The World Gone Wild 2015

As neoliberalism moved toward unfettered dominance in the wake of the collapse of communism, the promise was the raising of all ships and a more peaceful future. Has that happened in the past 25 years? Of course not! From the Iraq War to the global financial crisis of 2007-08 to continuing troubles in Ukraine, Africa, Iraq, Israel and the like, we have seen a world of increased financial instability, increased inequality, increased poverty, global climate calamity and general insecurity and decline in the average standard of living. Just looking at the news over the past few days shows us how far we are from the utopian promise once offered by liberal democracy and a liberated global market. In Kenya, Islamic militants slaughtered 148 people on a college campus while screaming “God is great,” but one of the increasing terrorist incidents on the continent. Across Europe, racial discord continues to boil over along with anti-Semitism, anti-Islamic rhetoric and ethnic battles. Back in the U.S., newly released racist emails between officers and city officials in Ferguson, MO only amplify the ongoing discord. Over in Indiana, a family-run pizzeria, Memories Pizza, has received $840,000 in donations after claiming they would refuse to provide food to a gay marriage, continuing the ongoing partisan divide on equal rights for the LGBT community. In Alabama, yet another death row inmate was released, after having 28 years of his life robbed by a racist legal system. Meanwhile, Fox News is calling for Missouri officials to demand that food stamp recipients be banned from buying steak or seafood. Looking at the economic climate, Europe and Asia continues to suffer through instability, Russia’s economic growth is in serious jeopardy, Africa remains mired in poverty and the U.S. middle class continues to be strained by seemingly boundless one percent greed (Guardian). The one piece of good news, of Iran agreeing to curb its nuclear program if economic sanctions are lifted, might be undermined by the insanity of the GOP. It’s a mad mad world, indeed!