Capitalism is over if you want it

“MANIFESTO (in progress)

Capitalism as now constituted has proven to be destructive for the vast majority of beings on the planet and the planet itself. The failure of the capitalist system has required vast inputs of public money, non-renewable resources, and human labor to keep it functioning and benefiting less than 1% of the global population[1]. Ignored in the fragile and oppressive capitalist scheme are the poor, the indigenous, and those most deeply affected by environmental degradation worldwide.

While human kind throughout history has engaged in trade, it is the co-option of trade into the capitalist military industrial system supported by U.S. and international taxpayers that we reject. The anti-globalization movement continues to lead the charge in resisting free trade agreements and treaties that defeat local health and safety regulations, decimate jobs, and cause environmental damage. We support  these efforts to reign in global corporations that seek to benefit from harmful trade agreements.

The current heartbreaking oil eruption coming from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most fragile, productive and important ecosystems on the planet is the latest expression of the incompetence of the capitalist industrial economy. No one knows where this latest spectacle of capitalist hubris will lead. We are appalled by the damage  and deeply unconfident in any capitalist government or corporate intervention in this epic disaster, yet are entirely dependent on their efforts to stop the damage, as we would never have the ability to destroy or exploit on this scale. And all of this has been done with U.S. taxpayer money through tax breaks to the oil industry making the U.S. taxpayer bear final responsibility for this debacle. As such, we bear the responsibility to say no to this system.

As horrifying as this catastrophe is, what hasn’t been highly publicized is that an Exxon Valdez sized oil spill has occurred on average every year for the past 50 years in the Niger Delta, according to an independent team of experts led by IUCN (International Union of Conservation for Nature) and the World Wildlife Fund.[2] This is a global crisis rooted in greed and capitalism.

Considering the lives that have been and will be lost, the environmental damage, the monetary costs that will accrue to the disenfranchised throughout the world, and the costs to our moral integrity – all due to criminal corporate negligence – a complete revolution in thinking about new models for sustainability and health is required.”