The Modern Global Era: Is Coca-Cola Our Government?

Shaylynn Hayes
 Miron Rezun
 Global Politics
 April 14th, 2016

The Modern Global Era: Is Coca-Cola Our Government?

Introduction
 The world is ever-changing. The fast foods you enjoy at home in New Brunswick can also be found in the midst of Tokyo, New York, and London. In this fast paced world we see that every day consumers are given more choices. But, these choices may also have consequences. Is the sudden globalization merely a ploy for companies that are trying to take control over all of the resources? If it is, it’s not hard to believe - after all, water has been privatized, and food is getting close. GMOs and other variants of biological patenting are leading to a new scary world. Perhaps “Brave New World” was closer to our daily reality than we ever wished to believe. The dystopian Big Brother of past, is now the NRA of today. On the surface, this looks like a conspiracy, but, aren’t all conspiracies just the harsh realities of our future? The Second Solidarity Hymn of Huxley’s Brave New World rings through the tone of modern society, it is no longer a warning, it is a small whimper. Come, Greater Being, Social Friend, Annihilating Twelve-in-One! We long to die, for when we end,

Our larger life has but begun (Huxley 70) The loose sexual morals of Brave New World seem eerie on the surface, perhaps they seem as though they should not have been emphasized, but they are the essence of Capitalism. Ronald Wright understands this when he says, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires”. Capitalism is the opposite of community values, goals, and a society based on relationships. Capitalism, is a doctrine that takes what other societies dub gluttony, and makes it the greatest accomplishment. More than that, The West has a lust for gluttony. Consumption is the God of Capitalism, and his worship requires little more than a plastic card, and a yearly interest fee. The people of the Western World have been socially conditioned to believe that Democracy is the greatest form of government. Perhaps it may not seem as evident in Canada, but there is a strict bias toward democracy. Though gone for some time now, George Bush’s comments on democracy were just the blink of an eye away, politically speaking. “Our commitment to democracy is tested in countries like Cuba and Burma and North Korea and Zimbabwe — outposts of oppression in our world. The people in these nations live in captivity, and fear and silence. Yet, these regimes cannot hold back freedom forever — and, one day, from prison camps and prison cells, and from exile, the leaders of new democracies will arrive.

Communism, and militarism and rule by the capricious and corrupt are the relics of a passing era. And we will stand with these oppressed peoples until the day of their freedom finally arrives” (http://www.ned.org/) It is interesting that democracy is used as such an outstanding word. President Bush outlined concerns that get the public riled up. In bold statements such as “these regimes cannot hold back freedom forever” and “the capricious and corrupt”, he has built up democracy, turning what should be a way of government into a global shield. It is important to remember that though Communisms grip feels centuries ago, it is a mere blink in the historical conscious. Companies such as Coca-Cola have had weight in important government decisions as well as medical decisions. It is almost now an old adage that “CocaCola runs Mexico”. Whether we are talking about the blatant disregard for law with water, such as Nestle’s endless lawsuits regarding tap water consumption (Blue Gold), or Monsanto and their growing control over food. Lawsuits that prevent farmers from reusing seeds have shown that the future is run by dollars and cents, and resources are no more than a commodity. A quick search of an academic forum may bring you nothing when it comes to corporate control, and thus it is an Open Secret. Companies that can convince you that a fizzy, sugar-laden, chemical beverage is healthy, are surely paying a good number to ensure you do not realize just how evil they are. Coca-Cola, with its large pockets, has been subject to a lot of world scrutiny. In an article called “Coca-Cola: Drinking The World Dry” the author states, “Coca-Cola has been accused of dehydrating communities in its pursuit of water resources to feed

its own plants, drying up farmers' wells and destroying local agriculture” ( http:// www.waronwant.org/media/coca-cola-drinking-world-dry ). Unfortunately the above concerns become minor when we consider the growing ability of technology and its impact on both the human race, and genetic components. Children are now manufactured in petri dishes, biologically ‘engineered’ to ensure that they will be able to thrive. What of the companies creating these children? If we look to food for a precedent, in the next 50 years, we may all be patented and corporate commodities. To assume that this problem is a “Western” one alone is to ignore the hostility of Corporations that has popped up over the globe, even Japan has succumbed to its presence: Japanese companies are changing and adapting to the new impulse of a dynamic stock market, where the old myth of the internal-monitoring-based “company community” has been already eclipsed by a vibrant contest for corporate control, threatening the very foundations of Japanese-style corporate control (Colcera XI) We have always been lied to by the government and by companies. Let’s for a minute, look at Tobacco. What was once fashionable and “cool” has become the greatest horror story of the last two centuries. Right now, we are being told lots about health that is simply untrue. Some Dr’s have spoken about about GMOS, just as doctors tried to speak out about sugar many years ago. Of course, they are considered “outlandish” and “conspirators”. However, GMOs may not be as safe as corporations would have you believe. They know their sales would suffer if genetically modified foods were labelled, because 53 per cent of Americans say they would not eat genetically modified foods if they were

labelled. I am sure in Canada it is even higher. So we are in a situation now where it is corporate manipulation and political collusion that have allowed genetically modified foods onto the market, unlabelled and improperly tested. As a result, the self- replicating genetic pollution of GMOs is irreversibly transforming the environment (An interview with Jeffrey Smith, Smith, Michael. Briarpatch) In a world that has companies playing around with the rights to food, water, and our daily privacy, it is hard to deny that there is a growing amount of control that has been placed in the pockets of corporations. These mega-giants may just be our newly elected officials. After-all, isn’t that what the Trump campaign is? 


Works Cited

Colcera, Enrico. The Market for Corporate Control in Japan: M & As, Hostile Takeovers and Regulatory Framework. Berlin: Springer, 2007. Internet resource.

Briarpatch. Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly. Web. 14 Apr. 2016. http:// go.galegroup.com.proxy.hil.unb.ca/ps/i.do? id=GALE0JQV&v=2.1&u=fred46430&it=aboutJournal&p=CPI&sw=w

Smith, Michael. "Genetic Modification "inherently Unsafe"." Briarpatch. 38.1 (2009): 18. Print.

“Coca Cola: Drinking The World Dry”, WaronWant. http://www.waronwant.org/ media/coca-cola-drinking-world-dry. Web. 2007.

Gourevitch, Peter Alexis, and James Shinn. Political Power And Corporate Control : The New Global Politics Of Corporate Governance. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Bros, 1946. Print.


THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY http://www.ned.org/