Dustin Olson: 'The Rule of Law' and the imperialist hacks who exploit it, Corporate Tyranny, pt. 3
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Written by: Dustin Olson
The rule of law is at the core of the liberal democratic tradition. In this tradition, law ideally is a civilizing institution, an equalizing force, and ironically enhances individual freedom. The law civilized society by enforcing patterns of behaviour that allow us to live well together. It equalizes by being impartial, fair, and applicable to all. It liberates because it equalizes. One is free to pursue their desires insofar as those desires do not undermine another’s liberty. These assurances imply that another’s pursuits cannot unjustifiably impinge my own.
To serve and protect. These words once defined the role of law enforcement. Under these and the above parameters, policing was a laudable and noble undertaking. Maintaining law and order through protecting people’s rights and freedoms provides an invaluable public service. Protecting such cornerstones of the liberal democratic tradition, such as the freedoms of assembly, expression, and the press is vital for democracy itself. When these rights are at odds with law enforcement and law enforcement is not prevented from suppressing them, we no longer have a free society.
Under these parameters, the law isn’t serving the people; it is keeping them in line. The law itself is weaponized and is no longer a justifiable impediment to individual liberty. Under these parameters, as John Clarke aptly describes in the history of liberal law enforcement, police are morphed into the “rich man’s army.”
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Elites respect law only as long as it is consistent with their own agendas. Examples are legion.
Consider the SNC-Lavalin affair that resulted in then Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould’s resignation from the Liberal Party of Canada last year. At issue was a fraud and corruption charge mounted against SNC-Lavalin, a multi-billion dollar engineering firm with a history of corruption and nefarious international dealings. Their headquarters are in Montreal’s Papineau riding, which just so happens to be Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s home riding. The issue concerned the influence that Trudeau attempted to exert over Wilson-Raybould’s handling of the case. Trudeau was adamant that he did nothing improper, acting “appropriately and professionally.” So appropriate and professional were the Prime Minister’s actions that his closest political confidante Gerald Butts, former President of the Treasury Board Jane Philpot, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General Wilson-Raybould resigned. An ethics commission also recommended that Trudeau “step down” for clearly violating the Conflicts of Interest Act. Nothing came of it.
Or consider the atrocities committed with Canadian-based military equipment in Saudi Arabia, who have a horrendous human rights record and are currently engaged in genocide against the Yemanis. According to the Arms Trade Treaty, which received Canadian endorsement when enacted in 2013,
The Arms Trade Treaty obliges member states to monitor arms exports and ensure that weapons don’t cross existing embargoes or end up being used for human-rights abuses.
Despite Saudi Arabia’s recognized history of human rights violations, Canada continues to provide them with arms. Our government’s defence: “There is no evidence or credible reporting that would link any Canadian exports to contraventions of international humanitarian law in Yemen.”
Indeed, there is no moral high-ground that establishment political leaders won’t cede. Consider the so-called ‘liberal’ party in the United States. Recognizing its own irrelevance in providing policy distinctions with its competitors, the DNC have branded themselves as the social-justice party. They may willingly pass every Trump military budget and endorse CARES Acts that will most certainly raze the American middle class, but they will not tolerate social injustice against the underprivileged and voiceless. Following the deeds not words maxim undermines any credibility for such wokeness, however.
Consider the probable Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. As the establishment’s first choice in maintaining the status quo, it is inevitable he will win the nomination. Your appeal to those who’ve suffered in the #metoo movement loses some of its force, however, when there are open and convincing sexual assault allegations against your putative presidential candidate. And your appeal to African-Americans takes a hit when you yell at Charlamagne that God that “you ain’t black” if you fail to vote for Joe Biden.
The corporate take-over of a justice system is in fact exemplified in the US. They have legalized slavery in the form of the prison industrial complex. Many prisons are now corporately owned or operated. These corporations have the right to use prisoners as labourers, with no honest wage or compensation. The guards are used as slave drivers, the living conditions are sub-human, and the population is disproportionately made up of minorities. All for profit.
When the elite have vested financial interests in a large prisoner population turned slave-labour force, catching law-breakers is good business. It is also, therefore, in their interest to establish laws that will increase your workforce. And it is Joe Biden who gave this impassioned plea to get “those people” into jails through just such a crime bill—a crime bill that will produce 22% of the world’s prison population. Prisons are modern plantations.
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It is difficult to describe the moral indignation, hopelessness, and rage felt after watching hundreds of cases of police brutality across this continent. This brutality is, coincidently, in reaction to protests against police brutality. Scenes of pepper spray, nightstick beatings, body slams, and rubber bullets and tear gas being intentionally shot at people’s faces. There are also those sobering scenes of people on their own property being “lit up” because they didn’t stay inside. It is also noteworthy how many putatively innocent people and journalists are assaulted. The freedom of speech, pursuits, and the press are suppressed by a militarized police force. Observe their Humvees, tanks, Kevlar jackets, helmets, masks, batons, and army gear. They are not there to serve and protect. They are there to keep the rabble in line and this is not a free society.
The hallmark characteristic of a tyranny is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law. State sanctioned police brutality, legalized spying, and the freedom to detain citizens without due cause or warrant is also a hallmark of tyrannies. This is corporate tyranny in the US. And in this moment, even the most basic democratic right, the right to gather in protest, is under attack by the elite and their military.
We should heed Naomi Klein’s observation:
After 2 decades of studying the Shock Doctrine, the most important lesson I have learned is this: when they declare a state of emergency, when they say we don’t have the right to protest, that is the moment to flood the streets. It’s the only thing that’s ever worked.
It is also, perhaps, the defining feature of true democracy.
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