Dr. Michael Parenti 1986 Lecture “Yellow Parenti”
Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism
But that expropriation of the Third World—has been going on for 400 years—brings us to another revelation—namely, that the Third World is not poor. You don’t go to poor countries to make money. There are very few poor countries in this world. Most countries are rich! The Philippines are rich! Brazil is rich! Mexico is rich! Chile is rich—only the people are poor. But there’s billions to be made there, to be carved out, and to be taken—there’s been billions for 400 years! The Capitalist European and North American powers have carved out and taken the timber, the flax, the hemp, the cocoa, the rum, the tin, the copper, the iron, the rubber, the bauxite, the slaves, and the cheap labour. They have taken out of these countries—these countries are not underdeveloped—they’re overexploited!
Parenti reminds me of a communist Columbo.
“One more thing, I almost forgot… My wife tells me my memory is so bad, she’s surprised I remember the route to work, I’ll tell you. But this one loose end just keeps bothering me–how exactly is the US defending democracy by interfering in free, open elections? Anyway I’ll leave you to it, have a lovely night.”
And there’s just one other thing bothering me. Earlier you said that because the churches were empty the people were being repressed. But then the churches were full and you said they were rejecting the atheistic state…