A weakness of the left is that we don’t have a list, that everyone is familiar with, of target “must change” structures that we seek to eliminate or radically transform to serve very different interests from “the overlords.”
In your post, you first speak of the ISDS “legal” system. If it is having the effects that you suggest, it surely should be a target. Good, so far.
I don’t really follow where you go from there. You seem to wander off into musing about whether anarchy might, by some mechanism you don’t specify, be the necessary response to corporate power. Unconvincing, to me, at this point.
Suggestion: Better to fill out the list of target changes, then figure out what is needed to transform them. Some of the targets (once achieved) will make possible other changes. Those get priority. A path including the logic of its steps will emerge from knowing the details of the terrain which must be transversed.
I guess this is ‘old news’, albeit one we never heard about, that everyone needs to see on headlines from now until it changes. I would encourage hammering home the fact of the ISDS everywhere anyone can, it’s such chilling confirmation of collusion that often seems so amorphous and hidden and out of reach and understanding.
Great interview Rachel 👍 I learned a lot and shared this one far and wide indeed- very accessible and of interest to many diverse people
Rachel, You nailed it with this piece. I will keep this one as reference and guiding light. One aspect of this problem is how business/ corporations externalize their impacts on the environment. Whether it is air, water, biodiversity, or ecosystem function; these can all be defined as public trusts. They are owned by the people to serve everyone. But business and corporations, if they can’t make money from them will externalize any costs related to them and put those costs on the people. The resources are then continually degraded, the corporations pay small amounts to mitigate impacts that are always greater than the mitigation and the public is betrayed by a “ tragedy of the commons”. So coming at the proble you outline here through these public trust values might offer another way of level the advantage of our corporatocracies. ESG, B corps, etc are a start as well.
Similar to a point you made, I definitely agree that the system purposefully highlights and stirs up cultural and religious controversy and debate (culture wars), as a way to deliberately draw the public's attention away from what the government and the elite class are actually doing, and also away from much more impactful, important issues, i.e daily bread and butter/socioeconomic issues. Thus, the people don't see the actual, systemic problems in society and don't hold those in power who're responsible for those problems, accountable.
It's high time the majority of society realize this and shift their attention towards such important issues and hold the government and the elite class accountable.
I guess this is ‘old news’, albeit one we never heard about, that everyone needs to see on headlines from now until it changes. I would encourage hammering home the fact of the ISDS everywhere anyone can, it’s such chilling confirmation of collusion that often seems so amorphous and hidden and out of reach and understanding.
Great interview Rachel 👍 I learned a lot and shared this one far and wide indeed- very accessible and of interest to many diverse people
Maybe It’s Anarchy After All
A weakness of the left is that we don’t have a list, that everyone is familiar with, of target “must change” structures that we seek to eliminate or radically transform to serve very different interests from “the overlords.”
In your post, you first speak of the ISDS “legal” system. If it is having the effects that you suggest, it surely should be a target. Good, so far.
I don’t really follow where you go from there. You seem to wander off into musing about whether anarchy might, by some mechanism you don’t specify, be the necessary response to corporate power. Unconvincing, to me, at this point.
Suggestion: Better to fill out the list of target changes, then figure out what is needed to transform them. Some of the targets (once achieved) will make possible other changes. Those get priority. A path including the logic of its steps will emerge from knowing the details of the terrain which must be transversed.
Criminals!
I guess this is ‘old news’, albeit one we never heard about, that everyone needs to see on headlines from now until it changes. I would encourage hammering home the fact of the ISDS everywhere anyone can, it’s such chilling confirmation of collusion that often seems so amorphous and hidden and out of reach and understanding.
Great interview Rachel 👍 I learned a lot and shared this one far and wide indeed- very accessible and of interest to many diverse people
Rachel, You nailed it with this piece. I will keep this one as reference and guiding light. One aspect of this problem is how business/ corporations externalize their impacts on the environment. Whether it is air, water, biodiversity, or ecosystem function; these can all be defined as public trusts. They are owned by the people to serve everyone. But business and corporations, if they can’t make money from them will externalize any costs related to them and put those costs on the people. The resources are then continually degraded, the corporations pay small amounts to mitigate impacts that are always greater than the mitigation and the public is betrayed by a “ tragedy of the commons”. So coming at the proble you outline here through these public trust values might offer another way of level the advantage of our corporatocracies. ESG, B corps, etc are a start as well.
Great article!
May I re-publish this, along with the interview, at The R-Word? https://rword.substack.com/
Well said.
Similar to a point you made, I definitely agree that the system purposefully highlights and stirs up cultural and religious controversy and debate (culture wars), as a way to deliberately draw the public's attention away from what the government and the elite class are actually doing, and also away from much more impactful, important issues, i.e daily bread and butter/socioeconomic issues. Thus, the people don't see the actual, systemic problems in society and don't hold those in power who're responsible for those problems, accountable.
It's high time the majority of society realize this and shift their attention towards such important issues and hold the government and the elite class accountable.
I guess this is ‘old news’, albeit one we never heard about, that everyone needs to see on headlines from now until it changes. I would encourage hammering home the fact of the ISDS everywhere anyone can, it’s such chilling confirmation of collusion that often seems so amorphous and hidden and out of reach and understanding.
Great interview Rachel 👍 I learned a lot and shared this one far and wide indeed- very accessible and of interest to many diverse people