"Thoughts after a growing Capitalist Dictablanda"
As time goes by, today's capitalism has turned "democratic" societies into a dictablanda.
For if to analyse the nature of capitalism one would say that it becomes totalitarian contrary to its "liberal" nature, that, despite pretending there is freedom and choice, capitalism reveals itself to be illiberal and totalitarian in its nature.
As in the past, Capitalism prescribes its ideology: Individualism, "liberal" democracy/apolitical centrism, market-based orderism, consumerism, and the likes as something mandatory to every country, and supporting organisations especially the International Monetary Fund/World Bank and the World Trade Organisation imposes policies and agreements that consolidates further the primacy of finance capital especially in underdeveloped and developed countries. In most cases, Economic and Political violence, even Moral and Institutional Violence has increased under capitalism, be it in the global city to those of the global countryside.
It is not surprising, for to think that capitalism has used both "freedom" through consumerism and "order" through imperialism and the "police state" to sustain its survival, today's society has becoming similar to those of 1984, Brace new World, Hunger Games, and V for Vendetta.
But despite this, will people remain contented in that kind of dictablanda? That dictablanda of course provided some semblance of civil rights so long as it is accepted by the order, even a semblance of "social welfare and development" as shown by mass housing projects, conditional cash transfer, some subsidies for the effected employees, everything "meant to ensure" as one may say; but expect the right to speech, press, assembly as to be "intervened" and on some cases, "replied" no matter it exposes and asserts the truth as gathered from facts. That kind of dictablanda has been shown during the past especially during the height of Marcos administration where unpotemkin dissidence was ruthlessly punished which includes the "Arrest, Search, and Seizure Order" and the "Presidential Committment Order" that acts as a "Lettres de Cachet" from the chief executive giving license to arrest those who dissent against the regime. Even the "Calibrated Preemptive Response" of the Arroyo administration also expressed the same actions as such as protest actions were punished badly by the attack dogs of the order.
And this time, under Duterte would say that the regime that's still toying with dictatorship is trying to curry support from both local oligarchs and multinationals alike, promising development in exchange for his version of order. Recently the European Union pushed for trade sanctions due to human rights violations brought about by the regime; but Duterte's hardheadedness would say that he and his administration is unfazed by EU's response to his policy while his allies cried about "sovereignty" if not the sudden concern about "globalism". If one may ask, since these Filipinos talked about sovereignty, then how come they can't think about standing up for themselves and instead contented in their Dutertopia and apathy? Perhaps, right to hear that political, moral, and institutional violence has increased under this semifeudal/semicolonial setting.
And to think that they had that sudden concern about "globalism" then why are they optimistic about globalisation and neoliberalism? "Free markets leads to free people" as one may say regardless of its unfairness to the underdeveloped and developing countries especially those of negating the will to be economically independent from multinational moneylenders and exploiters alike. If Duterte's fanatics afforded to unfazed on EU's statements, or even those from the United States, then why mum about China? Because China is a growing economic giant? That Duterte is a "socialist" opposing globalist interests? Don't think so- for as far as a concerned person knows that the regime is as same as its predecessors: sworn to upheld the same old order while throwing crumbs to the people especially those yearning for some petty hopes. This semifeudal/semicolonial setting would say that it has also coopted the characteristics of an authoritarian capitalist "dictablandic" nature, all for feudal ends.
And all because of these sorts of repressions, then wouldn't be surprised that popular resistance has becoming beyond the limits. If anticommunists tend to see communism as "dystopia" and theirs as "utopia", then that capitalism being praised for its "future" filled with future technologies is all about transforming into a surveillance state as envisioned by modern-day dictatorships in connivance with multinationals seeking for exploitation in the name of capitalist efficiency. The fact that capitalism is totalitarian reveals itself when there is no more competing illiberal form of "democracy" brought about by capitalism. Whereas apologists of capitalism talks about freedom as if those from the French revolution? Nope, most likely the freedom they enjoyed during the era of trusts and the desires of nightwatchman statism. And it is not surprised that the totalitarian essence of capitalism be fully grasped - when there is no more comparison with illiberal forms.