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Economic Withdrawal

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opednews.com

To conclude, all these questions strongly indicate that the education suggested by both Rothbard and La Boetie must begin within the "cadre" itself. G. Edward Griffin effectively summarizes with the following observations:

"There is no point in worrying about the erosion of personal freedom that is the reality of our present era if we can do nothing about it. They say that knowledge is power, but that is one of the greatest myths of all history. Knowledge without action is useless and leads only to apathy and despair. So the question is: what type of action can reverse this trend? Writing letters and signing petitions to the same people who have created the problem is not going to do it. Voting for candidates selected by power brokers with hidden agendas will not do it either. There have been many proposals to reverse the tide of totalitarianism but, after decades of effort, none of them have worked." [11]

At the most basic level, the cadre must understand that tyranny rests on mass consent and its overthrow will be accomplished only by mass withdrawal of that consent. Further, as long as labor is a cost of production employers will be highly motivated to drive wages as close to zero as possible. So the best way to end this struggle is for workers to simply " fire their bosses" [12] and to democratize both the workplace and finance. The people who are already members of existing Worker Cooperatives are indeed the "cadre", and these people must somehow become aware of their potential impact on society and begin to collaborate with other Worker Cooperatives to expand the cooperative movement and provide ready access for new participants.

Notes:

[1] De La Boétie, Étienne (1552). "The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude". http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/laboetie.html

[2] Schweickart, David (11/26/2008). "Bailout!". OpEd News. http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bailout-by-David-Schweickart-081126-959.html

[3] Schweickart, David (June 2002). "After Capitalism". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0742513009

[4] Wikipedia, (01/02/2009). "Economic Democracy". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_democracy#An_alternative_model

[5] Rothbard, Murray N. (1975). "The Politics of Obedience". LewRockwell.com. http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard29.html

[6] King, Dr. Martin Luther (1968). "I've Been To The Mountain Top". Stanford University. http://www-leland.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/I've_been_to_the_mountaintop.pdf

[7] King, Coretta Scott (03/21/1988). "Statement by Mrs Coretta Scott King at the meeting of the Special Committee against Apartheid on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Sharpeville Day)". United Nations document A/AC.115/PV.614. http://www.anc.org.za/un/ngo/sp032188.html

[8] Wikipedia (). "Economic catalyst". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_catalyst

[9] Schweickart, David (Fall 2008). "Is Sustainable Capitalism an Oxymoron?". Synthesis/Regeneration. http://www.greens.org/s-r/47/47-03.html

[10] Anonymous

[11] Griffin, G. Edward (2008). "An Idea Whose Idea Has Come". The Silver Bear Cafe. http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/1.08/idea.html

[12] Freilla, Omar (2008). "Want Environmental Justice? Fire Your Boss". Race, Poverty & the Environment: A Journal for Social and Environmental Justice. http://www.urbanhabitat.org/node/534

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David Kendall lives in WA and is concerned about the future of our world.

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Divide we fall. by Joe Vignolo on Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 at 8:02:47 PM
Indeed... by David Kendall on Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 at 4:11:30 AM
A contribution by Deena Stryker on Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 at 7:59:56 PM
more things. by William Whitten on Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 at 9:20:31 PM
They are telling us by Deena Stryker on Sunday, Jan 4, 2009 at 10:05:32 PM
No hablo Anglais? by David Kendall on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 3:14:34 PM
rothbard, ideology, etc. by karl marx on Monday, Jan 5, 2009 at 8:35:21 AM
There are no victims; only volunteers... by David Kendall on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 3:28:29 PM
Addendum... by David Kendall on Tuesday, Jan 6, 2009 at 4:10:49 PM