13 December 2010
Unless you have been away on another planet for a month, you will have heard all about Wikileaks. The web site obtained and displayed thousands of diplomatic cables between American embassies around the world and Washington. For the most part, they are embarrassing comments about anyone and everyone that the US has had dealings with, which means just about every country. Nothing, as far as I have noticed, has really put national security at risk but the uproar and campaign to close Wikileaks down is palpable. They have called the arrest of Wikileaks’ founder, Julian Assange, who has been branded as a terrorist, and some, like the ‘erudite and eloquent’ Sarah Palin, have called for him to be ‘hunted down’ or even executed. All this for bringing the truth to light! The Guardian, The New York Times, and Der Spiegel have published the same material but no one is calling for their editor’s heads.
What is not being brought to light, though, is the sheer stupidity of the system that spawns the need for international diplomacy. This art of fawning, lying, deceiving, and threatening began many centuries ago but really came into its own with the advent of the capitalist system. Capitalism is a system based on private property and relying on the modern nation state with clearly defined and defended borders and a strong central government to pass laws and create institutions that legitimize the system. Over the course of the last two centuries, then, we have arrived at the position where we have a world of a couple of hundred armed camps. Although not always successful, diplomacy is an attempt to mediate in disputes and prevent armed conflict, always acting, of course, in the interests of their capitalist class to the detriment of the other side. In other words they are an integral part of the competitive system that is capitalism. Viewed from outer space, this mass of competing bodies of the same species must look completely insane. If there are any aliens out there, it’s no wonder they have never landed or made contact!
Socialism, the only viable alternative to capitalism will be a system based on the common ownership of the production and distribution of wealth and worldwide cooperation for the benefit of all. Of course, there will be disputes, solved by discussion, mediation, and majority vote that will heed the greater good for all the earth’s people, not just the interests of the tiny minority of owners, as our the present system. But socialism, being a truly democratic system will certainly put an end to borders and competing entities and the secret diplomacy of international politics. We have to give credit to Assange for his attempt to bring clarity and accountability to international relations, but it is more likely, given the circumstances mentioned above, that it will have the opposite effect and make the diplomats and their governments even more secretive.
