Wars as an act of…
Throughout the ages, people have waged violent wars to control the resources, lands and ideas of others. But colonisation comes in many forms and is not limited only to dictatorships or other oppressive regimes.
Over the last fifty years some Western nations have been guilty of overthrowing legitimate governments, assassinating world leaders, establishing economic blockades, supporting terror regimes and financing terror organisations.
For what reasons? The power struggle with the former Soviet Union (itself doing many of these things); control of foreign natural resources; and the acquisition of new markets with favourable conditions for home companies.
The cost? Countries and economies in ruins, millions dead or missing, many more injured, tortured or forced to flee their homes.
For some, war is a profitable business
Research and production of guns, mines, tanks, airplanes and other instruments of death is an $800 billion industry.
Those with an interest in making money apply constant pressure for softer gun control laws, increases in military spending, and positive representation in the media.
Governments looking to make a quick dollar have sold arms to already unstable regions, providing the final spark for conflict.
- In 1998 the United Kingdom sold weapons to 30 of the 40 governments with the worst human rights records in the world
- In Sudan, an AK-47 assault rifle can be traded for a chicken or a sack of grain
- The USA has a military budget as large as the next top 10 countries combined
The ownership of media is becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of multi-national corporations.
If media is owned and controlled by big businesses, it has to protect their interests. For this reason, coverage of war is often distorted, misrepresented and over-simplified.
- Global media is owned by fewer and fewer companies. In 1982 there were 50 global media companies and now there are less than ten.
- Major military defence companies own CBS and NBC, two of the largest US television networks.
- One company, INL, owns most of New Zealand’s newspapers
This article was written as part of Global Focus a collaborative project of Tearaway Magazine and the Global Education Centre. It was first published in Tearaway magazine and is reprinted here with their permission
