The logic of modern capitalism suggests that there is no alternative to free market consumerism. The theory goes that as prosperity can only be attained by more and more consumption of disposable luxuries, then being poor in this culture not only deprives you of human fulfilment, but casts you into the moral darkness of the work ethic.

But as everyone knows the wealth of this form of production is not shared but siphoned off by the multinationals and yes men of the bourgeoisie who can only understand production in terms of the exploitation of wage labour and the individualistic pursuit of personal profit.

So what are those at the bottom of the capitalist ladder actually working for? The answer must be that they are working to be granted the privilege of being the stigmatised losers in a hierarchy of values which destines them for permanent servitude.

True morality lies in sharing and consuming only enough of what you need to enable a full participation in the life of the community. The idea that people who pursue this kind of lifestyle in which things are made efficiently to provide for minimal needs, are somehow immoral, is the basis of the refusal of the middle classes to condemn the inhumane conditions which the labourers are forced into.

What we have to do is get rid of the idea that consumption is the road to happiness and that we have to conform to the hierarchy of values which makes us the bottom rung of a ladder which reaps its rewards at the expense of the poor. The real alternative is to work in a non-profit making way for the good of the community.

Grassroots activism is about empowering your own skills to provide just for what the community needs to become united and self-sufficient. Enough is enough. Do not accept the morality of consumption, shopping is the modern opium because it feeds on the desire to be part of the culture which is dominant, the fear of exclusion enforced by the appalling conditions which characterise the slums.


Further articles and references:

Gustavo Esteva:

The planet's "grassroots" have given up too, he says - especially after their votes have been nullified in case after case, not only in Mexico, where fraudulent elections are an art form, but even in places like Costa Rica - and (twice recently) in the United States. Such developments have led the earth's new "social subjects" to conclude that they must ignore politicians and look to themselves and their immediate communities for solutions to the problems politicians falsely promise to fix.

The idea that the world's "social majorities" can attain levels of consumption anywhere approaching those of the United States and Europe is nothing more than an opium den illusion. It is contradicted by the results of four development decades when the "Two-Thirds World" has fallen further and further behind the "developed world" in terms of income and purchasing power. And all the while they've been promised a bigger share of the pie. It's just never going to happen.
 http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/articles/betterworld_estevaruiz.htm



Cleaners for justice:

Now we have had enough. After much thought we have decided that next week we will fast for justice. We will refuse food starting Monday morning to draw attention to the plight of London cleaners.

In a few weeks time it will be Christmas, a time for families and celebration. But not for us and those we care for. City bosses may be celebrating billions of pounds in bonuses but we will be struggling to make ends meet.
 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/12/357897.html?c=on#comments



The Yes Men  http://www.theyesmen.org/

WTO Announces Formalized Slavery Model for Africa

A system in which corporations own workers is the only free-market solution to African poverty, Schmidt said. "Today, in African factories, the only concern a company has for the worker is for his or her productive hours, and within his or her productive years,"
 http://www.gatt.org/wharton.html


War on Want

The minimum wage for a garment worker in Bangladesh has stood since 1994 at just £7 per month (Tk 940). In real terms, however, it has halved since that time. Garment workers in Bangladesh went on strike to demand better pay and conditions in summer 2006, but their calls were only partially heard.The national minimum wage board has now proposed raising the minimum to £12 per month (Tk 1600), still only half the most basic living wage estimate.

 http://www.waronwant.org/Fashion+Victims+13593.twl