Keith Thorpe

The New Conquistadors

The US auto workers held an eight week strike for job security that cost them a billion dollars in lost wages: instead of using that kind of money to lobby their federal legislators for tariffs to protect them. Two weeks later one of GM’s vice presidents announced GM’s intention to continue with its globalization plans.

From 1524 to 1536 the Spanish Conquistadors conquered the Aztec and Inca empires. The leaders of the Aztec and Inca nations were not able to assess the threat and come up with strategies for success - even though they ruled empires of 20 to 25 million people.

Today it seems impossible that such small armies, around 150 Spanish soldiers, could rob, destroy and decimate these great social, economic and cultural entities in so short a time. But the Inca and Aztec leaders had their warriors use the same old tactics and weapons they had been using for hundreds of years.

It was obvious these tactics did not work on the Conquistadors. The conquistadors used force, military force, to infiltrate and subjugate the governments of the people. The corporate predators have used force, economic force, to infiltrate and subjugate our government. In the end our way of life is being destroyed and we are becoming slaves of our new masters. The Indian leaders were unable to adapt new tactics of warfare to defeat their enemies. They instead tried to appease their enemies’ insatiable greed by giving them everything which they asked for. It was never enough; in the end, the Aztec and Inca civilizations were destroyed, and never able to recover.

We, too, are caught in a similar war. Ours is economic, and our involvement is neither voluntary nor chosen. Similar to the Aztec and Inca leaders, our leaders use old, outdated tactics; and are neither willing or capable of change. Corporate Predators are slaughtering our workers’ jobs in their insatiable greed, for ever-greater profits. The United States has lost 483,000 manufacturing jobs in the past five years. Foreclosures have skyrocketed in cities heavily reliant on industry, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Displaced workers in these cities can not find jobs paying what they made before the lay/off. For too long, the world’s largest corporations have held hostage our governments’ policies toward the global economy. Labor unions and citizens groups have begun to articulate the principles, politics and policies of “fair trade”. Central to these efforts is a belief that trade and investment should not be treated as ends in themselves, but tools to promote equality, democracy, a clean environment, healthy communities, and good jobs.

Our goal is to shift the emphasis away from imports based on the plunder of resources and the exploitation of workers, to sustainable economic activities, that roots capital locally and nationally. Now is the time for unions, environmental groups, and other citizen organizations to create successful coalitions that stop the harmful effects of globalization and slow the out-of-control flows of capital. We need to demand a place at the negotiating table; craft new rules to steer the benefits of economic activity to the majority, not the minority, to ensure that our planet and personal economic well being, will be preserved.

	Message from the Vice President
	The New Conquistadors The US auto workers held an eight week strike for job security that cost them a billion dollars in lost wages: instead of using that kind of money to lobby their federal legislators for tariffs to protect them. Two weeks later one of GM’s vice presidents announced GM’s intention to continue with its globalization plans. From 1524 to 1536 the Spanish Conquistadors conquered the Aztec and Inca empires. The leaders of the Aztec and Inca nations were not able to assess the threat and come up with strategies for success - even though they ruled empires of 20 to 25 million people. Today it seems impossible that such small armies, around 150 Spanish soldiers, could rob, destroy and decimate these great social, economic and cultural entities in so short a time. But the Inca and Aztec leaders had their warriors use the same old tactics and weapons they had been using for hundreds of years. It was obvious these tactics did not work on the Conquistadors. The conquistadors used force, military force, to infiltrate and subjugate the governments of the people. The corporate predators have used force, economic force, to infiltrate and subjugate our government. In the end our way of life is being destroyed and we are becoming slaves of our new masters. The Indian leaders were unable to adapt new tactics of warfare to defeat their enemies. They instead tried to appease their enemies’ insatiable greed by giving them everything which they asked for. It was never enough; in the end, the Aztec and Inca civilizations were destroyed, and never able to recover. We, too, are caught in a similar war. Ours is economic, and our involvement is neither voluntary nor chosen. Similar to the Aztec and Inca leaders, our leaders use old, outdated tactics; and are neither willing or capable of change. Corporate Predators are slaughtering our workers’ jobs in their insatiable greed, for ever-greater profits. The United States has lost 483,000 manufacturing jobs in the past five years. Foreclosures have skyrocketed in cities heavily reliant on industry, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Displaced workers in these cities can not find jobs paying what they made before the lay/off. For too long, the world’s largest corporations have held hostage our governments’ policies toward the global economy. Labor unions and citizens groups have begun to articulate the principles, politics and policies of “fair trade”. Central to these efforts is a belief that trade and investment should not be treated as ends in themselves, but tools to promote equality, democracy, a clean environment, healthy communities, and good jobs. Our goal is to shift the emphasis away from imports based on the plunder of resources and the exploitation of workers, to sustainable economic activities, that roots capital locally and nationally. Now is the time for unions, environmental groups, and other citizen organizations to create successful coalitions that stop the harmful effects of globalization and slow the out-of-control flows of capital. We need to demand a place at the negotiating table; craft new rules to steer the benefits of economic activity to the majority, not the minority, to ensure that our planet and personal economic well being, will be preserved.

Home