Who Governs?

In days gone by a company that provided a service to customers stuck to providing that service for money. Even if the owner of that company was a massively rich philanthropist, that owner would fund those causes which were close to his (usually his) heart. Philanthropists used to open hospitals for children. Nowadays they're sending millions in contraceptive aid to Africa instead.

What seems to be new about commerce, capitalism and government is the way in which companies which provide a service to a massive spectrum of humanity just can't help leaping onto a political publicity bandwagon concerning some political campaign. Nowadays, these huge companies do this without the slightest regard for those customers who might be offended or who simply don't agree with the politics espoused by the company. There seems to be a real blurring of the lines between private commercial interests and Government.

Belloc wrote about the power of the press in changing and forming public opinion and maintained that the capitalist press were far more powerful than Governments, since they could make or break them. But now, its not just the Press who form the core of a political propaganda machine. Recognised high street chain names simply can't help themselves from falling into one political campaign or another. Such a situation puts big companies who aren't even 'media' companies into quite new territory. The current battleground is the redefinition of marriage and the acceptance of the diktats of the Stonewall lobby across the globe. You would think that with an issue as touchy as homosexuality and the jackboot on the face of religious liberty that is 'gay marriage' that large corporations would want to steer clear of this one. But no, they can't get enough.

So, Google, for instance mount a publicity drive denigrating an entire country, Poland, for resisting the 'gay marriage' juggernaut. Starbucks Coffee, too, already well known for funding abortion across the World, leap on the 'gay marriage' bandwagon without a second thought. You go to the YouTube website today, looking for some Gregorian Chant to soothe your poor soul and you're confronted by the option to watch live, yes live, the huge Gay Pride parade in Amsterdam, as if every user of YouTube, from the 11-year-old to the 90-year-old is interested in watching a parade which is in every sense vulgar and to many offensive. When a processed chicken fast food seller company owner is going against the grain of the new political trend and mentions his personal disapproval of 'gay marriage' on a Christian radio show, presumably when asked about it, there is 'uproar' because he hasn't gone with the party line of the World's multinational elite.

The strange thing is that this trend of big companies getting in on the act of such hot potato political issues and campaigns comes at a time when voter turnout is incredibly low and apathy for politics is widespread. The new big business moral crusaders clearly wish to shape or to at least change the culture, morality and politics of whole nations as if they were door to door canvassers for political parties, while support and membership for actual political parties is incredibly low.

So, Melinda Gates is hosting contraceptive conferences in which leaders of free and democratic countries attend to lend their support (that is, our support) to campaigns to raise lots of money to save Africa by curtailing breeding. We all know that the Government gives a lot of money to Planned Parenthood and Marie Stopes through the International Development department anyway, but these are our leaders, democratically elected, representing us, lending our support to this drive for more condoms, injections, pills and coils for Africa while what a lot of people in Africa need is food, clean water and basic necessities enjoyed by most Western folk. Mr Cameron was even asked a question about the 'Vatican's' 'policy' on artificial contraception at this conference and replied, on our behalf, that the 'policy' should change. The fact that he is there also representing the Catholics making up a proportion of the electorate in the UK doesn't seem to bother him. Why would the views of the electorate bother Mr Cameron? After all, he's mixing with people more powerful and rich than himself, right?

Apple and Microsoft recently came together, those 'sworn enemies' of the computer world to unite in condemnation of the National Organisation for Marriage in the US, telling the NOM to boycott both companies if they don't like the very public approval for trendy 'gay marriage' being promoted by both. Presumably, the joke is that if someone boycotts both these companies one has no computer. Ha, ha. Isn't that funny? But, frankly, who asked the Gates family and whoever now owns Apple what their private views on such issues were and why should their views matter? Who governs? Moreover, what kind of company alienates perhaps as much as a third of its customers by expressing public approval for a shift in public understanding on the nature of marriage?

Moreover, is there not something a little bit sick-making about these huge company owners and high street chains taking over the moral high ground on starkly political issues of the day when these self-same companies are not white than white ethically anyway? After Steve Jobs, of such blessed memory to liberals died it emerged that, after all, Apple were using rather cheap (bordering on slave) labour to make their computers.

Did the liberal world erupt in sustained fury when they discovered that Jobs was giving jobs to people living a wage less than satisfying? Did it knock Apple's sales when people heard that 'ethical' company were paying Chinese staff so little that they were committing suicide? We all know that you don't become a billionaire in this World without treading on a few toes, but Microsoft, that other moral crusader for a new vision of marriage, clearly also has some things to put in order in its own house, what with its Chinese workers living on 34p an hour. But, hey, let's just brush that under the carpet that's also been made in China and focus on spending our millions on condoms for Africa and promoting a change in the definition of marriage, while alienating half of our own customer base. If we alienate them, who cares. After all, our only rival agrees with us!

How apt that is China where so much of our wonderful technological equipment is made. After all, the way these huge corporations treat the views of the huge swathe of customers who don't agree with the politics or morality of the owner is rather similar in spirit to how China view its own dissenters - with a mixture of suspicion, contempt and perhaps a hint of brutality. The political views of Bill Gates and the owners of so many corporations are of no more interest to me than the political views of a street sweeper. What concerns me is not just the fact that these millionaires and billionaires use their money to further their chosen cause. What concerns me is that they behave as if they think they are in Government. Worse is that not only do they think they're in Government, but our Government thinks so too. Of course, I'll be bombarded with comments from people telling me that there is no 'new world order', but I'll say it again:

This fusion of Big Business and Big Government is on a road that leads to Big Brother. There is a strikingly interwoven, vaguely masonic relationship between big institutions, big government and big business. Eventually, the policies, campaigns and propaganda that emerge from these relationships spread across the globe while slowly filtering through to your home town. The trends suggest that, in future, if your political views are not in tune with that of the elite then you could be in Big Trouble (in Little China). These huge companies forming an arm in the leviathan are very happy to issue the rallying cry for 'gay marriage' and to denounce you if you're not in agreement with their stance. Why not disregard the culture, heritage, religion and morality of an entire nation and try to overturn it? Would they be so happy to join a campaign to end the gross exploitation of workers with no rights in China and other part of the World?