Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood looks like US capitalism's best bet

It won't be easy putting this genie back in the bottle

The coupon clippers have found their most likely ally in their efforts to shape Egypt's future.  The Muslim Brotherhood has been very busy meeting with international bankers and foreign investors reassuring them that their money and capitalism is safe in their hands.   The Brotherhood's political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party will most likely be the "largest political force" in the country says one Egyptian political analyst although it has vowed not to run a candidate for president or seek more than half of the parliamentary seats.

The fears of western capital that the Brotherhood will build stronger links with Hamas and Hezbollah and restrict western imperialism's interests in the region are beginning to dissipate as the meetings between the Brotherhood and western bankers and investors produce favorable results.

One of Egypt's biggest investment banks brought fund managers to Egypt from the US, UK, Africa and the Middle East to meet the Brotherhood's second in  command Khairat El-shater who was in prison under the US capitalism's  puppet regime of Hosni Mubarak. "They all have many questions about one issue: What impact will the Muslim Brotherhood have on the investment climate" El-shater tells Business Week Magazine.*

The treatment of women, trade Unions, democracy, civil rights---not an issue as long as investments are secure and the plunder of the region goes on unabated.  After all, look at Saudi Arabia. The investors were very pleased with the meeting, it "dismissed some investors concern about an extreme economic policy", says an officer of the investment bank that invited them. Some of the investors "were positively surprised to find some of the ideas shared by the brotherhood to be mostly capitalist in nature" he adds.

El shater's remarks were music to the coupon clipper's ears, "We believe in a very, very big role for the private sector" he told them. The Brotherhood wants to, "attract as much investment as possible." after all, they are business owners.

Whew! That's good news as those folks in Tahrir are an unstable bunch who are demanding "extreme" economic policies like higher wages, trade Union rights, democracy, the firing of corrupt government and police officials. They're a bunch of communists.

The Brotherhood is promising to direct more investment to industry and to create jobs and promises to "trim the deficit" says BW.  But it doesn't take a Phd in economics to see the weakness in this argument.  The international coupon clippers don't shift capital from one country to another in order to raise wages. Their main concern is not the living standards of Egyptian workers or the social services that they receive.  And in a country like Egypt, the public/state sector is significant.

The situation in Egypt is far from decided as the recent mass protests in Tahrir show. It is hard to tell exactly what the future holds.  A stalemate cannot go on indefinitely either the workers and youth will
have to advance or the military will crush the movement or at least halt it and it will dissipate for now.  It's hard to predict these events when you're not there. Also, the Muslim Brotherhood, like any organization, has different currents within it. It is hard to say what changes objective reality will force on this organization.  Another former US ally, Osama bin laden, was a free market advocate and global capitalist.

Western capitalism will do its best to find a suitable ally strong enough to protect its interests in the region no matter which force plays that role and at the moment, the Muslim Brotherhood appears to be the best bet for international capital.  The problem at the moment is the revolutionary process appears to still have some strength to it. 

The Brotherhood's agenda, "is a generally free market oriented program" says Shadi Hamid, one Middle east academic at the Brookings Center in Qatar, adding "I found it surprising because that is not the way the winds are blowing in Egypt."

Whether the winds will be contained remains to be seen.


* Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Embraces Business: Business Week 7-11-11