Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The crisis of the global political-economy continues to sharpen. Trade wars—the precursors of military wars—involving the United States, the European Union, China, India, Mexico and Canada are intensifying. The United States has unilaterally abrograted the Trans Pacific Partnership, Intermediate Nucler Forces Agreement and North America Free Trade Agreement. Social inequality and wealth concentration are at record levels. The major central banks are realizing even more “ultra-accommodative” monetary policy for stock markets and more austerity for workers. Militarization is omnipresent. The European Union is talking about increasing military spending by 50 per cent. Japan is moving to revise its pacifist constitution. Sweden has reimposed military conscription. Fascistic movements are increasingly empowered in societies such as Canada, the United States, Germany, Italy, Brazil, the Philippines and Hungary. This crisis has myriad expressions in the societies of the Middle East: imperial wars in Iraq, Syria,