State of Our World: Open_Notes 21

wealth under capitalism = capital, private ownership, unlimited accumulation - expansion imperative built in [the economy doing fine, its only the people who are doing poorly]; rapid turnover urge, paper investment preferred; no equilibrium with nature - expansion 1. taking 2. new markets [the creation of need (or effective demand)] - with production surplus, production is used to create demand [the invention of new needs] - the commodity(-ies) penetrate all levels of life; all becomes commodity including life [basic needs; DNA, etc.]; all become marketable !! - NO RELATIONSHIP TO HUMAN WELL-BEING - the "logic" of commodity penetrates all thinking [a reduction to commodification; no value unless monied value]; the commodity form itself determines a capitalist society's relationship with nature, including self-validations [needs, wants] -- no one questions products made, whether these are socially-needed products, ie., military goods, chemicals, etc., no one questions the relationship of worker-to-product [the logic of indifference; the alienation from the job] - the marketing of labor power undermines our relationship with nature and with each other !!

maximization of profit vs. sustainability [the ecological outlook] - increase of consumption does not equal an increase in the quality of life; life sharply delimited into roles -- we must think of things in our *whole* lives [our social engagement; FAMILY of GOD]; we must redesign work to make it worker-friendly -- the costs of capitalism are externalized and then the costs are denied [the impact] - ecological diversity, the demands of nature must be emphasized, not capitalist demands -- interfering in profit-taking, the boundaries of protests [challenging the logic of the capitalistic system] are limited by the systemic; it will protect itself even unto ecocide !! -- fragmentation of knowledge makes all this possible; [life is a right NOT a privilege to be commodified]; production is justified only if it is people-friendly, ie., agro-ecology vs. corporate-chemical farms - we must challenge the pathways of development and the logic of the systemic itself - we must mobilize [and apply] the vast collective intelligence of humanity !! -- [Notes 20,21] [NPR, Alternative Radio, ecologist Richard Levens, "The Ecology of Capitalism", Jan.27.01, [with inserts]]

State of Our World: Open_Notes 21