The Notion Of "Spreading Democracy" Examined

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Whether it is by military intervention (coercion) through an endless series of aggressive incursions (with or without any clear and imminent danger to the security of the United States - think about Iraq) or by paying out vast sums of money (buying influence, or by a thinly-veiled attempt at bribery) from its own hyper leveraged coffers, the recent US administrations, both democratic and republican, seem determined to "spread democracy" throughout the world.

I am not speaking of politics at all. I am speaking of ulterior motives, hidden agendas, and a gross bipartisan policy failure -- at least according to its stated objectives.

Several questions come to mind:

1) Just how successful is the current US brand of democratic government?

2) What is the US administrative agenda in its military and fiscal forays throughout the world? Some speculate that the US is either trying to install its own "puppet leaders" into vulnerable/ unstable regimes, or to 'buy' international allies.

The article excerpt which follows just came from the New York Times. After you have quickly reviewed it, please come back to this page and we can discuss several theories as to why this is occurring and what it will bring.

U.S. Prepares Economic Aid to Bolster Democracy in Egypt

By STEVEN LEE MYERS

The Obama administration's efforts, delayed by turmoil in Egypt and wariness in Washington, includes $1 billion in debt relief.

Here's another beauty to keep you awake at night...

Afghanistan admits hundreds of soldiers poorly vetted, tied to insurgents
The Washington Post (9/5) 

Why do we expend endless resources and the lives of young men and women in a program that is clearly failing at its stated objective? I do not know th3e answer, but I will tell you this much [reference The Taking Command Blog]: 

Thought: Perhaps the agenda is not really to "spread democracy" at all. I'd be very curious to know what the agenda (or agendas) actually is/ are, and who are the puppeteers behind that agenda who stand to gain the most. Wouldn't you? 

Douglas E. Castle for The Internationalist Page Blog, The Global Futurist Blog and The Daily Burst Of Brilliance Blog 

p.s. Please Retweet us, and share us with your social networks. Thank you!

---

Related articles

• The demise of democracy: Part 4 (Middle East) (paullau.wordpress.com)
• US Nears Deal for $1 Billion in Egypt Debt Relief (voanews.com)
• Arab Spring: Hopes for democracy spring eternal (upi.com)
• U.S. Prepares Economic Aid to Bolster Democracy in Egypt (nytimes.com)
• The Democracy Delusion and Obama's Failed Mideast Policy (frontpagemag.com)
• The Agenda: World: For the United States, Arab Spring Raises Question of Values Versus Interests (thelede.blogs.nytimes.com)
• In Mongolia, Clinton argues for free markets with democracy in Asia, challenging Chinese model (foxnews.com)
• US, China Discuss South China Sea Dispute; Chinese Newspaper Slams Clinton For Implicit Remarks Against Beijing (ibtimes.com)
• Now On Line: 'China and Democracy' Debate With Minxin Pei and Eric Li (theatlantic.com)

Economic Policymakers Should be Required to Study Behavioral Psychology

Share this ARTICLE with your colleagues on LinkedIn .

---

Dear Friends:

Every economic policymaker should be required to study Behavioral Psychology. Recent monetary and fiscal moves by the government of the United States in response to its severe domestic economic recession have lead many in the International Community to wonder if the folks at the Fed, the Treasury Department and the Oval Office missed one too many classes in either history or behavioral psychology. Perhaps both.

Please read the following, excerpted from the Washington Post, by way of BuzzFlash:

Bailout Overseer Says Banks Misused TARP Funds
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2...sent by etspoon since 17 hours 11 minutes, published about 4 hours 10 minutes
"Many of the banks that got federal aid to support increased lending have instead used some of the money to make investments, repay debts or buy other banks, according to a new report from the special inspector general overseeing the government's financial rescue program. The report, which will be published Monday, surveyed 360 banks that got money through the end of January and found that 110 had invested at least some of it, that 52 had repaid debts and that 15 had used funds to buy other banks."-- Binyamin Appelbaum, Washington Post Staff Writer
tags: banks, bailout, criminality

My comment in response:
There is a terribly large "blind spot" in government policymaking. It is in the area of intersection between economic fixes (bailouts, awards, "infusions," which latter term is my favorite) and behavioral psychology. If you drop a large sum of money in a profligate child's lap, especially after he has proven himself to be a naughty bully as well as a terribly greedy and short-sighted lout, he will see it as encouragement (my more articulate colleagues would call this "positive reinforcement"). If you then fail to attach very specific terms and conditions to the use of that sum -- like, by way of example, making loans to consumers and the businesses that employ them -- as well as the clear and enforceable threat of substantial punishment for noncompliance, you've given the profligate more than just a gift; you have given him a gift at the expense of every consumer, every business and every taxpayer in the entire economy. Every so often, one of the government's policy pundits has to repeat the silly exercise of trying to put out a fire by pouring gasoline on it. And, invariably, he is compelled to do it in someone else's house. --DC

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle




__________________________________________________________
KEYWORDS, TERMS AND ORGANIZATIONS:

globalism, CFR, NGO, UN, WTO, IMF, central bank, outsourcing, offshoring, capital markets, import, export, international trade, strategic alliances, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, social networking, banking, finance, trade, ventures, business, securities, stock exchanges, indexes, futurism, trends, citizen ambassadorship, enterprise, capitalism, international politics, commodities, prime rate, LIBOR, foreign currencies, foreign exchange, blogs, blogging, bloggers, aol, google, yahoo, msn, AP, news, media alerts, world government, world governments, international affairs, treaties, tariffs, trade restrictions, marketing, advertising, business development, arbitrage, obtaining capital, promotion, publicity, EU, NATO, military affairs, government regulation, trade restrictions, liquidity crisis, business opportunities, web-based businesses, communication, communications, technology, intelligence, embassies, consulates, business resources, Douglas Castle,The Internationalist Page, The Global Futurist, international politics, elections, time management, cyberspace, AI, energy, industry, productivity, Mixx, Digg, Technorati, Sphere, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, LinkedIn, advertising, economics, strategy, management, cooperation, widgets, blidgets, links, incoterms, CCH, UCC, freight forwarding, custom house brokers, diversity, employment, culture, micro-loans, technological convergence, trends, financial planning, FOREX, futures, stock index, inflation, recession, sub-contracting, Department of Commerce, the next generation, amnesty, humanitarianism, foreign aid, philanthropy, charity, cooperation, peaceful cooexistence, a world without walls...

*If you haven't done it yet, you should get your free subscription to THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. Tempis fugit! http://twitlik.com/OK