About the Author

Peter Fieldman was born in North London in 1943. Having

worked in international real estate and as a NUJ writer, he has
travelled widely. His involvement in the world of politics,
business and the media has enabled him to acquire a
considerable knowledge of European and international affairs
and an understanding of different cultures and languages.
Growing up during the Trente Glorieuses he has
experienced the good times as well as economic and political
crisis.
After a grammar school education he took a gap year
working in a factory in Frances Dordogne region to improve
his knowledge of French as well as appreciate the delights of
French food and wine. He then spent nine months in the
United States; an adventure, which began dramatically
arriving the day after President Kennedys assassination in
November 1963. On his return to Europe an interest in

bullfighting led to several visits to Spain during Francos

regime, following Hemingways footsteps in Pamplona and
Madrid.
He began a career in advertising, journalism and public
relations in London but having fallen in love with France at an
early age seized the opportunity to work in Paris and found
himself on the left bank in May 1968 witnessing the student
uprising and the last years of Charles de Gaulles presidency,
as well as meeting his future Italian wife.
Alternating between London and Paris as well as writing
he discovered an interest in real estate which led to a change
of career and he found himself at the forefront of the British
expansion across Europe investing and developing offices and
shopping centres for an international real estate company.
As a committed European he became involved in politics
joining the Liberal party and standing as a candidate in
Kensington council elections. He also took a backseat role in
his wifes London restaurant looking after the wine list.
During this period he and his wife purchased a property in
Sussex, from where they often took friends to Battle Abbey
and made numerous trips across the Channel to the Somme
and Normandy to research the two world wars and especially
the Norman invasion of England.
In 1988 with his wife and two sons he finally said
goodbye to England and returned to France acquiring a
property in Paris and close to the Mediterranean coast near
Aix en Provence. Although pursuing an interest in real estate,
as a member of the NUJ he regularly contributed articles on
European topics, and also began to write screenplays, a blog
and take a serious interest in photography. In 2003 he and his
wife spent a sabbatical year in Spain to study at the
Universidad Complutense in Madrid joining one of their sons
who had moved to the Spanish capital and started a family
with his Spanish wife. Their other son spends his time
between London and Beijing. After more than two years of
research the historical novel, 1066 The Conquest, was
published in London. However despite two visits to the

Cannes Film Festival his screenplay based on the book has yet
to be taken up by a production company.
Although Peter and his wife still retain the villa near Aix
en Provence they travel overseas extensively and divide their
time between Paris, Madrid and his wifes home city,
Florence, enabling him to pursue a passionate interest in
history, geo-politics, art, writing, the cinema, music and
travel.

Dedication
While acknowledging the contribution of many other
prominent political figures, who left an indelible print on
society, I have to dedicate this book to the memory of
Stephane Hessel in particular whose book Indignez-Vous
persuaded me to follow his example and raise the issues
confronting the world.

Pe t e r Fi e l d m a n

THE WORLD AT A
CROSSROADS

Copyright Peter Fieldman (2015)

The right of Peter Fieldman to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims
for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British
Library.

ISBN 9781784556846 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781784556853 (Hardback)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2015)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ

Printed and bound in Great Britain

The Pirates of Wall Street Peter Fieldman

Labour is the superior of capital and

deserves much the higher consideration.
Abraham Lincoln, 3 December 1861

Contents
Preface
Introduction
Political Morality
Economic Morality
Financial Morality
Corporate Morality
Tax Morality
Environmental Morality
Social Morality
Sexual Morality:
Military Morality
Immigration Morality
Religious Morality
Aid Morality
Sporting Morality
Justice Morality
Conclusion
Appendix I: Capitalist Pyramid cartoon 1911
Appendix II: European parliaments
Appendix III: Arms Suppliers
Appendix IV: The Lawyers Charter
Appendix V: Breakdown of Sunni and Shia Muslim groups
Appendix VI: Eurozone National Debt (major nations)

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Preface

The object of this essay is to provide an overview of the major

issues and events confronting the world today. I do not claim
to be Thomas Piketty, Paul Krugman, Robert Reich or any
other economist. I am not a well known personality from the
world of politics, entertainment or sport whose comments and
views are guaranteed publicity. I am a citizen like many
others; one of the baby boomers, who has been fortunate to
have lived through the good times and weathered the many
crises around the world during the past half a century. I am
also privileged to have had the opportunity to travel and live
in many countries both within Europe and overseas. I have
lived under conservative and left wing governments,
monarchies and republican regimes and have seen leaders
come and go. But until the last six years I have never
witnessed so much inequality, disparity of wealth, greed,
corruption and a loss of morality and ethics. After reading
Stephane Hessels book, Indignez-vous (Time to Revolt) I
was determined to expound my own views and opinions on
the state of the world as one of the silent majority whose voice
deserves to be heard.
I have specifically avoided the use of graphs, figures,
statistics and numbers, used by governments, economists and
the media to bombard the public, which are often not
understood. Please understand it if some comments are
repeated in different chapters as it is hard to separate all the
relevant issues I wish to raise as well as the reforms I believe
are necessary for economic prosperity and peace. All are

intrinsically linked in an increasingly interconnected world.

And if, by the time you read this, some of the facts or
information, are out of date, it is a reminder that we live in a
time of rapid change.
The world has reached a crossroads. Robert Kennedy said,
Fear not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on
it. His observation remains just as pertinent today. The path
we need to tread is a moral one requiring a change of
mentality to engage in a redistribution of wealth and a fairer
and safer society.

Introduction
Imperial Rome is the centre of the empire, undisputed master
of the world but with this power inevitably comes corruption.
No man is sure of his life, the individual is at the mercy of the
state, murder replaces justice, rulers of conquered nations
surrender their helpless subjects to bondage, high and low
alike become roman slaves, roman hostages, there is no
escape from the whip and the sword.
That any force on earth can shake the foundations of this
pyramid of power and corruption and human misery and
slavery seems inconceivable.
Quo Vadis

More than six years have passed since the subprime crisis
brought the worlds economies to the brink of financial
meltdown. Yet we are no nearer resolving the causes of the
worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The
crisis has been like a receding tide, exposing what lies hidden
beneath the surface. And much of what we have found is
decaying or rotten. Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King
believed all men are equal, but it is clear that some are more
so than others. Since the outset of the crisis the wealth has
gone to the richest one percent of the population, who bear a
large responsibility for causing it. The wealthiest eighty-five
people in the world possess more than the three billion poorest
people on the planet. It is unsustainable. Growing inequality
has become a major scourge in our societies and has reached
unacceptable levels putting democracy, social cohesion and
peace at risk.

Despite providing a unique opportunity for governments

to engage in the fundamental changes and structural reforms
urgently needed in our societies, little has been done and strict
regulation of the banking sector has failed to materialize. The
unregulated and uncontrolled speculation that caused
incalculable damage to the worlds economies has not been
restrained but allowed to continue without adequate
supervision. Markets fluctuate erratically at the slightest
rumour and we continue to face the risk of another
catastrophic meltdown of the financial sector.
The major mistake unless it was a deliberate and
organized transfer of the nations wealth was to bail out the
banking sector with billions of taxpayers money and allow it
to keep the money without asking for anything in return.
Instead of repaying their debt to society the bankers have
continued to pay themselves obscene salaries, stock options
and bonuses and hand out millions in dividends while the
majority of the population has been facing drastic austerity
measures leading to a loss of jobs and homes and a tough
economic recession. Americas promise of No child left
behind has become No banker left behind.
There have been massive fines imposed on banking and
corporate entities for engaging in fraudulent activities, money
laundering or fixing rates, but it has had no effect on the
bankers themselves, or the auditors, regulators and bosses of
rating agencies who have remained untouchable, resisting any
form of control or intervention into their affairs. Their
impunity has become one of the major injustices in our
democratic law abiding societies.
In a speech to the French University of the Sorbonne in
Paris in November 2012, Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador,
spoke out about how the developing world had made the
mistake of looking after the interests of the financial sector to
the detriment of the economy and people, leading to economic
and social problems throughout South America.
The money lent by the US was used to import goods
rather than set up manufacturing plants and then interest

charges, which hit 20% in some cases, meant the developing

nations could not afford to cover their debts. He warned that
Europe was guilty of making the same mistakes with its
obsession in bailing out the banks resulting in massive
national debts and draconian austerity measures. National debt
has reached more than 100% of the GDP of many nations.
This situation suggests poor management or negligence and
incompetence on the part of governments and the teams of
experts who advise them.
And all this comes at a time when we face major
economic, technological, demographic, environmental,
political and social changes. The world is being transformed
by the internet. Power is escaping from Governments as the
major internet companies by pass regulations and laws, able to
communicate with billions of people around the world
instantaneously. The technological revolution will ultimately
lead to less need for unqualified low paid staff and a
consequent rethink of importing immigrant workers.
Economic power is shifting to Asia while Russia and the
Latin American nations are finally beginning to exert their
influence over world affairs. The West has to become less
arrogant in dealing with the rest of the world. We may think
our liberal societies and way of life are superior but we should
not forget that Chinese culture dates back more than five
thousand years. The USA is engaged in an economic war to
retain its dominant position and the fall in oil prices and rise
of the dollar are part of a calculated strategy. Nevertheless the
old colonial and economic powers in Europe and America are
going to have to accept sharing economic and political power
with a consequential loss of influence or face economic,
political and social decline. The revelations over the NSA
spying on top French political leaders has come as a major
embarrassment for the US Government and has put
WikiLeaks back in the spotlight. The initial tough reaction is
unlikely to cause any long-term damage to the special
relationship that exists since it is obvious that nations spy on

each other for both political and economic purposes. It simply

demonstrates that politics is an immoral game. But if you
cant trust your friends, who can you trust?
Media coverage of the 2014 European elections eclipsed
the elections in India, where the long standing ruling National
Congress Party was ousted in favour of the Hindu Nationalist
Bharatiya Janala party, the BJP, led by 64-year-old Narendra
Modi. He presides over the second most populated nation on
earth after more than a decade as Chief Minister of the Gujarat
region. The reforms he has promised will perhaps have a more
profound effect on world affairs than election results in
Europe.
Despite its mighty military presence and unprecedented
spy and surveillance operations, the United States has made it
clear it no longer seeks to police the world. This decision
comes at a time when there is growing competition out there.
China has made no secret of its plans to extend its control over
the South China Sea, ignoring opposition from Vietnam,
Japan and Malaysia. Russia has demonstrated that it will not
risk losing its strategic interest in the Crimea or the Ukraine
and has established a Eurasian Economic Union with its exSoviet partners Belarus and Kazakhstan. Armenia,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have all shown interest
in joining this new club. Despite the war in Iraq, the country is
still in chaos and coupled with the violence in Syria, the
influence of radical Islamic groups is spreading across the
whole Middle East as well as within Europe, bringing with it
atrocities of a bygone age.
Increasingly, smaller states, as well as terrorist groups, are
now able to acquire sophisticated weapons using the Internet
and cyber networks to cause incalculable damage. Military
dominance cannot defeat guerrillas or terrorists on their own
ground. This was made clear during the Vietnam War more
than fifty years ago.
Politically the world is no longer divided into the two
opposing powers of the cold war. It is becoming more
complex and precarious. The so-called Arab spring turned out

to be a winter of discontent with Islamic groups seeking

power and, as we are witnessing with Afghanistan, Egypt,
Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, conflicts are not
simply about one side facing another, or good against evil, but
involve varied political, religious and economic interests each
fighting its own cause. The long drawn out Israel-Palestine
crisis demonstrates the complexity of reaching a satisfactory
peaceful agreement when there are so many conflicting issues
at stake.
The changing scene makes it paramount for European
states to forge a united front. If Europe expects to remain a
global economic and political force, Europes leaders must
accept closer integration and some loss of power and
sovereignty instead of pursuing national interests. The results
of the Euro elections with the rise of populist groups caused
an electroshock among the major parties, which clearly have
not learnt any lessons. Matteo Renzi, whose Italian PD party
won an overall majority, seems to have appreciated the
problem and how to react. To defeat the extremist or populist
parties governments have to deal with the issues which the
majority of the population want addressed. This is precisely
what governments have failed to do.
Despite repeated elections in many countries or changes
in leadership, politicians are still facing resistance on the part
of vested interests clinging on to their privileges. At the same
time the debt crisis and problems of the single currency in
Europe have led to unprecedented austerity measures,
increased taxes, privatizations, cut backs in social services and
investment and government intervention on a massive scale to
shore up the financial sector.
Germany is facing criticism for its ability in managing its
books and maintaining a huge current account surplus. But
surely it is for other countries to pull up their socks and
emulate Germany rather than deride the success of its
economic policies.
The debt and euro crisis and the disparity between north,
south, and east Europe, will not be resolved until there is

closer integration through some form of federal structure

including political, financial and tax harmonization in order to
bring confidence back to the economy. This is fundamental
since without confidence and trust there can be no future.
The victory of Alexis Tsipras and his left wing Syriza
party in Greece caused panic in Brussels and could lead to
fundamental changes in the economic policies of the European
Union. Naturally the Greek stock market collapsed but that
was only to be expected given Tsiprass promise to stop
privatizations, end the tax privileges of the elite and
shipowners and end the austerity measures, which have
caused so much economic and social damage to the Greek
people. Yet despite the risk of a Grexit his campaign made
it clear that he supports the European Union and wishes to
remain in the Eurozone and Nato; hardly the words of a left
wing revolutionary despite his criticism of the Troika the
EU, IMF and ECB. The risk is that any rescheduling of the
countrys huge debt could have a domino effect on other weak
member states. Tsipras sent his finance minister, Yanis
Varoufakis, to negotiate with the Troika. While his
flamboyant presence made him an instant success with the
media it antagonised European officials who did not agree
with his debt-swap plans. The Greek tragedy is turning into a
Wagnerian opera interminable. There are meetings and more
meetings but are we being told the truth about the Greek debt
situation when it is obvious that the aim of the creditors is to
force the country to privatize national assets for the benefit of
financial and corporate interests?
Globalization, the absence of currency controls, the
removal of the Glass-Steagall Act and lack of banking
regulation have all contributed to an unprecedented transfer of
wealth from nation states to the privileged elite, the financial
sector and international corporations who take advantage of
offshore companies and bank accounts in the worlds tax
havens. Capital can be shifted in and out of a country at the
click of a mouse making fixing budgets and long-term
planning virtually impossible.

The world has become a tax-free playground for those

with the wealth and the right contacts. Wealth is being
accumulated not through talent or work but through simply
holding assets, whether real estate, stocks, art or cash, which
ultimately ends up being handed down to future generations
who have done little or nothing to earn their generous
inheritance.
The power of the multinationals, able to relocate their
manufacturing activities, destroy jobs and transfer their profits
out of sight of government treasury departments, which lose
vital tax revenues, is a major cause for concern. The natural
and mineral resources in the developing nations of Africa,
Asia and Latin America, are still being exploited by Western
corporations and while the commodity markets can make
fortunes for speculators, the profits too often fail to trickle
down to the indigenous populations. The wealth generated
ends up in the pockets of corporate bosses or corrupt political
leaders in offshore bank accounts or luxury real estate, while
the majority of the people are either forced to live in poverty
or attempt to emigrate to the desired locations of North
America, Western Europe and Australia, adding to the influx
of illegal immigrants. Marc Rich, the founder of Glencore,
who died in 2013, typified the global capitalist predator,
amassing a colossal fortune at the expense of the
impoverished mining workers in the developing nations.
Fortunately the Internet has provided NGOs like Oxfam,
Avaaz, Change and One, with the means to bring some of the
worst cases of injustice to a worldwide audience. But little has
changed since the Capitalist Pyramid poster was printed in
Cleveland Ohio in 1911 to illustrate the exploitation of the
people. (Appendix I)
Excessive remuneration packages have led to an
unsustainable wealth gap exacerbated by the use of fancy
financial engineering invented by the banking sector to enable
the rich to avoid taxes. And astonishingly these schemes have
met with government approval. It is twenty-five years since
the Berlin Wall came down. But it is infinitely more difficult
to break down the walls separating the privileged elite and