The sale and dismemberment of Saskatchewan's biggest agribusiness is a done deal. The carefully crafted bid for Viterra has been accepted. The neo-liberal Harper government will place no impediments in its way nor will the Saskatchewan Party fail to find a "net benefit" in it. There are sighs of relief among those who feared for the worst in the bid by Swiss-based Glencore International PLC. There is rejoicing in the upscale condos of those who believe money should have no citizenship.
Behind the honeyed words, behind the prattling of experts, there is another reality which, in the present political climate both here and elsewhere, it is heresy to discuss. Whereas it is acceptable for every national state to have immigration policies which bar the entry of those considered to be undesirable, money, unless gained by obvious and provable criminal activity, is immediately a new corporate citizen. "Investment" is a holy word. The Viterra takeover was not prompted by charity, regardless of how benign the transaction seems to be. Clencore intends to make money on its investment, money which will be welcomed as a citizen of another country. s
Behind what is visible in the Viterra deal is another threatening scene in which economic activity is the most important of all human purposes. In the neo-liberal agenda, nationalism becomes a dirty word, forever stained by the brutal, militaristic regimes of the past. In truth, there is nothing wrong with a nationalism that attempts to preserve the unique blessings of a national culture.
There is nothing evil in producers having control of the marketing mechanisms which sell and export their products. Viterra was built out of the bones of the farmer-owned wheat pools and United Grain Growers, all of which were established as defences against the rapacious practices of the privately-owned elevator companies. All of these companies disappeared when they were opened to unrestricted share ownership. Without producer ownership and with nothing, but an emasculated Canadian Wheat Board, the producers' sway in their own industry has been diminished. It will be diminished again by further consolidation of agribusinesses.
The people in Saskatchewan with the most to fear are the farmers who own inland terminals and short-line railways, which might conceivably became a network to replace the vanished farmer-owned companies. There is nothing at this time that gives solid assurance a new campaign by railways and large corporations will not attempt to destroy them.
The starkest reality of neo-liberalism is the most carefully hidden one. Investors who rejoiced in the obscene profits of Big Oil have turned their attention to Big Food and Big Water. Even now, although it is not observable in Saskatchewan, the human population of Planet Earth exceeds the resources necessary for its support. To borrow a term from investigative reporter Greg Palast, there will be another Vultures' Picnic. Those who control most of the world's wealth will continue to be well-fed, well-clothed, well-housed and well-entertained. Elsewhere, there will be mass starvation, food riots and food wars. Warfare is one of the most obvious ways of reducing surplus population. Nature has others.
Will world leaders be wise enough to avoid this impending horror?
