Almost a month has passed since my last post and a lot has happened. Not just the usual December efforts to celebrate Christmas without falling into the 'consume whatever it costs' trap (I had some lovely times with family and friends) but the inspiring, life-affirming, positive and uplifting messages which came through reading Paul Kingsnorth's 'One No, Many Yeses'. I'm on a mission to try to get everyone to read it!
Reading of the various and many successful movements throughout the world which are challenging the free-market/neo-liberal economic model which is trashing our planet and our peoples, reminded me that many writers are seeing through the 'American dream' and suggesting that 'we need to accept that consumption is not the end goal of our life, and stop measuring our wellbeing simply on the basis of earnings' (Ha-Joon Chang)
An analogy I read recently put it simply: A woman receives a proposal of marriage from a millionaire who is a violent man, an alcoholic and a womaniser. Knowing his dark side, if she had any sense she wouldn't agree to marry him in spite of his wealth. So, why do we accept an economic system which provides for the material needs of some but which leaves millions in poverty, destroys the environment and often leaves even the 'haves' with feelings which drive them to addictions and unhappiness? (Oliver James 'Affluenza')
Paul Kingsnorth's book also reminded me that a number of years ago an environmental activist I know told me that he had given up campaigning about what is wrong in the world because he wanted to concentrate on building something better. He is now involved in permaculture and the transition town locally.
Must stop now because I'm off to the Transition Town Christmas get-together. Good things are a happening ...
Yes, Occupy are still active especially in the US (and variably active elsewhere). They have diversified from occupying literal space to doing things like delivering immediate, onground community based aid after natural disasters - Occupy Sandy after Hurricane Sandy was a particular success - they got in there faster and more efficiently than either the large aid agencies or government agencies. Always a danger with aid delivery that the 1% will go "great, the masses are taking care of each other, no need for us to do anything" but at the same time it no doubt put Occupy back on the map in a big way, and got over the "load of hippies lounging around fouling public places" meme that too many ordinary people bought into. Also their Rolling Jubilee project where they are using the big banks methods against them by buying up debt at rock bottom prices and then then abolishing it, leaving the affected families free of their debts http://rollingjubilee.org/ is another active project resisting the current system. There are still numerous active Occupy related websites eg http://www.occupytogether.org/.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the other projects listed in Kingsnorth's book, you can probably get updates on a lot of them to see if they are still active by checking out their websites (if they have them). As I mentioned in a previous post to you, the World Social Forum is also a really good place to get updated information on who is doing what where - their basic underlying belief/motto that "Another world is possible" is so similar to your signature on your posts that I would think they are a very good place for you to continue your research. Their Charter of Principles is here http://www.fsm2013.org/en/node/204 and reports from the 2013 WSF in Tunisia are here http://www.fsm2013.org/en. A World Social Forum on Migration is being held in Johannesburg in March 2014 and I think the general WSF is again being held in Tunis in 2014.
I haven't read it completely, but this article seems like an interesting discussion of the relationship between the Occupy Movement and the World Social forum http://thefutureofoccupy.org/2012/04/occupy-the-world-social-forum-and-the-commons-social-movements-learning-from-each-other/
There is a lot going on out there Eileen - just not covered too well in the mainstream media but not that hard to find once you have a few search terms (and Kingsnorth's book will be good for that for a start).
By the way, great to hear from your blog that you are involved in your local transition town movement :-)
All the best with your ongoing research
JMC
Thank you very much for your comments which fit in beautifully with my mission to try to find simple explanations. I'm not wanting to read lengthy, academic, treatise cos I've a sneaking feeling that the problems of the world, and the way forward, can be discussed in simple language and that information overload is really part of the problem. The World Social Forum seems to be a beacon of light which is just what I need right now!
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