Money as a tool of war
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared a state of emergency and announced that bank accounts would be frozen Feb. 14, he likely saw a means to an end, but what the world must have noticed was the overwhelming effectiveness of economic warfare.
Despite the whining of us libertarians and free money enthusiasts, without funding, the trucker movement was literally dead in its tracks in extremely short order. Now this same kind of warfare is being used against Russia just two weeks later.
What was first considered the nuclear option quickly became a harsh reality for millions of people around the world.
The problem with such measures is that it punishes people indiscriminately. We all saw those brave men and women across Russia, young and old, who risked it all to protest the war.
It must have been a real kick in the teeth for the people of Russia when Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. cut off one of their most common payment methods, and it was no doubt a hindrance to their mobilization.
Their sudden realization that those pulling strings in the West are willing to turn them into collateral damage was likely the opposite of what was intended.
The bigger issue with this, however, is that it's a slippery slope. Should the perpetrating nations behind the conflicts highlighted above in red and brown also be barred from the global financial system?
How about the orange or yellow ones? How would the world look if China also crossed a similar line? Would we stop trading with them altogether? Where is that line? Clearly, Uighur genocide doesn't count. It all seems so arbitrary.
Over the last few decades, the U.S. has invaded more sovereign nations without provocation than I care to count, yet no financial sanctions have been applied to American citizens as of yet.
What we need to understand is that this isn't about right or wrong. It's not about justice. It's about power, and who has the capability to exercise it. Like it or not, money is now as much a tool of war as tanks and guns. | 