We live in a time of heavy fog. A time when, though many
of us dissent and resist, humanity seems committed to a course of collective
suicide in the name of preserving an economic system that generates scarcity no
matter how much is actually produced. To demand that all have enough to eat on
a planet that grows enough food, that absurd numbers of people do not die from
preventable disease, that utter human deprivation amongst plenty is not
tolerated, or that we put the natural laws of the biosphere above socially
constructed economic “laws” — is presented as unrealistic, as the fantasy of
idealists or those who are naive to the “complexity” of the world’s problems.
If we create and recreate the world everyday, then how has it become so
supposedly absurd to believe we might actually create a world that is honestly
making the possibilities of egalitarianism, justice and democracy?
Capitalism — the logic of subordinating every aspect of
life to the accumulation of profit (i.e. the “rules of the market”) — has
become today’s “common sense.” It has become almost unthinkable to imagine
coherent alternatives to this logic, even when considering the most basic of
human needs — food, water, healthcare, education. Though many have an
understanding of capitalism’s failings, there is a resignation towards its
inevitability. Margaret Thatcher’s famous words, “There Is No Alternative,” no
longer need to be spoken, they are simply accepted as normal, non-ideological,
neutral.
What
sustains the tragic myth that There Is No Alternative? Those committed
to building a more just future must begin re-thinking and revealing the
taken-for-granted assumptions that make capitalism “common sense,” and bring
these into the realm of mainstream public debate in order to widen horizons of
possibility. We can’t leave this task to the pages of peer-reviewed journals
and classrooms of social theory — these conversations must enter also into the
family dining rooms and TV screens. Here
are some thoughts on conversation starters:
