Dissociation and the norm

Those of us in the urban world, in a developed country or part thereof, tend to think of commercial and consumption-based transactions very much in business terms, we talk of doing 'business' with one another, or providing a service or 'good', or being a 'resource' for your business. For many, the earth is something the … Continue reading Dissociation and the norm →

trade and environment

International trade rules, reflected in the WTO and its products such as GATS, TRIPS and others, have a huge effect on our local ecosystem functioning. It is surprising to me that more environmental campaigners do not lobby their governments to challenge these rules, which are deemed greater priority than many social or environmental safeguards are. … Continue reading trade and environment →

My personal demands for the Occupy movement

1: remove the ability of special interests to influence politics, through enacting into law publicly funded elections. Governments should be beholden to all people equally, all nature and future people and nature.2: shift from a system of representative democracy to suitable forms of participatory democracy.3: within national and global policies, place economy firmly as a subset … Continue reading My personal demands for the Occupy movement →

ownership

I know, I know, it is too reminiscent of the days of Communism to talk about 'common ownership', and we all know and it is proven that ownership under the capitalist system generally inspires good and efficient care of a resource (using certain criteria), but still....some part of me has always struggled with a system … Continue reading ownership →

Questions

Why is there this system, where one can afford vastly more than the next - this is the free market mechanism, supposedly, that 'creates wealth'. For how many does it create wealth, and what are the social and environmental costs of wealth creation associated and unaccounted for? Must there be poverty and joblessness in order … Continue reading Questions →

A thought on inequality

The fact that we live side by side, and yet some live in squalor and cannot afford some of the basic services and material goods while others lead disgustingly excessive lives, is immoral and should be criminal. One cannot attribute this to the hard work and ingenuity of some and the laziness of others. There … Continue reading A thought on inequality →