Two instances come to mind when I consciously thought to myself, ‘this makes no sense.’
One was the entire Ronald Reagan, neo-liberal, trickledown economics presidency. It seemed so obviously wrong to me, a high school student at the time. But it happened… and I went off to college.
A more specific instant was when I was watching television and a commercial for Tide Pods came on. I thought, with all the problems in the world that need solving, what, in the name of sanity, does more convenient laundry detergent matter? I felt a sense of disgust and dis-ease at the advertising and consumer culture pushing needless ‘advancements’ on me. Tide pods came out in 2012.
Now that we’ve headed farther down the capitalist road to extinction, and I’m a bit older and wiser, I can see what these two disparate times, when I broke out of my daily life to stop and question, have capitalism and it’s consequences at their core.
Here are a few items that in a human centered world, where we’d measure success with Gross National Happiness instead of Gross National Product, would be considered nonsense.
Citizens United– Corporations are not people. They are not kind, caring, and compassionate as many people are and as we all can be if we focus our energies on supporting each other.
Starbucks– A huge global corporation that sells coffee? Well, not coffee, coffee drinks. I buy fair trade coffee and brew it at home.
Lack of coverage of the climate and ecological crisis on the news- To see news of a heatwave in the weather report as though it were just weather makes no sense — its more than weather, it’s an ongoing, global issue. Add to this the coverage pointing to a lack of will by the people to make a change — as though dark money from wealthy men and the fossil fuel industry haven’t been controlling the narrative all along.
Lack of action on the climate and ecological crisis in the government. Shouldn’t world governments be doing more?
Most Republican Candidates. How could a thinking, feeling person take them seriously?
Billionaires. No one should have that much money and power. A billion is 1000 times more than a million. I think millions are enough. Depending where you look, the statistic can be slightly different, but in 2019, 26 of the worlds richest people owned as much as the bottom 50 percent of the population.
Roundup — Why is it still for sale? We’re killing the insects that are the foundation for most life on earth.
Lack of universal healthcare coverage. Sick or unhealthy people can’t help and economy. Healthcare coverage tied to a job can prevent people from doing what their heart calls them to do.
There is no ‘invisible hand.’ Capitalism unchecked simply leads to more inequality, more environmental degradation, declines in health and happiness.
We know there’s a plastics problem but corporations are producing more than ever.
We know there’s a climate problem but emissions are going up, not down.
We don’t need more clothing in our closets, but fast fashion is churning it out.
None of this makes sense until we realize that global corporations and the plutocracy, the elite ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth, have eclipsed governments in their control over world events. What we once called corruption, we now call lobbying.
Feel free to add examples of our current insanity in the comments.
We must speak up, act up, resist.
Love over hate.
Compassion over fear.
These make deep sense.
If you think the transformation to a more just and equitable society will happen without your help, think again. We’re all in this together.
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This post was previously published on An Injustice!
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