The capitalists seem to be going all out. They are laying off workers closing down businesses and more. Is it a coordinated movement? It sure seems like it. We had a slogan going on Facebook during the campaign:
The real job creators are the consumers.
This is certainly true for one very significant sector of the economy even though the defense and other welfare schemes for the rich are not directly subject to the will of consumers. And as Robert Reich points in
Supercapitalism this is a systems level issue yet the system is subject to the will of the consumer to some meaningful extent. We need to begin a consumer movement like there never has been before. It needs to be coordinated with the wave of attention to climate change that Sandy generated and certainly to the push for clean sources of energy that Europe has shown us is very much within reach for reasonable people. Let us focus here on the upcoming orgy. Read on below for more.
One of the most insidious forces in our society is the attempt of the religious to destroy science as well as to legislate the rules they never follow themselves as way of gaining power over all of us. We made some progress during the election but can not afford to let the momentum gained slip away.
It is no accident that the upcoming season, based solely one one religion's themes (yes others have events that occur during this season, but you know as well as I do who dominates) is one of the most significant contributions to the consumer economy of our country. It is not just the numbers but more the propaganda frames that have have become "American".
Robert Reich was correct in seeing consumerism as part of a larger system. That system manifested itself in so many ugly ways during he election. Yet we managed to overcome some of its thrusts. It is not time to relax. People are moving out there and we need to keep that movement going. The idea that we can make a transforming impact by how we spend or do not spend during the coming season makes sense. The idea that where we shop makes a difference makes sense. The idea that we can eat pizza or fried chicken in places less hostile to workers and gays than others makes sense. Often it may take a bit of effort. If that effort is in harmony with the effort of others the effects are not additive they magnify. There are levels and thresholds for any impact we make. Our whole value system is based on the power of joining with others to achieve a decent society.
I'll leave it to the numbers people to spell out what the numbers say. I am suggesting that we can generate numbers never seen before if we work together. The system is huge, interconnected, and full of inertia yet we can move it. We can change it. We can utilize the coming season and the effects of Sandy and the outcome of the election and the behavior of regressive business leaders and much more to weave together a theme and a direction for action. This time we can determine the way the wind is blowing without the aid of a weather man for we will be the cause.