In 1381, Wat Tyler and his countrymen were forced to march from Kent to London to demand from the King “that you make us free forever, ourselves, our heirs and our lands and that we be called no more bond or so reputed”. These demands were triggered by necessity. The necessity to survive under the repulsive repression of feudalism.
In 1381, the English peasantry were being taxed into destitution with the introduction of a poll tax by Richard II – a tax, for the same amount levied on the heads of both rich and poor. So, with destitution a reality and starvation a possibility, Tyler and his countrymen were forced into an unavoidable uprising.
When compared with recent similar events, this particular peasant’s revolt suggests that the wielding of political power may have a formulaic character. This very same method of tax, although rebranded as Community Charge, was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s British Government in 1990. Once again, the public’s reaction was one of outrage and another uprising occured. This time resulting in the ‘Poll Tax Riots’ or what some observers have more dramatically called the ‘Battle of Trafalgar’. So, are these examples simply historical coincidence, or do they represent a chain of historical continuity. I’d conclude the latter, for they illustrate how tax can be a method for wielding political power, subdueing the poor and restricting their access to vital economic resources.
These examples show how we can now begin to perceive more clearly exactly how the strategic use of money and tax empowers ruling elites. I now understand that this is their system and we were simply born into it. A system of invisible chains. A system built from paper, but paper with the weight of lead.
Additionally, it’s interesting to note that Tyler’s poll tax uprising occured under the system of feudalism. Are there any other continuities to be perceived? Possibly so. Particularly when juxtaposed with he statements of former CFR member, Professor Caroll Quiglley. In his book Tragedy and Hope (1966), Professor Quiglley declared:
“The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland; a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank… sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world.”
So, there you have it, as stated by the official historian of the Council on Foreign Relations. The powers of financial capitalism deploy purposeful intervention, manipulation and domination in market economies, human economic activity and political decision making. So, money and taxation are the means, control is the end. So simple, yet secretly so sophisticated.
Consequently, as taxpayers today across the globe are forced to pick up the tab for failed banks, a policy decided upon without our consent by governing politicians, please consider whose interests do these politicians truly represent? Ask yourself, how is it that I must pick up the bill for the failures of these stewards of financial capitalism. What powers permit a politician to impose this obligation on me? I think the time has now come that such questions force us to take a closer look. Don’t you?
References:
Image – The Rebels Return Wood Sculptures. Wat Tyler Country Park, Basildon, Essex
An Unavoidable Uprising
In 1381, the English peasantry were being taxed into destitution with the introduction of a poll tax by Richard II – a tax, for the same amount levied on the heads of both rich and poor. So, with destitution a reality and starvation a possibility, Tyler and his countrymen were forced into an unavoidable uprising.
When compared with recent similar events, this particular peasant’s revolt suggests that the wielding of political power may have a formulaic character. This very same method of tax, although rebranded as Community Charge, was introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s British Government in 1990. Once again, the public’s reaction was one of outrage and another uprising occured. This time resulting in the ‘Poll Tax Riots’ or what some observers have more dramatically called the ‘Battle of Trafalgar’. So, are these examples simply historical coincidence, or do they represent a chain of historical continuity. I’d conclude the latter, for they illustrate how tax can be a method for wielding political power, subdueing the poor and restricting their access to vital economic resources.
These examples show how we can now begin to perceive more clearly exactly how the strategic use of money and tax empowers ruling elites. I now understand that this is their system and we were simply born into it. A system of invisible chains. A system built from paper, but paper with the weight of lead.
Additionally, it’s interesting to note that Tyler’s poll tax uprising occured under the system of feudalism. Are there any other continuities to be perceived? Possibly so. Particularly when juxtaposed with he statements of former CFR member, Professor Caroll Quiglley. In his book Tragedy and Hope (1966), Professor Quiglley declared:
“The powers of financial capitalism had a far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent meetings and conferences. The apex of the systems was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland; a private bank owned and controlled by the world’s central banks which were themselves private corporations. Each central bank… sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world.”
So, there you have it, as stated by the official historian of the Council on Foreign Relations. The powers of financial capitalism deploy purposeful intervention, manipulation and domination in market economies, human economic activity and political decision making. So, money and taxation are the means, control is the end. So simple, yet secretly so sophisticated.
Consequently, as taxpayers today across the globe are forced to pick up the tab for failed banks, a policy decided upon without our consent by governing politicians, please consider whose interests do these politicians truly represent? Ask yourself, how is it that I must pick up the bill for the failures of these stewards of financial capitalism. What powers permit a politician to impose this obligation on me? I think the time has now come that such questions force us to take a closer look. Don’t you?
References:
Image – The Rebels Return Wood Sculptures. Wat Tyler Country Park, Basildon, Essex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Tyler
http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/wat_tyler.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/newsid_2530000/2530763.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poll_Tax_Riots
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