The movie “The Godfather” shot in 1971 was a worldwide artistic and financial success. The main protagonists were Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. The screenplay was written by Mario Puzo, who had written the best-selling book of the same name. The film was directed by the genius director Francis Ford Coppola and the music by Nino Rota.
Today, we believe that the film in question is of much wider significance than a gangster film that describes the role of the Mafia in American society. Essentially, the film describes the beginning of capitalism as expressed in a war-torn country. The Mafia held the reins of the economy for several years. But over time it became an obstacle for the real economy, but also for society. The murders, the settling of accounts between “families” gave the incentives to politics to intervene decisively. This is how we got to World War II. It is the time when America gains industrial military power after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
The main beneficiaries are industries. At first arms manufacturing companies, then food industries and a host of other industries take over their production.
The Mafia is no longer necessary. On the contrary, it is an obstacle and significantly limits its action. From this point onwards the arms companies form the so-called military-industrial-political complex. The Cold War and then Russia’s invasion of Ukraine solidified the economic power of the tycoons creating the new financial establishment as well as their entanglement with politics.
But beyond the military, the “caste” of the powerful extends to all sectors of the economy. Industries such as food, non-military manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, animal feed, new technology-Silicon Valley-internet information, aerospace, etc., are entering the stock market. With the help of specialized consultants, banks and rating agencies, they keep their profits in offshore companies.
One scandal after another reveals that greed knows no bounds, to the extent that it forces the state to take action. However, such is their power that anti-monopoly laws have little effect on them. Besides, the policy of funding parties and politicians from both parties is well known. Perhaps the EU’s antitrust policy is most troubling, known for its ongoing disputes over fines imposed by the Union.
The recent bloodshed in various US States has shown the extent of the power of gun ownership in the American consciousness. The US today is at a turning point. Especially the four-year presidency of Donald Trump deeply divided society. Many are talking about a revival of the civil war sparked by his presence and especially his allies in the economic establishment. And the midterm elections for Congress may be the first step to his re-election. Such a thing will be a triumph for the financial establishment. But it will mean the definitive choice for an isolated USA and the completion of its course to discredit democracy in the place where it was born.
Panics and extreme disappointments do not help. The fact that American citizens are still able to react to irrationality, to talk, to act is not at all negligible. Let’s not leave this to the self-evident things that are not in danger. Everything is at risk if we are not there.
For a Western society, such as American society, to question a woman’s absolute right to her own body and to choose motherhood is a science fiction and medieval horror, but these women will never be alone. If they lose in their struggle we will all lose together, whether we are men or women. We are all members of the same body. It’s just not about us. These women are us, whether we are men or women.
Now the land of Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Obama is returning to the “Godfather” era without the Mafia. Are there forces that will be able to resist? Can Joe Biden’s short presidential break be consolidated? It seems difficult if not impossible. Unless the real “bosses” wake up from the blindness of their wealth. It is certain that they too will pay the price of the degradation of their country for the benefit of other countries that are emerging and do not have democratic sensibilities without risking “civil wars”.
