I have an idea. It is founded on two premises:
1. That sustained boycotts are difficult to pull off, since they require such a consistent effort on the part of so many, and since, if successful, they may have a more harmful effect on the economy than those who are not pure anarchists might be comfortable getting on board with.
2. That progressive causes are popular causes, and that if this could be proven to the media and politicians, the spirit of democracy could be stimulated.
The idea is this: single day or week long efforts of focused consumer restraint that would be statistically measurable as referenda of sorts.
I'll explain more below.
What would happen if just one day the sale of gasoline in the US fell by 25%, then went right back to normal the next day? Or what would happen if automobile sales were 25% lower than normal just for one week? I'm not really sure to be honest. I don't even know if it would be measurable, but I think it could be potentially huge if it were covered by the news. And it's just the type of story that the "alphabet" media loves to cover.
Here's one scenario. Through a saturation advertisement campaign that targets all forms of media, a day is announced that corresponds to a cause and an action. For example, if you think that the war in Iraq was wrong, then don't buy gas on April Fool's day. You can buy gas the day before and the day after, and from any company that is convenient for you, but just make sure your tank is full enough so that you don't have to make your next purchase on that particular day (I'm all in favor of consistently boycotting ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco, but unfortunately this is not sure to get statistically relevant results).
Another scenario is that if you're thinking about buying a car, we all simply put off the purchase by one scheduled week.
Most likely, a one day or week effort would not seriously hurt the companies that it was aimed at, and it would surely not harm the overall economy. But if it was measured and reported on, then the numbers would prove that the public is serious.
Could a set of odd holidays or other dates be announced as action days and tied to specific causes? How difficult would this be to pull off nation-wide? The power of it is that it is really non-committal. You just don't do something for one day (you don't have to feel so strongly that you are ready to handcuff yourself to a building or lie down in the street). No one even has to know that you're doing it if you're in the closet about your progressivism. Could it be freeped if they are willing to buy twice as much gas on the same day? How about twice as many cars in a single week?
The other plus is that since its a harmless thing (economically), the corporate media might not so apt to cover it up as they might be with a long term boycott that has the intention of bankrupting a particular company.
What this requires, though is a very coordinated effort to get the word out about the action days and what each means. They have to be drilled into everyone's memory deeper than trash day or your anniversary.
I'm afraid too that if it failed, it would act against us since the publicity would necessarily build it up with expectations. I can just see the data being falsified and the wingnut talkshow hosts laughing at us like it's November 3rd all over again. Most likely though they won't think it will work. And they might be right.
It might be a bad idea, but since I had the thought, I figured I'd share it with you.
Please bash away...maybe through figuring out the weaknesses, it could be made stronger, or discarded if it's too full of holes. I'd also like to hear from those who know how the statistics might work and how word of the dates could best be disseminated.
Also, has this been tried before? Was there any success with "buy nothing day"? Again it's hard to buy NOTHING. For a lot of commodity addicted Americans, that is a Ghandian sacrifice.