A sleepless night found me musing over my three decades-long exploration of the political economy of corporate capitalism, and the books and people I have worked with over that time. It left me wondering what it is all about. What on earth is going on? The covid lockdowns worldwide, with the imposition of rules and regulations by unaccountable authorities in the name of health and safety, seem to defy logic. As the financial and economic implications of such policy upheavals come into focus, the time is ripe for ask what is driving political and economic policy? Is it possible that we have evolved a social order that is rendering human beings superfluous? Now is the time to reflect on a series of seemingly unconnected policy decisions that have occurred over the past half century, and to ask some fundamental questions.
In The Struggle for a Human Future: 5G, Augmented Reality and the Internet of Things (Temple Lodge 2020) Jeremy Naydler provides detailed documentation of the course of the digital revolution and the developments that are bringing ever closer union between humans and machines, whilst distancing humans from the natural and spiritual worlds. Naydler draws our attention to developments that have been a long time in the pipeline. His work follows that of a host of scientific and technological whistle-blowers, not to mention writers of dystopian fiction. As Mae-Wan Ho explains:
"Gene technology is fundamentally flawed. It is driven bv a mindset that recognises no moral values, is contrary to scientific evidence, doesn't work the way it claims, and is oblivious of the grave dangers posed by the technology. That is bad science. This bad science, working hand-in-hand with big business corporations under the banner of free trade and free choice, will effectively, take control of every aspect of our lives. In the process, it may well ruin our food supply, destroy biodiversity and unleash pandemics of drug and antibiotic resistant infectious diseases."
Mae-Wan Ho's Genetic Engineering - Dream or Nightmare? The brave new world of bad science and big business, was published by Gateway Books 1998. It followed a whole raft of publications raising questions about the connections between human embryo research and cross-species genetic engineering. From the the early 1970s it was becoming apparent that IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation), and the new reproductive technologies in general were going to be used on women. Ethicists, scientists, doctors, theologians, lawyers, policy-makers, social scientists, psychologists and politicians debated the medical, legal and moral questions raised. Old and new moral concerns were raised, including 'egg donation', the taking of eggs from women's bodies. Committees were set up by hospitals, private foundations and governments. At issue were such matters as the status of the embryo, interference in marriage, fears the scientists might "disrupt the ties that bind society such as the meaning of paternity and motherhood". As Pat Spallone explains, in Beyond Conception: The New Politics of Reproduction (Macmillan Education 1989), the scientists who argued that it would be wrong to hold up scientific progress won the day hands down. The repercussions of the new reproductive technologies reverberate across the whole field of household, family, domestic science, and early years care to the present day.
In the decades immediately following World War II, state education in working class urban centres provided a high standard of domestic science, home economics and practical arts and craft skills. These included woodworking, metal-working, DIY and rural studies for the boys, alongside cookery, health care, child care, household management, needlework, dress design and dressmaking. From the 1970s onwards these provisions were abandoned, to the distress of boys and girls alike, their parents and their dedicated teachers who appreciate the urgent necessity for such skills to be taught, especially in very deprived areas. Increasingly, girls and boys were encourage to focus upon acquiring the professional qualifications necessary to pursue a well-paid career in the service of the corporate world. Time spent on domestic duties was considered wasted, time, unnecessary in a world of mass production of food, clothing and labour-saving machines. Increasingly, over the coming decades, many mothers found themselves pregnant and floundering as it became apparent that the demands of motherhood, and the need to care for the chronically sick and elderly, could not be comfortably accommodated alongside professional career commitments.
At the same time, changes were taking place in the relationship between mothers on the one hand, and the medical establishment on the other. It became increasingly difficult for mothers and midwives to arrange for a home birth. In some cases midwives have been threatened with dismissal or even prosecution, for seeking to help mothers to give birth at home. It is increasingly difficult to understand what is happening, as birth ceases to be regarded as a normal part of human life, becoming instead a medical procedure fraught with danger. Abortions are offered as a matter of course, elective Caesarian births become routine, and the numbers of emergency Caesarian births has rocketed. Meanwhile, children are vaccinated as a matter of routine, with little attempt being made by the medical profession to explain the the ros and cons of the various vaccinations so that parents can give informed consent. In some cases GPs have been brought before the General Medical Council for suggesting to parents that they might do their own research before bringing their children in for vaccination.
As the restrictions on civil liberties continue to grow, one cannot but ask some fundamental questions. What is going on? Who needs 5G, augmented reality and transhumanism? Who benefits?
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