Still, given the disasters that will surely reward our inaction, there is an imperative that we at least try to reclaim the power to correct this flawed idea known as the corporation. Derrick Jensen suggests that there is a tipping point at which we must take action, a point where we can wait no longer. What would it take to bring fully into the consciousness of the majority the clear and present danger represented by the multi-national corporation? How could we mobilize the 90% to impose their will, for their well-being, on an elite that is killing them? Many of the most admired figures in history have spoken out against the corporation - from Abraham Lincoln to Albert Einstein - and today a determined core of committed commentators bear daily witness to the criminality of multi-national corporations. And yet, the ground-swell for change seems completely absent. As Ralph Nader recently asked: "What could start a popular resurgence in this country against the abuses of concentrated, avaricious corporatism?" The surprising events of the "Arab Spring" demonstrate (again) that populist sparks are not easily predicted. But, at the very least, we need to anticipate and to prepare for the spark, if not actively set for it the most favorable conditions. We must clearly establish in the public mind that multi-national corporations are at the heart of all the trends that so seriously threaten us. We must advance the notion that their power can be subordinated and that their linkage with the political class can be dramatically curtailed and made transparent. We must challenge the supremacy of the corporation as we also champion positive alternatives to it. We must organize, and begin now to exercise the wide range of actions available to us, across international boundaries, and in collaboration with the widest possible array of compatible interest groups. And we must articulate the vision of where all these efforts could ultimately lead.
So, yes, by all means, let us make the effort to change the system! Let's embrace the wisdom that "a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world". But change it to what? We enjoy everyday the fruits of the multi-national corporations' labors - can we really build a future without their produce and products? There is a place - a need, in fact - for large economic entities. In any changed world, people will still go to work and make stuff and deliver services; in a system of new economics, though, we'd wish to do it in a much more enlightened way (hence the need for a clearly articulated vision of the future). How, then, do we constrain the excesses of corporate power while building acceptable economic alternatives? We start by moving past simple protest. It's easy, if not warmly satisfying, to conjure righteous anger for the corporate executives and the politicians who serve them. But doing so serves their interests much more than ours, since it steals the focus from what needs to be done.
And now they hope to distract us with Bachmann vs Palin! Come on! You've got more important things to do. So get started.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
4
4
3
