1971 was a watershed year that split US history into before and after.
Two seminal events happened in the year, reinforcing each other and redefining capitalism and democracy in the US.
Most people have heard of the famous “Nixon Shock” in 1971, when Richard Nixon announced on August 15 that the US dollar would be unpegged from gold “temporarily”.
The “temporary” delink, which was a breach of US sovereign promise to the rest of the world, became permanent and shattered the post-war global economic order.
Few are aware of an equally momentous event that happened 8 days later.
On August 23, tobacco lawyer Lewis Powell submitted his confidential “Powell Memo” to the US Chamber of Commerce, outlining the blueprint for the corporate takeover of American institutions.
This eight-day window represents the dual collapse of the old system.
As Nixon was fundamentally changing the nature of global money, Powell was finalizing a long-term political manifesto to ensure the capitalist class would control whatever system took its place.
The two events in August 1971 led to the financialization of the US economy, out of control national debt, deindustrialization, and the rise of corporate rule over every aspect of US society......
