You’re either rich or a prisoner, or about to become one or the other

Not directly about Cambodia, but since I largely subscribe to the Modern World-System approach of one Mr. Wallerstein, the concerns of us here certainly affect the lives of those elsewhere.

Two stories came to my attention recently. First, 1 in every 32 Americans is now in prison, on probation, or parole. 1 in every 32 Americans, that is, has their liberty directly monitored and restricted by the criminal justice system. This makes us number one in yet another category, along with possessing the world’s largest massed force of violent destruction, the world’s largest ecological footprint, among others.

Second, and related, no doubt, is the recent discovery that world-wide, the richest 2 percent own more than half of the entire world’s ‘resources.’

Merry freaking christmas.