Strange days indeed. I don’t know whether we should be cheering from the rooftops or deeply suspicious in our bunkers when a senior executive of the Bank of England starts singing the praises of the Global Occupy Movement. It is one thing when a few principled souls in the Church of England come out in support of the anti-capitalist occupations but quite another when the BoE executive director of financial stability comes out publically in support of those very same occupations. What’s his game? What’s he up to? Are we really all singing from the same hymn-sheet? Just whose agenda is he really promoting, the ninety nine per-cent or the one per-cent?

So what precisely did our high flying chief executive, Mr Andrew Haldane, have to say to us plebs, anarchists and unreformed Bolsheviks? He is surprisingly articulate but is he right or is it just a clever con? This is Haldane in his own words:

]\Some have suggested that Occupy’s voice has been loud but vague, long on problems, short on solutions. Others have argued that the fault lines in the global financial system, which chasmed during the crisis, are essentially unaltered, that reform has failed. I wish to argue that both are wrong that Occupy’s voice has been both loud and persuasive and that policy makers have listened and are acting in ways which will close those faultlines. In fact I wish to argue that we are in the early stages of a reformation of finance, a reformation which Occupy has helped to stir.

Speaking at an Occupy Economics event in central London Mr Haldane is quoted by The Independent’s Richard Hall as stating:

Occupy has been successful in its efforts to popularise the problems of the global financial system for one very simple reason: they are right. They touched a moral nerve in pointing to growing inequalities in the allocation of wealth. You have put the arguments. You have helped with the debate. And policy makers, like me, will need your continuing support in delivering that radical change.

Let’s attempt to deconstruct all those fine sounding platitudes. Fundamentally there is precious little evidence of any sort of reformation in the world’s financial system taking place. Firstly, all the tax havens are still free to operate including the most sophisticated of them all the City of London. Secondly, there has been no significant progress anywhere in the capitalist world in stamping out legalised tax evasion. Thirdly, corporate tax evasion is not being punished; Starbucks, Amazon, Boots and Co are still free to move their profits around, freeing them from any onerous national tax obligations. Fourthly, the world trade system remains firmly skewered towards the developed capitalist centres at the expense of the impoverished third world. Fifthly, the global working class are being financially and politically punished for the failures of global capitalism.

And finally, there has been no attempt whatsoever to democratise the global financial system. Everything is still decided by the plutocracy and governments must tow the line either begrudgingly or as is the case in the UK, willingly. Taken collectively, this looks like a pretty tame reformation. In fact, there is no reformation of deed, just some new popularist rhetoric. It’s business as usual until the next crash.

Haldane has been quite clever. He has thrown the rabid dog a bone, but alas there is barely a scrap of meat on it. In fact, the bone is made of cardboard and will quickly disintegrate. The ‘moral nerve’ that our egalitarian executive refers to is nothing more than the stench of fear that the ruling elite experienced after the 2008 crash. But they have regrouped, albeit temporarily and they are again dictating the terms. If the British government attempts to separate casino banking from high-street banking they are threatening to decamp to more compliant territories. Luxemburg and Switzerland are beckoning. In short, the nation state cannot tame the international feral beast. Until the well- meaning Mr Haldane accepts this, nothing can move forward. Until there is an international action to close down permanently every tax haven, east and west, nothing will change. Until the commanding heights of the world’s economy come under public control, transparent and accountable, the one percent of one percent will continue to rule unimpeded.

It is true that Occupy has started to nail these demands to the cathedrals of finance capital, but at this precise point in time the high priests are still secure behind their fortified gates. It will probably take another global crash to dislodge them from their lairs but in the meantime Occupy must continue hammering away. It’s probably not so much a reformation that is required but a fully blown social revolution that shifts irrevocably ownership from private to public. Haldane has nothing to say in the respect. And neither does Richard Hall, who fails to give any sort of opinion at all. That’s it Mr Hall, just sit on the fence and pretend to be above the fray. You’ve got a well-paid job at least for now, so don’t rock the boat.