Thread by @elleprovocateur

Of interest: "How Pandemics Past and Present Fuel the Rise of Large Companies"

#WEF #greatreset #digitalization, #IoT, #BlockChain #5G #NewDealForNature

getpocket.com/explore/item/h…

"There has been a clear spike in #online shopping, and #retail #analysts are wondering whether this is a #decisive #move into the #virtual world, and the further #dominance of big #corporations."

Please tell the analysts that the answer is yes.

"Keeping us distracted as we wait at home for our parcels is the streaming #entertainment industry – a market sector which is dominated by big corporations including #Netflix, #Amazon Prime (again), #Disney and and others."

"The other swing to corporate dominance has been the move away from state-backed cash towards contactless payment services... #Visa & Mastercard are the largest players, but #Apple Pay, #PayPal, & #Amazon Pay have all seen increases in their transaction volume..."

#Blockchain

"#Billionaires are getting richer while ordinary people lose their jobs. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, has increased his wealth by US$25 billion since the start of the year...
The other big trend in the response to the #virus has been the strengthening of the #power of the #state."

"But from the 1970s onwards, it became common among intellectuals to suggest that the #state was less important, its #monopoly of control within a given territory contested by multinational #corporations. " #neoliberalism

"In 2016, of the largest 100 economic entities, 31 were countries and 69 were companies. Walmart was larger than the economy of Spain, Toyota larger than India."

"But thanks to coronavirus, the state has come rolling back in again like a tsunami. Spending on a level which was mocked as “magic money tree”... Politicians the world over have suddenly become interventionist, with #wartime #metaphors being used to justify gigantic spending."

"Yet in the last few months, states around the world have effectively restricted movement for the vast majority of people and are using the police and armed forces to prevent assembly in public and private spaces."

"Theatres, pubs & restaurants are closed by fiat, parks have been locked, & sitting on benches can get you a fine. Running too close to someone will get you shouted at by someone in a high vis vest. A medieval king would have been impressed w/ this level of #authoritarianism."

"The state's power is now being exercised in ways that haven’t been seen since the second world war, and there has been widespread public support."

#Fascism
#WEF #GlobalGovernance
#Privatization

The author concludes with references to #XR & #GreenNewDeal, & #UBI - all constructs of the ruling class to further their desires and goals within the fourth industrial revolution framework.

End.