Want to be part of the antidisestablishmentarianism movement? Too bad, I don't know what that means.
My brother mentioned the idea of becoming "corporate". He got himself a regular haircut & took out some peircings, etc.
Here's my off-the-cuff reply:
You're not really corporate. Realize that the idea that how you look defines who you are is a huge marketing ploy, mostly from the folks who want to sell you clothes & makeup. The broader ploy is that buying product A vs. product B defines who you are. They even sell anti-corporate values. Want to reducing the impact of logging? Buy recycled paper. Want to reduce polution from cars? Buy a hybrid car.
In actuality, the only way you can truly disarm corporate power is to not buy from them at all. When they stop getting money, they lose power.
One way to reduce how much you spend is to reduce how much you earn. Earning less has other implications, so then the challenge becomes "discover happyness without money".
Another way is to only buy from non-corporations. It's hard to find people doing things that aren't big money for someone. When I do, I try to jump at the opportunity. My son and I saw a street musician on Sunday. He wasn't very good, but we gave him $5 anyway. I know that 100% of that went to the musician, not the RIAA. We buy milk and butter directly from the farmer (actually we own part of the herd!).
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7 comments:
The "weird posts" were spam. I've deleted them, and turned on "word verification" to discourage spammers.
Glad you like the blog.
Good catch, Tim. I've deleted that one, as well.
So what about co-ops?
What about them?
Can you be more specific? The term "co-op" has been used for a variety of enterprises. Which did you have in mind?
Well, co-ops in the sense of businesses that are owned by the employees. Many of them are incorporated or are LLCs, but the values of most co-ops (I wouldn't want to say "all," because I'm just not familiar with really any co-ops other than the local ones) are quite different than the stereotypical "corporate" value system.
So the question is, are incorporated co-ops also something that should be disarmed by not giving them money? I'd personally say not, since in my experience co-ops are more interested in community-building than increasing the profits of their shareholders.
James, if you get a chance, I recommend you read Beyond Civilization by Daniel Quinn (and the 3 books that come before it in the series).
What it describes is a model for organizing people that serves those people, unlike a corporation where the goal is to serve the shareholders and executives.
I have limited experience with coops, but they seem like they could fit in with the non-corporation paragraph I wrote.
Looks like a good book! I'll have to order it once I'm done moving. :)
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