Last night I heard Naomi Klein (author of The Shock Doctrine, and an all around brilliant commentator) speak at the No on the Keystone XL Pipeline demonstration pre-meeting at All-Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. Her message was inspiring and poetic--"the pipeline will pump poison", "we need to cut off the arteries and cause a heart attack" for this "monstrosity that we have created". "Alberta has lost their minds" to the "intoxicating oil curse," and "they need our help." "We are here to prevent catastrophic climate change." "I believe we can stop the pipeline." She brought the audience of 500 to a rousing standing ovation.
The crowd was pumped up and ready to go. We'll be out in force at today's historic circling of the White House to demand that President Obama veto the State Department's inadequate Environmental Impact Statement and stop the pipeline. Stay tuned for a report on the demonstration.
Klein only spent a moment discussing what her alternative vision is. She said that the "economic model of 'drill baby drill' is suicide," and "the idea of 'never enough' will be the end of us." She referred to a sign that read "Greed is Gross" and call for a shifting of the underlying values of the culture. All good with me.
However, she criticized those who focus only on climate change/cutting fossil fuels--i.e. those who say "we don't have time" for a broader cultural change, and who say we should be "changing our light bulbs". Now here I have to admit I took offense--I felt that her comment could have been aimed at me. So I'd like to respond. (pardon the lengthy thoughts, but I hope you bear with me since I think this is important)
First, it is clear that changing light bulbs, and conservation in general, while very important, will not stop climate change. To do that we need to stop using fossil fuels. This means that we have to put the most profitable industry in the world today, and in world history, out of business. And they will only go kicking and screaming.
As difficult as this goal will be, it will not be as difficult as overthrowing the whole capitalist system would be. In fact, there are allies in the capitalist system that can help us (i.e. the 99%) defeat oil, coal, and gas. These include renewable energy companies, utility companies, and car companies--all of whom can profit by the switch to solar, wind, and electric cars. In addition there will be thousands of small companies installing solar, upgrading home electrical systems, installing charging equipment, etc. who can all benefit within the capitalist system, and provide good jobs at the same time. In fact, I would argue that we need the creative, inventive ability of capitalism to bring more green energy and products into the competitive market. The Chevy Volt is great, but it will be much greater as competition forces it to improve its batteries and lower its costs.
So I would ask Naomi Klein to clarify her vision of the future. Yes, we need a "radical revolution of values", as Martin Luther King, Jr. called for. I know from 25 years of working in the public sector for the City and County of San Francisco, many of those as a supervisor and manager, that people are motivated by much more than money--peer relations, a sense of achievement, a feeling of empowerment--these are what motivate people. Aside from possible promotions, which are an important motivator in the long run, we didn't have the power to give bonuses or pay raises to recognize good work, but people worked hard nonetheless, and I'm proud of our achievements.
However, there is also an important role for private enterprise and competition. I know that we avoided no-bid projects like the plague. Without at least two or three bids, a contractor could gouge us unmercifully. This is why socialist countries with Soviet style command economies failed. Factories would produce goods without concern for quality and whether the consumer wanted them or not.
So I'm arguing that we need a vision of a mixed economy with the 99% in control. What does this look like?
Politically, we need to end the "corporations are people" legal ruling, by amendment to the U.S. Constitution if necessary. Corporations are only in business to make money, and if they fail to maximize profits, they can be sued by their shareholders. In fact, now that it is legal for corporations to contribute to candidates (Citizens United Ruling), it could be considered poor management for corporations not to buy as many elected officials as possible. As argued above, people are motivated by a whole range of human emotions, money being only one. Corporations are not people.
So this is a vision that I would like to share with the No on the Keystone XL Pipeline movement and all those working for peace and justice. Thanks for reading.
The crowd was pumped up and ready to go. We'll be out in force at today's historic circling of the White House to demand that President Obama veto the State Department's inadequate Environmental Impact Statement and stop the pipeline. Stay tuned for a report on the demonstration.
Klein only spent a moment discussing what her alternative vision is. She said that the "economic model of 'drill baby drill' is suicide," and "the idea of 'never enough' will be the end of us." She referred to a sign that read "Greed is Gross" and call for a shifting of the underlying values of the culture. All good with me.
However, she criticized those who focus only on climate change/cutting fossil fuels--i.e. those who say "we don't have time" for a broader cultural change, and who say we should be "changing our light bulbs". Now here I have to admit I took offense--I felt that her comment could have been aimed at me. So I'd like to respond. (pardon the lengthy thoughts, but I hope you bear with me since I think this is important)
First, it is clear that changing light bulbs, and conservation in general, while very important, will not stop climate change. To do that we need to stop using fossil fuels. This means that we have to put the most profitable industry in the world today, and in world history, out of business. And they will only go kicking and screaming.
As difficult as this goal will be, it will not be as difficult as overthrowing the whole capitalist system would be. In fact, there are allies in the capitalist system that can help us (i.e. the 99%) defeat oil, coal, and gas. These include renewable energy companies, utility companies, and car companies--all of whom can profit by the switch to solar, wind, and electric cars. In addition there will be thousands of small companies installing solar, upgrading home electrical systems, installing charging equipment, etc. who can all benefit within the capitalist system, and provide good jobs at the same time. In fact, I would argue that we need the creative, inventive ability of capitalism to bring more green energy and products into the competitive market. The Chevy Volt is great, but it will be much greater as competition forces it to improve its batteries and lower its costs.
So I would ask Naomi Klein to clarify her vision of the future. Yes, we need a "radical revolution of values", as Martin Luther King, Jr. called for. I know from 25 years of working in the public sector for the City and County of San Francisco, many of those as a supervisor and manager, that people are motivated by much more than money--peer relations, a sense of achievement, a feeling of empowerment--these are what motivate people. Aside from possible promotions, which are an important motivator in the long run, we didn't have the power to give bonuses or pay raises to recognize good work, but people worked hard nonetheless, and I'm proud of our achievements.
However, there is also an important role for private enterprise and competition. I know that we avoided no-bid projects like the plague. Without at least two or three bids, a contractor could gouge us unmercifully. This is why socialist countries with Soviet style command economies failed. Factories would produce goods without concern for quality and whether the consumer wanted them or not.
So I'm arguing that we need a vision of a mixed economy with the 99% in control. What does this look like?
- Protect the safety net of social security, unemployment insurance, medicare. . .
- Protect all public services such as schools, libraries, parks, police, fire, public works, public transportation, public health. . .
- Expand all of this to include healthcare for all, free colleges, increased environmental protection, occupational safety, city planning for walkable and bike friendly cities, rebuild our infrastructure--roads, bridges, seismic safety, . . .
- Pay for this with progressive income and wealth taxes, an end to corporate subsidies, a tax on Wall Street transactions, . . .
- And also pay for this by cuts to the military, which won't be needed to engage in wars for oil or other resources.
Politically, we need to end the "corporations are people" legal ruling, by amendment to the U.S. Constitution if necessary. Corporations are only in business to make money, and if they fail to maximize profits, they can be sued by their shareholders. In fact, now that it is legal for corporations to contribute to candidates (Citizens United Ruling), it could be considered poor management for corporations not to buy as many elected officials as possible. As argued above, people are motivated by a whole range of human emotions, money being only one. Corporations are not people.
So this is a vision that I would like to share with the No on the Keystone XL Pipeline movement and all those working for peace and justice. Thanks for reading.
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