The United States and other western nations play a dominating role in the international economic system. Through three different documentaries, Inside Job, a documentary about the 2000 economic crisis, Why We Fight, a documentary about the military-industrial complex in the United States, and Life and Debt, a documentary about the economic situation in Jamaica, the goals and methods of United States and other western nation in their interference in the international economic system is shown. United States’ corrupt economic system led to the financial crisis in the 2000s, use of propaganda for war through reasons such as freedom and liberty led to their interference in several wars, and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s globalization policies prevent the growth of many LEDCs.
The documentary Inside Job analyzes the 2000 Economic Crisis by breaking it down into 5 parts: How We Got There, The Bubble (2001-2007), The Crisis, The Accountability, and Where We Are Now. In the late 1900s, the Reagan Administration started a 30 year deregulation, which benefitted banks but caused many people their life savings. During this period, the explosion of financial products, also known as derivatives, allowed bankers to gamble on the rise and fall of oil prices, the weather, etc, which led to instability. Meanwhile, Congress did nothing against all this. They even passed the Commodity Exchange Act which banned the regulation of derivatives. However, the market for CDOs, credit default swap, soon collapsed, leaving investment banks with hundreds of billions of dollars in loans. The Great Recession began in 2007. People realized that they cannot trust banks anymore, and the federal government took over associations such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, banks such as the Lehman Brothers collapsed and faced bankruptcy. Unemployment in the United States rose to 10%, millions of people lost their jobs, and foreclosures in the United States reached 6 million. Even though that is the case, most economists had no regrets and saw no need to regulate CDOs. When this happened, US economy fell and consumers stopped buying goods. This did not only affect the economy in the United States; Manufacturers all over the world started to lose money as well. The Federal Government did nothing to stop the bubble from bursting. They wanted to earn money, thus, nothing was done, and over a decade, the United States economy fell and along with it, the international economy system also fell.
The documentary Why We Fight describes how United States was capable of becoming involved in wars around the world such as the 2003 Iraq War through the use of propaganda to mislead the American public in order to fuel the military-industrial. United States claim to be fighting for freedom and for democracy, since they believe in the Domino Theory, which is if any place falls to communism, the next place will fall, and so on. The United States spend more on defense than any other sectors and all the other nation because of a vicious cycle: Congressmen are willing to spend so much money on defense money because if defense money is cut, weaponry jobs are cut, thus, people lose jobs, and when people lose jobs, those Congressmen will not be reelected. When there is a large stock pile of weapons, they will be used eventually. This is the goal behind the constant production of weaponry, which leads to their usage.
In the documentary Life and Debt, the economic and social situation in Jamaica is examined. Jamaica, once a British colony, has a hard time recovering. Jamaica wants to enact major reforms such as trade liberalization, privatization, and deregulation, but Jamaica does not have the economic strength to do it on their own. Thus, they head to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, the IMF is unwilling to provide loans for long term developments since they believe it is their own problem. Short term loans are offered, but they do not serve its purpose. During the 1980s, Jamaica owes 4 billion dollars, and now, they owe 7 billion dollars. The structure of the economic system is criticized. In an interview with Jamaican Prime Minister Manley, he argues that the economic system is an attack on the sovereignty on former colonial nations since international financial institutions are not willing to issue loans to former colonial nations.
In conclusion, the United States and Western Powers are the dominant actors in the international economic system.
The documentary Inside Job analyzes the 2000 Economic Crisis by breaking it down into 5 parts: How We Got There, The Bubble (2001-2007), The Crisis, The Accountability, and Where We Are Now. In the late 1900s, the Reagan Administration started a 30 year deregulation, which benefitted banks but caused many people their life savings. During this period, the explosion of financial products, also known as derivatives, allowed bankers to gamble on the rise and fall of oil prices, the weather, etc, which led to instability. Meanwhile, Congress did nothing against all this. They even passed the Commodity Exchange Act which banned the regulation of derivatives. However, the market for CDOs, credit default swap, soon collapsed, leaving investment banks with hundreds of billions of dollars in loans. The Great Recession began in 2007. People realized that they cannot trust banks anymore, and the federal government took over associations such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, banks such as the Lehman Brothers collapsed and faced bankruptcy. Unemployment in the United States rose to 10%, millions of people lost their jobs, and foreclosures in the United States reached 6 million. Even though that is the case, most economists had no regrets and saw no need to regulate CDOs. When this happened, US economy fell and consumers stopped buying goods. This did not only affect the economy in the United States; Manufacturers all over the world started to lose money as well. The Federal Government did nothing to stop the bubble from bursting. They wanted to earn money, thus, nothing was done, and over a decade, the United States economy fell and along with it, the international economy system also fell.
The documentary Why We Fight describes how United States was capable of becoming involved in wars around the world such as the 2003 Iraq War through the use of propaganda to mislead the American public in order to fuel the military-industrial. United States claim to be fighting for freedom and for democracy, since they believe in the Domino Theory, which is if any place falls to communism, the next place will fall, and so on. The United States spend more on defense than any other sectors and all the other nation because of a vicious cycle: Congressmen are willing to spend so much money on defense money because if defense money is cut, weaponry jobs are cut, thus, people lose jobs, and when people lose jobs, those Congressmen will not be reelected. When there is a large stock pile of weapons, they will be used eventually. This is the goal behind the constant production of weaponry, which leads to their usage.
In the documentary Life and Debt, the economic and social situation in Jamaica is examined. Jamaica, once a British colony, has a hard time recovering. Jamaica wants to enact major reforms such as trade liberalization, privatization, and deregulation, but Jamaica does not have the economic strength to do it on their own. Thus, they head to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. However, the IMF is unwilling to provide loans for long term developments since they believe it is their own problem. Short term loans are offered, but they do not serve its purpose. During the 1980s, Jamaica owes 4 billion dollars, and now, they owe 7 billion dollars. The structure of the economic system is criticized. In an interview with Jamaican Prime Minister Manley, he argues that the economic system is an attack on the sovereignty on former colonial nations since international financial institutions are not willing to issue loans to former colonial nations.
In conclusion, the United States and Western Powers are the dominant actors in the international economic system.