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Buy Nothing Day 2009
There's only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.
So this November 27 (November 28 in Europe and overseas), we're calling for a Wildcat General Strike. We're asking tens of millions of people around the world to bring the capitalist consumption machine to a grinding - if only momentary - halt.
We want you to not only stop buying for 24 hours, but to shut off your lights, televisions and other nonessential appliances. We want you to park your car, turn off your phones and log off of your computer for the day.
We're calling for a Ramadan-like fast. From sunrise to sunset we'll abstain en masse, not only from holiday shopping, but from all the temptations of our five-planet lifestyles.
Take the Plunge:
You know what they say: a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. You feel that things are falling apart - the temperature rising, the oceans churning, the global economy heaving - why not do something? Take just one small step toward a more just and sustainable future. Make a pact with yourself: go on a consumer fast. Lock up your credit cards, put away your cash and opt out of the capitalist spectacle. You may find that it's harder than you think, that the impulse to buy is more ingrained in you than you ever realized. But you will persist and you will transcend - perhaps reaching the kind of epiphany that can change the world.
For more information:
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68 Comments so far
Show Allnice did you go already and lead the way?
A very good solution. The poor dears will keep on fucking without condoms. And then you have the really insane breeders who condemn birth control and put down condoms because once in a while they don't work (like once in a while you get hit by lighting). And these are usually the same breeders who don't want queers to adopt or get married or have 'normal' lives, and insist that a woman can't have control over her own body and have an abortion. Yes, a very good solution.
Here is a better idea. Try buying something of higher quality value, from food to whatever products. If it lasts longer, you won't have to buy so much. Here is something that must be made clear. Our current economic system is mainly based on the mantra "whole sale volume sale good, quality not so important and bad for the economy". In other words, what gets taught and made "acceptable" is that disposable production just to boost the volume sales regardless of the damage done to the environment, people's health, and even everyone's pocketbooks is somehow "good for the economy". If quality production had gotten any say, which neither extreme cares to admit, we wouldn't be having this consumerism hell. We can't just have a "Buy Nothing Day" one day and then spend like there's no tomorrow all other days. I suggest that each and everyone of us learn to value the quality of what we buy so that in the long run, we can buy less. Price gouging is another factor too that cannot be ignored if we are to strive for higher quality and long term savings for both us and Mother Earth.
P.S.: Happy Thanksgiving even though I am a little late. :)
Where does one buy these 'better quality' products, Jennifer? Seems like most brand names mean nothing now. Other than electronics, everything seems to be crap. Microwaves, can openers, toasters, coffee makers, even wash machines are not near as durable as they used to be. When our White-Westinghouse wash machine broke down (the water fill and spin cycles work, but it no longer agitates), I told her I'd wash the clothes by hand, rather than buy another Chinese piece of crap. It's 3 years later and I still do it. It's good exercise. :o)
That is a very good question. I would start out with going local and bringing back the small mom-and-pop stores that used to exist before the Walmarts and the Targets took over and got worse. Most brand names are untrustworthy with rare exceptions. If more people went local and found better ways to integrate on larger scales without getting sloppy about it, then going global wouldn't have been so bad. In addition to going local, fair trade needs to be put back on the table.
The reason our products are crappier and prone to faster wear and tear has to do with the way society resigns itself to putting quantity over quality. This is the inherent reason I believe that the "free" trade scams that would have otherwise gone nowhere went global and have yet to face serious opposition. The Chinese workers are being worked to death like slaves. Not buying from them actually helps them and us. It helps us to see the beauty of our own hard work and gives us good exercise to improve our health. It helps them because they don't have to settle for a slave labor job. Exercise indeed. :)
Buy German :-)
Great idea except for when it came to autos where I thought that the Japanese were the best at it. I like their dedication and wished more people here would learn from them rather than mocking them.
Well then just don't buy a car haha. If I am able to live my life without ever driving even once, I will die happy.
Unless I die from getting hit by a car.
Oh, don't feel so bad. Those of us driving are the ones paying the price of sore butts, cramped legs, and minds going insane over daily traffic congestion. Trust me, you're much better off than us drivers. :)
P.S.: One of these days, more places will be as good as Washington when it comes to public transportation. At least I hope.
'I would start out with going local and bringing back the small mom-and-pop stores that used to exist before the Walmarts and the Targets took over...'
I agree wholeheartedly, but those mom and pops, which I always loved and preferred patronizing, are gone. In my neighborhood here in nyc, all the locally owned stores are gone...all of them!...replaced by (you got it) the chains, which simply smash the mom and pops on pricing. Of course, there's also the matter of loans and other financial support for small businesses, which, despite the rhetoric, is non-existent.
So the problem is systemic, and I'm afraid your solution is not realistic. Would be lovely to bring back the mom and pops, but until we get rid of corportism and a fascist political system whereby money = power, it's not possible.
Sigh, you are correct about the problem being systematic. The financial support for small business needs to be brought back, something I doubt Washington will allow without a fight.
Your reply also reminded me of the general attitude to small mom-and-pop stores. I think that more people are slowly getting around to understanding the beauty of going local and why mom-and-pop win on quality hands down. A worsening economy will expedite that improved learning I hope. However, I notice that even the rural folks generally prefer WalMart to their local mom-and-pop. I don't know why this remains so. I myself used to take mom-and-pop for granted until I moved to St Louis a few years ago. Slowly, I became better aware of them and regretted my then childish attitude towards them when I should have known better. Sometimes I cannot help but wonder why a great deal of us living in the big cities or even parts of the suburbs closer to the inner cities have a heart for going local and small while most of those live in the rurals and in parts of the suburbs farther away from the city life tend to worship the Walmarts and the Targets as if it will somehow help them feel bigger and better.
Interesting point about the differences between urban and rural consumers. I think it's probably a combination of economics (chains = cheaper) and logistics...in the cities, it's simply easier to go to your corner store than it is in the burbs or rural places. Perhaps I'm wrong, but you made a good point.
the only problem with attacking the economic system is lack of preparation...it is the equivalent of abandoning ship before the lifeboats are ready...we must prepare local food, water and shelter, shelter not financed by banks and paid for with income...otherwise, we will all go down, alone, as various businesses go under...as long as we must continue to pay mortgage or rent for our homes, we cannot afford to attack economic structure...we must, all together, around the world, at the same moment, switch from money-based living to non, but we must do so with a plan, and be ready to defend, together, our decision against the powers that be...
this is the time to plan, and most of the planning is actually planting...food...
This is mainly symbolic, one day is not going to make much difference for anyone except compulsive consumers.
The most important part is creating solidarity and a conscienceness of non consumtion.
This economy is going to collapse even worse in the near future for all Bush/Obama did was reinflate the bubble which is going to pop for good this next time.
So soon there will be very little to consume, even if your able to.
Do not be blackmailed into believing you must consume to keep the economy operating, though do consume local and green, because no matter how much you drive the economy with consumption the bloated 1% will still siphon off obscene amouts of money thus crippling society and the economy.
We do need to prepare our gardens within and without.
A wildcat consumer strike is a great idea but as so many have stated it needs to go further and it needs some organization. There are places on the adbuster's website where you can make your own statement, pledge, etc that you plan to continue the strike beyond one day....
I've suggested before on CD: buy nothing from now on but essential food, essential medicine, essential transportation. Everything else you feel you must have should come from the second-hand stores...
Listening to MSM the last few days; especially driving home from work at 0700 this morning; the economists were all saying they hoped consumer spending would be up today as a sign that the "buying season" this year would be a good one. They were all talking about "growing the economy" again. Not one single comment about changing the economy to a more sustainable pattern; everything was about getting back to the same criminally reckless growth pattern that has brought planet earth to the brink of destruction. That's why they rejected Kyoto; that's why they're going to reject Copenhagen.
We have to teach them that the people won't cooperate in their own destruction and the only way we can do that is by short-circuiting their businesses. Show them we won't buy anything but absolute necessities until there's a real climate change agreement that pays back our debt to the poor countries and remakes the rich ones in a sustainable pattern.
Great thread,
Sorry I missed it. We turned the whole island off. No power and it was hotter than hell. I'm really proud of these people. Let's stretch it into a month next time, and we can flush DC with wall street's blessing.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Unfortunately I didn't hear about this until today, but I did participate in Buy Nothing Day at least on the more limited level of not actually buying anything.
Excellent idea for the entire year and not just when "tis the season". For a clarification of the comment about "five planet lifestyle" and the briefest and most comprehensive explanation why this is so go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8
"The Story of Stuff" with Annie Leonard is simple enough for a child to understand and sophistricated enough to engage adults.
Poet