education….
These imbalances in global socioeconomic development are a direct result of the policy pursued in the 1980s, which was often vulgar or dogmatic. This policy rested on the so-called Washington Consensus with its unwritten rules, when the priority was given to the economic growth based on a private debt in conditions of deregulation and low taxes on the wealthy and the corporations….
As I have already mentioned, the coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated these problems. In the last year, the global economy sustained its biggest decline since WWII. By July, the labour market had lost almost 500 million jobs…. In the first nine months of the past year alone, the losses of earnings amounted to $3.5 trillion. This figure is going up and, hence, social tension is on the rise.” (“Session of Davos Agenda 2021Online Forum, Putin Addresses World Economic Forum, Jan 27, 2021)
Why is Putin telling his elitist audience these things? Does he think these fatcats don’t know how the system works or how it was originally set up? Does he think they are unaware of the glaring flaws in a system that shifts all of the profits to obscenely wealthy corporations and scheming elites while working people slip further into debt and desperation?
Putin knows how globalisation works, just as he knows who it was designed to benefit. It’s no secret. Check out this quote from the Russian president in a speech nearly 5 years ago:
“Back in the late 1980s-early 1990s, there was a chance not just to accelerate the globalization process but also to give it a different quality and make it more harmonious and sustainable in nature. But some countries that saw themselves as victors in the Cold War, not just saw themselves this way but said it openly, took the course of simply reshaping the global political and economic order to fit their own interests.
In their euphoria, they essentially abandoned substantive and equal dialogue with other actors in international life, chose not to improve or create universal institutions, and attempted instead to bring the entire world under the spread of their own organizations, norms and rules. They chose the road of globalization and security for their own beloved selves, for the select few, but not for everyone.” (President Vladimir Putin, Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club)
“To the victor belongs the spoils”? Isn’t that what Putin is saying, that Washington figured its Cold War triumph entitled them to create a system whereby they could pillage and loot the rest of the world with impunity?
Indeed, that is precisely what he’s saying. And he knows what he’s talking about, too. Putin has followed developments in global trade for over 20 years. He knows the system is rigged and he knows who rigged it. And now he’s telling them in no uncertain terms that they are responsible for the mess the world is in today. “The world is in crisis, because you fu**ed up.” That’s what he’s saying. It’s not a subtle message, he’s simply laying it on the line. Check out this blurb from an earlier speech by Putin where he shows that he’s not just a capable leader but also an astute critic of social trends linked to globalization:
“It seems like elites don’t see the deepening stratification in society and the erosion of the middle class…(but the situation) creates a climate of uncertainty that has a direct impact on the public mood. Sociological studies conducted around the world show that people in different countries and on different continents tend to see the future as murky and bleak. This is sad. The future does not entice them, but frightens them. At the same time, people see no real opportunities or means for changing anything, influencing events and shaping policy. As for the claim that the fringe and populists have defeated the sensible, sober and responsible minority – we are not talking about populists or anything like that but about ordinary people, ordinary citizens who are losing trust in the ruling class. That is the problem…. ” (President Vladimir Putin, Meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club)
In this one brief comment, Putin shows that he has a better grasp of ‘what is going on’ in the west than any of the numbskulls in congress today. And notice how he ignores the hype about “racial justice”, BLM, “white supremacy” and the other “racialized” bunkum that’s propagated in the media today. He’s not hoodwinked by that nonsense. He knows it’s just another diversion promoted by the cadres of dirtbags who use race and identity politics to conceal their role in the ongoing class war. That’s what’s really going on. The men that Putin is addressing in his speech are the very same men who are doing everything in their power to eviscerate democracy, skewer the middle class and grind America’s working population into dust. It’s plain old class war dolled-up to look like racial unrest. Here’s more from Putin:
“…During the past 20 years we have created a foundation for the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution (AKA–“The Great Reset”) based on the wide use of AI and automation and robotics. The coronavirus pandemic has greatly accelerated such projects and their implementation. However, this process is leading to new structural changes, I am thinking in particular of the labor market. This means that very many people could lose their jobs unless the state takes effective measures to prevent this. Most of these people are from the so-called middle class, which is the basis of any modern society.
…. The rise of economic problems and inequality is splitting society, triggering social, racial and ethnic intolerance. Indicatively, these tensions are bursting out even in the countries with seemingly civil and democratic institutions that are designed to alleviate and stop such phenomena and excesses.
The systemic socioeconomic problems are evoking such social discontent that they require special attention and real solutions. The dangerous illusion that they may be ignored or pushed into the corner is fraught with serious consequences.” (Putin, WEF)
Putin understands that the Covid-related lockdowns and closing of “non-essential” businesses is merely prelude for the massive societal restructuring project elites have in store for us. They’ve already put millions of people out of work and expanded their surveillance capabilities in anticipation of the social unrest they are deliberately inciting. Putin thinks this futuristic strategy is unnecessarily reckless, disruptive and fails to account for intensifying social animosities and widening political divisions that are bound to have a catastrophic impact on democratic institutions. But Putin also knows that his appeal for a more cautious approach will be brushed aside by the billionaire powerbrokers who set the policy and call the shots. Here’s more:
“Society will still be divided politically and socially. This is bound to happen because people are dissatisfied not by some abstract issues but by real problems that concern everyone regardless of the political views that people have or think they have. Meanwhile, real problems evoke discontent.”
This is a recurrent theme with Putin and one that shows that he has a deeper understanding of what is really happening in both the United States and Europe than any of his peers. Populist candidates, like Trump, have not gained momentum due to thier abilities and charisma, but because the financial situation of millions of Americans continues to deteriorate forcing them to seek remedies outside the establishment candidates. The economic distress is real and widespread and, as Putin notes, it is expressing itself in outbursts of discontent, frustration and rage. Here’s more:
“So, the key question today is how to build a programme of actions in order to not only quickly restore the global and national economies affected by the pandemic, but to ensure that this recovery is sustainable in the long run, relies on a high-quality structure and helps overcome the burden of social imbalances. Clearly… economic growth will largely rely on fiscal incentives with state budgets and central banks playing the key role.
Actually, we can see these kinds of trends in the developed countries and also in some developing economies as well. An increasing role of the state in the socioeconomic sphere at the national level obviously implies greater responsibility and close interstate interaction when it comes to issues on the global agenda.
Calls for inclusive growth and for creating decent standards of living for everyone are regularly made at various international forums. This is how it should be, and this is an absolutely correct view of our joint efforts.
It is clear that the world cannot continue creating an economy that will only benefit a million people, or even the golden billion. This is a destructive precept. This model is unbalanced by default. The recent developments, including migration crises, have reaffirmed this once again.” (Putin, WEF)
Putin’s recommendations, of course, are going to be dismissed with a wave of the hand by the men in power. The last thing these sociopaths want is “inclusive growth.. and decent standards of living for everyone.” That’s not even on their list, and why would it be. After all, they know what they want. “They want more for themselves and less for everyone else.” (George Carlin) Which is why the system works the way it does, because it was constructed with that one solitary goal in mind.
Putin also acknowledges the need for greater state intervention in the economy to counterbalance the more destructive effects of “smash and grab” capitalism. And, while he rejects the swift and far-reaching structural changes (The Great Reset) that would precipitate massive social upheaval, he does support a larger role for the state in providing essential fiscal stimulus, employment and a more equitable distribution of the wealth. This does not imply that Putin supports state socialism. He does not. He merely supports a more regulated and benign form of Capitalism that veers from the “scorched earth” model backed by powerful members of the WEF and other elitist organizations.
With that in mind, Putin makes these specific recommendations:
“We must now proceed from stating facts to action, investing our efforts and resources into reducing social inequality in individual countries and into gradually balancing the economic development standards of different countries and regions in the world. This would put an end to migration crises.”
The focus of this policy aimed at ensuring sustainable and harmonious development are clear. They imply the creation of new opportunities for everyone, conditions under which everyone will be able to develop and realize their potential regardless of where they were born and are living
I would like to point out four key priorities, as I see them.
First, everyone must have comfortable living conditions, including housing and affordable transport, energy and public utility infrastructure. Plus, environmental welfare, something that must not be overlooked.
Second, everyone must be sure that they will have a job that can ensure sustainable growth of income and, hence, decent standards of living. Everyone must have access to an effective system of lifelong education, which is absolutely indispensable now and which will allow people to develop, make a career and receive a decent pension and social benefits upon retirement.
Third, people must be confident that they will receive high-quality and effective medical care whenever necessary, and that the national healthcare system will guarantee access to modern medical services.
Fourth, regardless of the family income, children must be able to receive a decent education and realize their potential. Every child has potential.” (Putin, Davos)
What does it mean that the current president of Russia is now throwing his weight behind a program that is nearly identical to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s economic Bill of Rights? Doesn’t that seem a bit odd? After all, Putin is a devout Orthodox Christian, a strong proponent of the traditional family, a self-avowed social conservative, and a hardscrabble survivor of the failed Soviet state. Who would have thought that such a man would support a program that provides a decent standard living to every member of society regardless of their circumstances?
But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Putin is pushing for a return to the heavily-regulated “Heyday” of 20th Century capitalism, when workers’ wages were still on the rise, when college tuition and health care were still affordable, and when the American Dream was still within reach of the average guy. People were happier then, because they felt that if they applied themselves, worked like hell, and stashed their savings in the bank; they’d eventually reach their goal. But that’s not true anymore. People are much more pessimistic now and no longer believe that America is the land of opportunity.
Putin wants to rekindle that optimism. He wants to avoid social unrest by implementing programs that provide a more equitable distribution of the wealth. This isn’t a return to Communism. It’s sensible way to soften the harsher effects of unrestrained capitalism, which is presently ravaging the West. Here’s Putin again:
“This is the only way to guarantee the cost-effective development of the modern economy, in which people are perceived as the end, rather than the means…. A strategy, also being implemented by my country, hinges on precisely these approaches. Our priorities revolve around people, their families, and they aim to ensure demographic development, to protect the people, to improve their well-being and to protect their health. We are now working to create favourable conditions for worthy and cost-effective work and successful entrepreneurship and to ensure digital transformation as the foundation of a high-tech future for the entire country, rather than that of a narrow group of companies.
We intend to focus the efforts of the state, the business community and civil society on these tasks and to implement a budgetary policy with the relevant incentives in the years ahead….” (Putin, Davos)
Imagine a political leader who actually put the needs and well-being of his people before the special interests of his deep-pocket donors and shady corporate buddies. Imagine a leader who stood eye-to-eye with the big money guys and told them that their system “sucked” and that they were taking too much for themselves leaving nothing for anyone else. Imagine a leader who invited more criticism, hectoring, demonizing and punitive sanctions for “speaking truth to power” in order to stand on the side of ordinary working people, pensioners, cast-offs and the other victims of this globalist rip-off system.
The reason Putin spoke out at the WEF confab and put himself at risk, was because Putin is one of the “good guys” who actually believes that everyone deserves a shot at a decent life. And that’s what sets Putin apart from the other leaders in the world today. He doesn’t just “talk the talk”, he also “walks the walk.”
Putin is right in what he says here, but he doesn’t tell the complete story.
“I would like to speak in more detail about the main challenges ..the international community is facing…. The first one is socioeconomic….. Starting from 1980, global per capita GDP has doubled in terms of real purchasing power parity. This is definitely a positive indicator. Globalisation and domestic growth have led to strong growth in developing countries and lifted over a billion people out of poverty….Still, the main question… is what was the nature of this global growth and who benefitted from it most…..”
So per capita GDP doubled from 1980 (mid-70s) until the present… I would say 2008. Since 2008 most so-called GDP gains were pure debt-based. What Putin fails to say is that in real terms $£€ buying power has fallen by over 50%. You can earn £1000 per week, but if a loaf of bread costs £500, you get the point. In order for regimes to screw the sheeple, inflation numbers are constantly rigged. The UK regime constantly changes the products and services used to calculate inflation & some of their choices are frankly bizarre.
As a result, wages have less buying power every year. Countering this is the fact that many products are getting cheaper. There’s a number of reasons for this. Cheap foreign labour, production advances, very competitive transport costs & low wages/reduced purchasing power in the main markets where widgets are sold. So this is a self-serving feed back loop, so the fruits of sheeple labour is siphoned off into offshore banking.
As much as Putin is pilloried by the West, Putin realises that he can’t burn Russia’s bridges just yet. This is why Putin never moved against the Russian Central Bank or the Russian elites who are heavily aligned with the City crime cartels & the Wall Street mobs. So Putin needs to work with what he has. The fact that Russia has ALWAYS had wealthy individuals, just as China has always had wealthy individuals, proves the fact that neither country actually took the final steps into communism. They are both planned economies. This is why the UK and US are really one-party states because democracy doesn’t work for elites.
Still here? Putin is talking to the sheeple of the world. Are they listening? Do they understand? Putin spent a good chunk of his first-decade lecturing about the need for a multi-polar world. The West and its fake news weren’t listening, but the truth is, Putin was right and the world is much more multi-polar than it was 20yrs ago. Even the US has succession hanging over it. US carrier strike groups are not the power they were 20 or even 30yrs ago. The US can’t blockade China like they did to Japan prior to Pearl Harbour.
The only tools left are soft and semi-soft power plays like Covid or its all-out war. The strange thing is that Putin is being forced to stay in power by the very forces who would like him gone. The fact is that 90% plus of thicko Western sheeple have been brainwashed against Russia and Putin.
Well if Putin genuinely believes in ‘speaking truth to power’ he missed a golden opportunity to expose the covid smokescreen. The fact that he didn’t speak out proves he believes the covid hoax is a genuine virus which also explains the Russian roll out of its own vaccine.
Well if Putin genuinely believes in ‘speaking truth to power’ he missed a golden opportunity to expose the covid smokescreen. The fact that he didn’t speak out proves he believes the covid hoax is a genuine virus and explains the Russian roll out of its own vaccine.
Putin is heavily controlled by Chabad Lubavitch.
What do I think this is?
It’s the lifeline to the people of the west, thinking someone’s on their side just as Trump was the lifeline to Americans, who came out of a dreadful Obama administration. Trump said he’d drain the swamp and was part of the swamp, but put there, because TPTB were reading the feeling of the people and therefore needed to put in a populist president.
Putin is Trump, but on a worldwide scale.
I really do not think that Putin is a savior. He’s far too deep within the whole power structure. Sure he stepped in Syria, but what people fail to understand is that war = profit. Rothschild has the banks in Russia. They’ll lend money to the Russian government, as they do all governments, to be able to fund their war machine. The weapons-military complex benefits, as do the oil companies. All are connected to one another. And now, he’s warning Israel? How long have Israel been attacking Syria now and he’s decided now to say something?
“War is a racket” as Smedley Butler correctly stated.
All of this is diversion. TPTB need the people to think that there’s someone fighting on their side, in order to stop mass, civil unrest. This is where Putin steps in and does what he’s told to. Putin is not controlling Putin, as people think. He’s very, very much part of the jew world order. And this is why I don’t trust him. He’s ticking all the boxes of hope for the people who are awake. This is his job. As I said, he’d have seen through this covid BS, were he there for the people. He’d have called out Gates, Fauci, Klaus Schwab, the WHO, the WEF, long, long before and simply not gone along with their agenda. He has, very much so.
If Putin really was a savior of the people, he’d have called this covid plandemic for what it really is. Don’t get your hopes up with Putin.
What a lot this article brings out. Communists, today, say we have never seen true Communism. There are many examples of Communist failure. How they will ensure that under them we will have true Communism is a bit vague.
We are living through the failure of Capitalism. This failure is bigger than all of the Communist failures combined. Communists may point to the success of China. China, while Communist, failed. Today, China is Capitalist with Communist undertones. It has the same disparity of wealth as in the West. It is a Capitalist society.
Both systems have failed. It isn’t the systems that fail though. Both systems are fine in theory. It’s people running the systems that fail. It’s unfortunate that the people who get to the top are not the people who should be there. Sociopaths and psychopaths are drawn to power like moths to a flame. The very people who make it to the top are the very worst for the job.
The best political system should be run by a benevolent dictator. It was achieved once but was destroyed. Today it’s only remembered as being the most evil system that could ever exist. In the current time where lies are truth, and truth lies, this should tell you something about that system.
That system covered Mr. Putins points and more. That system treated people as an asset not slaves or numbers. That system strived for maximum happiness for the people it served. It achieved that for the vast majority. That’s why this system is demonised. The few who benefit today would lose their power and wealth.
Irish Savant is back up and running. Already he’s posted a couple of good articles. Get over there and support him. He’s one of the best writers on the net.
https://www.irishsavant.net/
I think we’re about to see the middle classes become militant. In Britain within a year or so the money supporting their jobs and businesses through furlough must come to an end, and when it does it means the middle classes will be cast adrift into the cruel benefits system. There they’ll find just how punitive conservatism and austerity really has become, which is something many of them voted for, but they’re not going to like it now they’re included. They’ll do things they scorned the working classes for doing.
They may create new political parties to challenge this dreadful system we’ve had to endure for so long, and that will offer the same opportunities for new working class parties to participate, leading to a more accountable political system and a more equitable economy. The middle classes may surprise us when they join the working classes in the dole queue.
I think the industry privatisations and closures of the early Tory years meant the Tories had to create jobs for their middle class voters who lost their jobs too, and that’s why they created NHS Trusts and quangos, to ensure their white collar voters didn’t become unemployed militants marching beside their blue collar former workers.
The middle classes are about to face what many ordinary workers faced but they’re not as powerless as we were. It’s not just more of them have savings and own their own homes, it’s that they have contacts across the country through business, travel, university pals, club memberships etc. They’re not isolated pockets of ex-miners here and ex-steelmakers there; they are the whole middle strata of society, the functionaries and bureaucrats who organised business and labour and kept the country running.
Putin is a western puppet but in his actions he gives the impression he is gone rogue. If the Russian people found out he definitely is a Western puppet they would hang him or he would have to commit suicide. Wich probably will be the case anyway. He has to move very carefully. Tension is now rising in the Donbas’s shelling going up and Israel seems to have received a final warning, so he will have to show his colours sooner or later.
“Why is Vladimir Putin standing up to the richest and most powerful men in the world? ”
Is he making his stand by enforcing vaccines in his own country?
To all the commentators above. SO WHAT?
Sorry Whitney but my bullshit detector all through your article was in the red zone. Putin is no better than that asses Trump and Biden. There is nothing really in any of Putin’s Davos remarks offensive to them. Rather he has been given the honor of playing the “fairer” card in the Great Reset of the banking-cartel-run WEF hand. Remember the basis of the NWO Great Reset is for a “greener, smarter, and fairer” world, and that “coincidentally” the long-planned NWO Coronavirus pandemic just happed to open the right door and the right time to bring in all of the lockdowns and restrictions to facilitate the long-planned UN Agenda 21 Great Resets.
Oh gee, Mr. Putin, you are such a great statesman for supporting the WEF Great Reset in saying this at Davos:
“So, the key question today is how to build a programme of actions in order to not only quickly restore the global and national economies affected by the pandemic, but to ensure that this recovery is sustainable in the long run, relies on a high-quality structure and helps overcome the burden of social imbalances.
More controlled opposition paBULLum .
Me? I’m just shallow. For one, hjs eyes are too close together. And two, any alleged former KGB stooge is only worth of a “phuck you”. Shallow, I know.
Here’s an important point most people miss.
How did the rich become so obscenely wealthy?
Simple. They STOLE it from us.
Having stolen everything, they declared themselves our “owners”.
Added to the initial theft, if the average modern worker was paid just a HALF of his true earnings, his take-home pay would increase TENFOLD.
The employers would still be rich, but the people who create the wealth would have a much better standard of living.
Overheads? What overheads? Rent on premises, lighting, heating, machinery, but that’s negligible when it’s spread over the profits made from however many employees.
The workers have relatively greater overheads in the form of rent or mortgage, heating, lighting, feeding and clothing a family, transport to and from work.
We don’t need criminals and the descendants of criminals “governing” us. We’re perfectly capable of governing ourselves and combining our skills for the common good.
Isn’t that what God intended for us?
In fact, threoughout the whole article and in particular the exerpts from Putin’s speeches, Putin sustains the exact goals of the so-called great reset, it is just that he thinks more states should better share in the governament control of the world.
He only talks about the governments needing to work together in a more harmonious manner, to achieve the one world control needed to put economic matters and all else on a theoretical level playing field, obviously with the governments calling all the shots and controlling the lion’s share of the proceeds.
We shouldn’t go from falling for one puppet to the next and the next yet, as if some hero from the satanic ranks is going to save us from the disaster we have been living for a long time and that has picked up pace very much over recent times…
george
communism is a fraudulent jewish ideology destinated for the goyim !
communism will never work in a modern civilisation of mixed population.
communism works only in natural tribes like the indios + aboriginals were
with cohesion of their brotherly identity . in fact the natural tribes were
communists without knowing it . but Marx did not invent his ideology to
make brothers out of nations . he intended the same racewar the jewish
scum today wants inflict on the USA. their aim is devision of people to
rule them . therefore transgender, feminism, perversion, gender language,
nazihunt and all kinds of TAVISTOCK-FRANKFURT- SCHOOL -SHIT.
Vladimir ! Never argue with Idiots ! They’ll beat you with experience & bring you down to their level ? They are like little 5 years old with special needs ?
have a good look at Joe, Boris, Emanuel, Mutti all same intelligence ?
Barney,
Precisely!
It’s called anarchy. No rules/rulers. We follow God’s laws and it’s pretty much a self, preservation society. And yes, everything you’ve written is spot on. The ‘elites’ (who aren’t) took everything from the people and declared themselves owners and rulers that we all work for (slaves). Time to turn the tables and put us where they are and them where we are.