David Korten on Time of Useful Consciousness Radio

Hi All,

I want to plug this excellent speech by David Korten. It was delivered in March 2009 at the Northwest Regional Veterans for Peace Conference. I heard it the evening of Wednesday, December 30, 2009, on KAOS 89.3 FM Radio. The speech is in two parts, and both are excellent. The speech is titled, "Community and the New Economy: Why Wall Street Can't be Fixed, and How to Replace it."

In the speech Korten very clearly talks about what's happening in our world in relation to corporate power, militarism, policies of dominance, economics of growth and profitability, violence, poverty, socio-economic inequality and exploitation, and environmental degradation (among other topics.)

Korten also addresses the hopeful and great potential that exists for change to a society (and a money system) that would serve life (rather than profit) - a society that would be cooperative, consensual and mutually beneficial for all people.

I think the speech is a very worthwhile listen.

Korten is the Chair of the Board of Yes! Magazine.

Here are links to the streaming audio, in two parts; an excerpt (that I transcribed,) and a link to the Time of Useful Consciousness Radio Program website.

Please enjoy!

Part One: http://www.tucradio.org/090429_Korten_ONE.mp3

Part Two: http://www.tucradio.org/090506_Korten_TWO.mp3

excerpt:

"...replacing the culture and institutions of an economy devoted to the service of money, with the culture an institutions of an economy devoted to the service of life...

"War is an outmoded institution that serves no beneficial purpose other than to enrich the unscrupulous - and it has become an act of global scale collective suicide."

links to the mp3s can also be found here: http://www.tucradio.org/

Kindly,
Berd

Capitalism ≠ Democracy

Capitalism does not equal democracy. In fact, in many respects, an under-regulated/deregulated/unregulated capitalism is anti-democratic. In a capitalistic society, where monied interests have privilege and special influence over government, democracy is threatened, because the pre-requisite for full access to political participation is money. Under capitalism, money is the object of worship - instead of democracy, where participation in decision-making by people is the ideal. So, capitalism does not equal democracy. Nor does the practice of free-market capitalism constitute freedom. True freedom necessitates freedom for all. In a capitalism that is practiced without adherence to humanistic moral principles (where, for example, great powers are driven to war with each other for profit,) there is no freedom. There is only slavery. Even the rich are enslaved to the financial bottom-line, enslaved by want for money, and enslaved also by fear of losing money. In a society where capitalistic is under-regulated, the interests of profit are put before the interests of people. People are hurt, sacrificed, and more-or-less enslaved to serve the interests of capital.

Instead of this, I think it would be better where people work to serve the interests of themselves, of humanity, and of all life. Toward a life-serving society, Berd

Challenging the Dominant Paradigm

The following is a comment I made on facebook in response to a friend's status update: "capitalism: boom, bust, boom, bust." There was ensuing discussion about the comment. There was talk about taxing the "rich." One person said that if we were to increase taxes on the rich, then he would want to know how to define rich, because he makes a lot of money and wouldn't want to be taxed...

So the following are a few thoughts I shared, thoughts about harmful economic activities, about cultural change, and etc.. It's not thoroughly fleshed out here; it's not perfectly composed and it's far from complete. But it is important to challenge the dominant paradigm, so I wanted to share.

Everything is not okay. It's not "all good." Still, all the same, another world is possible -- a better world -- a truly richer and more prosperous world. A world that doesn't infringe on the health and well-being of so many (in the present and in the future.) So please, read on.

There are multiple ways to define rich. It's important to have common definitions from which to work, for the purpose of intelligent conversation. I won't attempt to define the exact perameters here, but for the purposes of this discussion, I suggest this definition for affluence: the ability to buy without regard to, or worry about price.

There is nothing wrong with making money, in and of itself -- so long as no one gets hurt in the process. The problem is that we're dealing with socio-economic harmfulness on a grand scale. There is a lot of harm being done, it's so prevalent that it's actually easy not to see it. It's easy to take for granted.

So, while many activities may not be illegal -- it doesn't mean that they aren't harmful.

It just so happens that many of the activities that generate great financial profit are also harmful. Currently, the tax rate is not high enough. Harmful economic activities should be taxed 100% -- because we will all be better off without harmful economic activities. All of us.

We have a culture that promotes aggressive and destructive competition. But we can change that.

Another world is possible. A world where people don't take without asking. A world where people don't beat each other up. A world where people don't seek to dominate each other. A world without oppression.

This other world is possible.

...a world without bullying...a world where people have power with each other, rather than over each other...

Naomi Klein on the Shock Doctrine: Disaster Capitalism

Naomi Klein on Shock Doctrine from The Real News

Naomi Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of the international and New York Times bestseller The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Klein's previous book No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies was also an international bestseller. Klein is a former Miliband Fellow at the London School of Economics and holds an honorary Doctor of Civil Laws from the University of King’s College, Nova Scotia. For more information on The Shock Doctrine visit http://www.naomiklein.org/main

Naomi Klein on Obama

Klein speaks about Obama and the intellectual and political integrity of the progressive movement:


Also see: Naomi Klein on Shock Doctrine, Disaster Capitalism opens the way for off-shore oil drilling:

Naomi Klein: "Corporations are built to be opportunistic. That's their mission. If there's an opportunity, they must take advantage of it, and it's in the interests of their shareholders, and they shouldn't be sentimental about it. So that's what capitalism is supposed to do: take advantage of opportunities. What I'm talking about, and what I mean by disaster capitalism, is a political strategy."

Life Sustaining Society v. Industrial Growth "Plantation Capitalism"

posted a new blog at OlyBlog, check it out: olyblog.net/thoughts-city-government-and-council-meeting

Disaster Capitalist's Delight: War on Iran

Two articles that I want to share. One by Naomi Klein, Disaster Capitalism, details the process by which certain corporations are making massive profits off of wars and environmental catastrophes. I think this article is subscription only, but you may be able to find free copies on the Internet:

go to original
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"There is only one cloud that looms over the thriving disaster economy—from weapons to oil to engineering to surveillance to patented drugs. It is the threatening if unlikely scenario that this latest boom could somehow be interrupted by an outbreak of climatic stability and geopolitical peace."

And Seymour Hersh writes about a prediction that the Bush Administration will launch an attack on Iran under the auspices that Iran is providing material support for Iraqis to attack US Soldiers in Iraq:

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In a series of public statements in recent months, President Bush and members of his Administration have redefined the war in Iraq, to an increasing degree, as a strategic battle between the United States and Iran. “Shia extremists, backed by Iran, are training Iraqis to carry out attacks on our forces and the Iraqi people,” Bush told the national convention of the American Legion in August. “The attacks on our bases and our troops by Iranian-supplied munitions have increased. . . . The Iranian regime must halt these actions. And, until it does, I will take actions necessary to protect our troops.” He then concluded, to applause, “I have authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran’s murderous activities.”
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"Citizen's Screwed by High ATM Fees" - Barbara Ehrenreich on Advertising and Media

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A few years back, as a columnist for a national magazine, I wrote a piece about direct-to-consumer drug advertising, leading off with a description of the Claritin commercials: blue skies, flowers, and the instruction to ask your physician about this wonder product. The column, which I will admit was a tad sarcastic, was rejected without intelligible explanation. At least there was no explanation until I saw the magazine’s next issue, which featured a two-page advertisement for Claritin.

And note: My column was not called the Schering-Plough Healthcare Products Inc. Column. It would have been separated by many pages from the Claritin ad. But that apparently wasn’t far enough. As Gloria Steinem reported in 1990, advertisers can be very finicky about the editorial content that might appear in the same magazine as their ads. Ms. magazine ran into trouble because it often contained the dangerously upsetting word “lesbian.”
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Cut The Funds - Stop the Killing - Stop the Occupation

The pin on my chest is of a crossed out dollar sign.

Rest assured, I have not completely disbarred capitalism from my world view. I do however believe that the current capitalism that is being practiced in the USA and exported to the rest of the world is destructive, harmful and violent.

The pin is to say no to further appropriations and war funding.

I heard today that since the Democrats got into office, more money is being spent on the war in Iraq.

There will be no peace - There will be no justice - until capitalism can somehow be made to conform to ethical and moral principles. Killing innocent civilians, as has occurred in Iraq, in order to perform economic expansion - as has (arguably) occurred in Iraq - is tantamount to murder, plain and simple.

I know that this is money (and economic resources otherwise) that could be much better spent and used in our communities here in the USA.

To waste it on an aggressive invasion and in the fighting of a pointless occupation of imperialism (which has only served to exacerbate and promote global terrorism by the way) is an atrocity. The invasion and this ongoing military action in Iraq ranks among the highest of crimes.