by Pater Tenebrarum, Acting Man:

Introductory Remarks: The “Anti-Politician” Godfrey Bloom, by PT
Most of our readers will probably remember former UKIP chief whip and European Parliament representative Godfrey Bloom. As far as we know, he is the only politician who ever raised the issue of the workings of the fractionally reserved central bank-directed monetary system in the EU parliament. This system is of course central to the phenomenon of the recurring boom-bust sequences plaguing the global economy.

It is also a major means of redistributing wealth from the poor and the middle classes to those who are already rich and own most of the assets likely to appreciate in price due to monetary inflation (an unavoidable side-effect, irrespective of their wishes). Moreover, it creates an insidious, hidden “inflation tax” that benefits the State to the detriment of all those engaged in real wealth creation, from workers to entrepreneurs.

It is probably no wonder that the ruling caste is usually quite reluctant to discuss the issue openly. Besides, it seems likely that most of what Bloom said went right over the heads of most of his colleagues in Strasbourg anyway. On one occasion he also had a few choice words on the nature of the State and pointed out “who the real tax avoiders are” – which they surely didn’t want to hear, since he noted they were right in there in the room with him.

Godfrey Bloom on the scam of fractional reserve banking

Bloom quotes Rothbard: “The State is an institution of theft”

For those of you who don’t know Godfrey Bloom or want to refresh their memory, we posted a brief portrait of him in 2015, shortly after he retired from politics (link follows below). In fact, he was sacked from his post as party whip after being accused of overstepping the bounds of political correctness. He quit the party shortly thereafter. This was quite ironic, all things considered – after all, UKIP is normally not really known for worrying about political correctness. Very likely he was booted for some other reason and his faux-pas was merely used as a pretext (see “Godfrey Bloom, Anti-Politician” for the details).

Godfrey Bloom is a libertarian, even though the leftist lamestream media have constantly tried to smear him as a “far right” quasi-Nazi. He continues to be a keen observer of the political landscape and his opinions are always interesting. Luckily our friend Claudio Grass has remained in touch with Bloom since his retirement. He recently interviewed him again, this time mainly on the looming “Brexit”, which the government of Theresa May seems to be in the process of botching royally.

Ms. May actually identified as a “remainer” prior to the referendum. One would think she is not exactly the most suitable person to lead the UK through the Brexit process. However, since the majority of the UK political elite is completely at odds with the electorate on the issue, we are inclined to believe that the worst possible deal is likely going to be put into place deliberately.

The aim of such a deliberate failure is to soften the public up for an eventual  repeat of the referendum, in the hope that an outcome more to the liking of the political-bureaucratic establishment complex can be achieved. This is in keeping with EU tradition: every referendum the outcome of which the Brussels nomenklatura doesn’t like is usually repeated until the “correct” vote is delivered.

On to the interview:

Get Ready for a Fake Brexit That Will Fool No-One – The Mercantilist System and the Noble Dream

Claudio Grass:  Godfrey, it is a great pleasure to have the opportunity to speak with you again to discuss capitalism, Brexit, the nature of the “EUSSR”, public education and free speech.  Let me start with the first question. The UK basically asked the EU for free trade, meaning no customs or taxes on any goods traded among UK and EU. This sounds pretty reasonable especially for people like us, who believe in free markets and oppose government intervention.

This brings me to core of the question. In today’s media and by public consent our economy is called a free market economy, therefore it is operating under a capitalistic system. Can you give us your explanation of how you would describe a capitalistic system with free markets and its benefits and how you would characterize the actual system that is currently in place? Also, what is your opinion about the reaction of the EU refusing free trade with the argumentation that this would be cherry-picking and therefore such a deal has never been done before in the history of the EU – what does is say about the nature and character of the EU and the system we are living in?

“The European single market’s golden (if patchy) four freedoms of people, capital, services and goods are indivisible. “À la carte” access, as EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is fond of putting it, isn’t an option”.

Godfrey Bloom: Whenever I am asked about the rights and wrongs of capitalism, more often than not at universities the wrongs, I have to persuade people that there are almost no capitalist economies in the world today. Back in the 1960s, an economics exam response would expect a candidate to understand the difference between capitalism and mercantilism. The phrase today for mercantilism is often crony capitalism.

This is unfortunate because it hints that the two systems are the flip side of the same coin. They are not, they are quite distinctive economic systems. Most industrial democracies are mercantilist.

Trade is controlled very carefully by complicated agreements based on tariffs. Most of world trade is governed by the World Trade Organization, well over 95% in point of fact. There are many mutually beneficial sub agreements which work alongside that umbrella concept. Tariffs have one major raison d’être, which is to protect home industries. The European Union is a customs union, the last of its kind in the world.

Centrally controlled in Brussels, the method of operation is what the Americans call pork barrel politics. The EU customs union is a labyrinth of self-interest. Among many other things, it is designed to protect home industries, French farmers, the European wine industry, the Italian leather industry, French, German and Czech automobile manufacturers, textile and raw material companies. The list is endless and the threat largely from the Far East.

The conspiracy is to protect politically favored industries in one country against cheaper imports and the tariff is of course paid for by the consumer. Political propaganda persuades consumers that this is somehow in their interest. Somehow this absurdity persists with otherwise sensible people.

Emotive words appear such as “dumping”. Chinese steel is the classic current example. A home steel industry will suffer with Far East Steel delivered at rock bottom prices, so a Welsh or Northumbrian steel worker feels aggrieved, but his brother workers in Coventry building Jaguars or Land Rovers or Northumbrians building Nissans become globally competitive.

The Trump steel and aluminum tariffs helped 800,000 American steel workers at the expense of over six million white goods and auto workers, paradoxically encouraging manufacturers to relocate to Mexico. This is global mercantilism, protected industries are the ones with political clout.

The European customs union projects its image as a free trade area, as politicians and mainstream media endorse this great lie on a regular basis. They even persuade European electorates that prices will go up if the cartel is abandoned. Goebbels we will remember, a brilliant propagandist, taught us the bigger the lie, the more likely it is to be accepted.

British trade with this protectionist cartel has an £80 billion deficit. Great Britain buys 18% of French wine; imagine if the 20% tariffs on South American, Australasian & South African wines were abandoned. The UK is the world’s biggest BMW customer, yet Britain is preparing to pay £40 billion for a trade deal. Imagine being a top customer at Fortnum & Mason or Bloomingdales and being charged an entrance fee!

Hong Kong is probably the best post war example of capitalism, but examples are rare. Certainly, no major economy is capitalistic.

Why then is the Brexit debate about trade? Clearly that is absurd. A free trade deal is in everyone’s interest but particularly that of the European Union. The elephant in the room is that the goal of the EU is the fulfillment of a great noble dream, a centrally governed European Federation.

The current negotiations are not about trade in reality, but the pursuance of that dream. The political and bureaucratic class cannot speak that truth, because no matter how noble the great dream is, nobody actually wants it.

Claudio Grass: Another suggestion by the Brits was that they would restrict services, and the movement of capital and people under the sole responsibility of the British government. This also has been sold as a negative request by the mass media and establishment figures. My understanding is that with this step Britain would become sovereign again, self-responsible and increase its self-determination.

It is also a clear step toward decentralization and it goes of course against the will of Brussels.  And as we both know, decentralization means more competition, which is the key for future prosperity. What is your perspective on this point and what are the consequences for the people as well as for the economy of Britain if they escape from Brussels’ oppression?

Read More @ Acting-Man.com