Privation of Power and the Power of Privatization 3

an alienating leisure, transformed into yet another consumer product, displaced the previous kinds of leisure, which were participatory, hedonistic, lucid and at the same time, rooted in the social life of the individual - this gave rise to youth sub-cultures and a growing stratification of life along social, sexual and age lines - the new morality trumpeted the benefits of growth, of the triumph and success of the individual as well as preaching progress, the concept of savings and the entrepreneurial spirit, to the detriment of such traits as reciprocity, cooperation and solidarity - this was compounded by an educational system based upon the direct transmission of knowledge, experiences, techniques and moral codes - what resulted were schools that were alienating and alienated, factories of precisely the kind of citizens without imagination or rebellion which such a system demanded.

[Privation of Power and the Power of Privatization 1,2,3 excerpted from: Contribution to "Balancing the Future", Amsterdam 9-13 May 1993, BUILDING THE FUTURE, Karin Nansen, Ruben Prieto, Silvia Ribeiro; Third World ecologists]

Privation of Power and the Power of Privatization 3