By Tim Buchholz

To many globalization is a bad word. Some secret organization with its fingers in every pie slowly working its master plan into fruition. Or, globalization is just the unavoidable outcome of the technological advances of our species. We keep making the circle smaller, the distance between us less and less with world wide webs and satellite positioning, it only makes sense that global governments will develop out of global economies. Is there some secret hand willing it to happen over centuries? Possibly. Even if there is, we'll probably never know for sure. Some of my friends consider me a conspiracy theorist, asking me if I have started wearing foil around my head. Well one thing I can tell you about conspiracies, they are a bit difficult to prove. But the sad thing is, they often make a lot more sense. And once you open that can of worms, it is very difficult to go back.

For a while I had a decent job, slowly working my way up the ladder, and finally worked my way back to the executive office of the small company I worked for, barely clinging by a rung. Even in the small microcosm of my office, I saw the different levels of society and their different perspectives. And as I reached this decent level of comfort, I found myself with a lot more time to investigate, and that can only lead to trouble. So I read up on all the dark sides, who was supposed to be pulling the strings, from bankers to politicians to Satan himself, and there are some strong arguments out there on that old internet. Each one is convinced that they are the one who has figured it out, and they can be convincing.

So who is right? Sadly, I think we may never know. And maybe even more depressing of a concept: a lot of them may be right. Maybe it's not some grand conspiracy, it's just a whole bunch of people taking advantage where they can. And wouldn't you? Everybody has a price, right? Haven't you ever taken advantage of the system? Or of an opportunity you knew you probably shouldn't have?

Some people's defense against some grand conspiracy is that it just couldn't be possible for so many people to keep it quiet. Well, however grand it is, there are often just a few you have to control to control the many. Many conspiracy theorists point to the mainstream media, who are given the same news feeds. Control that and you control the news, right? Ever see on gThe Daily Showh where John Stewart will show clips of all the major news agencies using the exact same phrase to explain something? Or when multiple politicians all use the exact same phrase in their speeches? Just talking points? Maybe its just part of that whole unconscious mind thing, or great minds think alike? Or maybe they have the same speech writer? Or maybe it wouldn't be as hard as some people think to control the many.

The next step for the few is how to control the slightly more who are going to control the many. That too is very easy. Either money, power, blackmail, or all three. Probably usually a bit of all three. And bam, your multinational corporation gets a little more multi, if you can get into the club.

Now, for those of you not into the conspiracies, and let me make it clear I haven't said I believe them either, you too (or we) may be right. But, I think it's still pretty clear that while even if there isn't some grand conspiracy, there are definitely powerful people using their power to become more powerful, or at least trying to maintain. Maybe most of the claims of these conspiracy folks are just all the different times different groups of people have screwed us. That makes a lot more sense than some grand conspiracy. Lots of the big fish took over their little ponds and are now all fighting for the big pond, and its oil. And the power ebbs and flows between them.

One of the more interesting reads I've had on the old internet was stumbling upon a place called gBohemian Grove.h The first link was on some sort of Christian apocalyptic website, and I don't wholly buy into Christianity or the Apocalypse, so I'm not sure I can buy in to the site, but they describe it as a place where some of the most powerful people on the planet get together, former presidents, future presidents, and big CEOS, dress up in robes and worship a version of the devil. There's even some video of the big ceremony called gThe Cremation of Care,h with play by play by none other than gThe Voice of America,h the late Walter Cronkite. Now, believe what you want to about this meeting, maybe it is just some sort of fraternity thing like the members will tell you, it is still a get together of very influential people; you really think business never comes up?

The point I am trying to make is, whether it's some grand conspiracy or not, there are groups of people that are shaping the world the way they want it to be. And again, wouldn't you? Some of them even think they are doing what is best for everyone else. Sort of trickle down economics, or trickle down my leg economics as I like to call it. Just like our former president Mr. gWh Bush. I really think he felt like he was doing what he thought was right, and it just goes to show that you can't just blindly trust the people in power, because they too can be very wrong. We can't just trust that the people we elect will do the right thing. Would we? We can't just trust that the free market will keep things free and fair because even it has recently proven that it can't do its job right either. Do we?

Never messed up at work? Sent the wrong email message? We sometimes think just because people are in charge that means they know what they are doing (Alan Greenspan). And we can just trust them to do the right thing for us. But they are just people going to work, sometimes hating their jobs, sometimes slacking off, sometimes taking advantage to move themselves up, just like us. Just like your doctor. Maybe he missed the day in med school where they went over your rare disease, had a hang over or something, and now, unfortunately, you pay the price. Everybody makes mistakes.

But the thing that catches me sometimes when I read the conspiracy theories and compare them to the said facts, to accept the mainstream truth means to accept a lot of failures. Can our government really be that incompetent? That's the question. There is either some hand, and not necessarily one, pulling for a particular outcome, or a lot of people really screwing up. And I think again, the sad reality, is that it is probably a little bit of both.

So what's the answer? I don't know. I hope you weren't expecting answers. Whether it's part of some master plan or not, globalization is coming, some say already here. The question is, how will we handle it?

I think you can learn a lot about a society by who its bad guys are in their movies. In the most recent James Bond film, the bad guy is an entrepreneur who hides behind charitable organizations as he and his secret organization manipulate governments and attempts to control a nation's water supply. Not so exciting, ooh, he controls water. Help me James! But this is a true problem facing us in the near future.

When I was younger, I was a huge fan of Woodrow Wilson for his crusade to form The League of Nations, precursor to The United Nations. As a young man, I thought of the UN as our only chance for world peace. I read Marx and willed my fellow compatriots to unite and throw off our chains. Everyone has enough, what a beautiful concept. But if you start reading conspiracies, you might stumble upon one that claims Marx was paid to write his manifesto by the banking elite. Whether this is true or not, it sort of shook me up a little. If you think about it, bigger government means fewer people in charge of more of our lives. It does seem like it might make it easier for a few people to get a hold of it all. But don't worry, they can make it work either way.

This fear makes me sad. I want to believe that the good in people will prevail, but I haven't seen it happen too often. Why should this be any different? And I guess that's where we come in. We have to keep watch. We have to look up from our little lives once in a while and try to look at the big picture, not take everything given to us on face value, and make up our own minds about what is happening. Pay attention once and a while to those guys in the foil hats. Oh, and if you get lost, you can always follow the money trail. The few, no matter how few they happen to be, are hoping you'll be too busy with the little things to notice the big ones happening all around you. Maybe if enough of us pay attention, globalization won't have to be such a dirty word.

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Tim Buchholz is a freelance writer living in Ohio