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TechnoratiBuilding an Anti-Economy
Even while capitalism continues its inexorable push to corral every square inch of the globe into its logic of money and markets, new practices are emerging that redefine politics and open up spaces of unpredictability. Instead of traditional political forms like unions or parties, people are coming together in practical projects, from urban gardening in vacant lots to the suddenly ubiquitous do-it-yourself bike shops. More and more people, recognizing the degradation inherent in business relations, are creating networks of activity that refuse the measurement of money. They depend instead on sharing skills and technological know-how within new communities, such as the biofuels co-ops that have proliferated in many cities. Networks have grown, thanks to the spread of the Internet and other telecommunications techologies, and new kinds of "families" based on shared values, alternative living arrangements, and non-economic relationships are growing within the old society.
Collectively, I call these projects "Nowtopia." Rarely do the individual participants conceive of them in political terms; day-to-day issues about how we live, what we do, how we define and meet our needs tend to be understood as outside politics. But all Nowtopian activities are profoundly political.
The Nowtopian movement embodies a growing minority seeking emancipation from the treadmill of consumerism and overwork. Acting locally in the face of unfolding global catastrophes, friends and neighbors are redesigning many of the crucial technological foundations of modern life, like food and transportation. These redesigns are worked out through garage and backyard research-and-development programs among friends using the detritus of modern life. Our contemporary commons takes the shape of discarded bicycles and leftover deep-fryer oil, of vacant lots and open bandwidth. "Really, really free markets," anti-commodities, and free services are imaginative products of an anti-economy provisionally under construction by freely cooperative and inventive people. They aren't waiting for an institutional change from on high but are building the new world in the shell of the old.
These practices require sharing and mutual aid and constitute the beginnings of new kinds of communities. Because these people are engaged in creative appropriation of technologies to purposes of their own design and choice, these activities embody the (partial) transcendence of the wage-labor prison by workers who have better things to do than their jobs. They are tinkerers working in the waste streams and open spaces of late capitalism, conjuring new practices while redefining life's purpose.
Efforts to create islands of utopia have always flourished on the margins of capitalist society, but never to the extent that a radically different way of living has been able to supplant market society's daily life. Nowtopians, and anyone determined to free themselves from the constraints of economically defined life, face the same historic limits that have beset all previous efforts to escape. Can the emerging patterns resist the co-optation and reintegration that have absorbed past self-emancipatory movements? The new apparatus of global production helps speed up the extension of market society, but it inevitably also speeds the spread of social opposition, the sharing of experiments and alternatives. Our moment in history is at least as exhilarating as it is daunting.
27 Comments so far
Show AllI'd like to think this would work, but what about on a large scale? Or is this limited to communities in which the participants know each other, thus enforcing a level of honor and honesty. Utopian is far-fetched, but circumstances might certainly demand that communities pull together as an alternative to the insane, and illogical economic model that the west has operated under for the last two centuries. I think we have all realized that you can't operate on "assuming resources are infinite" and on "assuming growth equals prosperity."
>>>I LOVE IT !!! NOWTOPIA !!! Yes, I have been thinking and dreaming of a non-consumer-driven-society for 10 years now. As I have worked less, spent less and interacted more w/ people in conversations and other socializing events I have found more depth to my soul and a lust for living!!<<
Amen! I also have thought about this type of society - or social movement - for some time. I'll take it one step further. If McCain/Palin win in November, perhaps it's time to think about the real instrument of change - us. Perhaps an underground anti-government for those of us who find it increasingly difficult to deal with plutocratic America. Nobody should have to be stressed about what corporate america and their pawns in government won't give us - enjoyable means of livelihood, affordable health care, affordable transportation, green energy and on and on.
Speaking of health care, since McCain and Obama both oppose single payer health care and our current greed based health care system is both cruel and disastrous, is the concept of Health Care co-ops a possibility? Can people pay into a non profit health care co-op in their community on a sliding scale basis? Are their doctors that would participate? Can such a co-op have a prescription drug center stocked with drugs purchased at better prices from more progressive & humane nations? Can hospital stays be covered on a non profit insurance plan? I don't know much about the health care industry, but I know it's all about greed.
Let's have more talk about this Anti-Economy Movement. I hope CD will print more article on it. The internet is the place to create perhaps a national organization.
Don't depend on the American government-corporate alliance for anything. Except for more grief.
Chuck -- You may know about this already, but be sure to check out http://www.relocalize.net/ . Good stuff and a list of local organizations.
(Vote for Obama, if you think it is what you should do, but this problem is a lot bigger than who is elected president in November. We all should be working on this *right now*.)
Yes, coops are possible everywhere, in all sectors. In fact, all of the corporations may be turned into coops simply by rewriting their charters, getting rid of the shareholders. But it's better to break them up too and disperse the economic activity. This puts both the power and responsibility in the hands of the people, and produces a much healthier society in which people can deal with the truth rather than avoid it all the time. It's crucial to lower our energy consumption too, for many obvious reasons, but especially as a strategy to cultivate responsibility, efficiency, independence and justice in all the society's sectors. We can't say coops or anything else is a silver bullet, though the structure of a truly functional society may appear so. The real silver bullet is the vision and determination to realize the result, out of which the structure manifests. If the vision is lost, the structure will dissolve. The idea is to get the vision/responsibility into everyone's minds. Get it into the K-12 civics curriculum, use every means. Missing from even the progressive press today is the large volume of examples we need that exist in our own society and in other societies that are bringing more dignity, justice and prosperity to a larger percent of their populations.
A big factor in this development may be the coopting of the traditional role of the local mom and pop shops by big corporations. Small entrapreneurs are increasingly being frozen out of market places. Between big box stores and corporate owned malls that give preference to chain stores there are few places for small, service oriented businesses to stand. Big biz is stealing jobs, space and cash from our communities and giving back poor quality goods and services.
These marginalised independent minded people are seeking other niches for their creative energies. It won't be surprising to see in the not so distant future corporations trying to find ways to exploit and cootp the more successful of these new territories being opened by these new pioneers.
The best article I've seen on CD for a long time.
In the computer world this has been going on since the early days of its beginning. There was a brief hitch in the nineties with commercial software and the paranoia of keeping proprietary software secret, but with the advent of Linux (thank you Saint Torvalds) the way is open to more and more opensourcing. If anyone posting/reading here wants to give this "nowtopian" way of life a trial run, go to any Linux site and download a copy of a cd image. Follow the instructions. You can give it a try without having to change anything on your system. If you want a place to start: www.ubuntu.com .
Commercialism/capitalism tends to breed paranoia. Am I able to keep up? What do I have to have now? Is someone trying to steal my ideas?... Since switching to Linux several months ago, I have found a whole new world of people willing to help others, to solve problems, to create new innovations/ideas. This "nowtopia" might be what is needed to breathe life into the US and get it moving again in the right direction and helping the world solve the global-warming crisis.
NOWTOPIA has existed before. It's just that 50 years ago, it was slowly eradicated. Hint: Do a google search on grass fed vs corn fed.
Thank you, Chris. This is a wonderful piece.
A number of encouraging and informative posts.Guess snowwolf and some other dunderheads relented for this thread.
Like a number of other posters on CD I don't consider Obama my ideal candidate.However-maybe the Republicans revealed a bit too much of their heartless selves when numerous speakers at their convention-including the "barricuda" mocked Obama's community service. There is a difference between the two parties and heaven help us if Johnny Boy is elected.To him and his bunch Hope is a two bit city in Arkansas and empathy and sharing are weaknesses fit only for losers.
Back during the Carter administration when this country was serious about the environment (for a while) there was a lot of bartering and it was an acceptable form of business. It is a great way to accomplish things without money changing hands. To utilize the rebate money my friends and I decided to save some (not in a bank),spend only a small amount and spend it only on used goods, or locally grown foods, or donations to food banks, keeping that money in the community. It would be interesting to see statistics of this type of spending on the economy. At least our rebates did not go to the money changers, overseas, or corporate CEO packages. The rebate was an idiotic way to jumpstart the economy, which was done with borrowed money that we will have to repay with interest. This time the government is giving the rebate money to the financial institutions to keep them afloat and again we will have to repay that money with interest, many, many years in the future. Nowtopia as described about is all about positive thinking on a small scale. I would like to see it described as Localism, or maybe Inventism, even Sustainabilityism. Erwin Corey would love that one.
Thank you Chris for an inspiring article. The comments are equally (refreshingly) positive and motivating. It's an important reminder of who is responsible for making the world a better place and how it can get done. We can take the strength away from international corporations; by making them locally insignificant, one community at a time. It's also a great reminder that each of us need to reach out to the others around us to create a friendly, happy, self sufficient and self reliant existence. Giving power to global corporations and empire states really is a choice.
Ummmm, I really like the idea of incremental community activities. In Portland, I believe, the process is called, "City Repair."
Here http://www.theyorkshirelad.ca/New.Nanaimo.Center/pudpn/Commentary.pdf we are "world-class, world-class, world-class" and anyone who does not go along is an un-Olympian-grump.
I thinq bike shops are great but my preference would be for a sail-boat repair yard . . . but waterfront is for condos in this new century . . .
Small places strategically placed and connected for boat shops, bike shops, shoe shops close to where we live . . .
This movement will increase in importance and will accumulate spirit and enthusiasm and creativity as it grows. It is my opinion that the conflict between decentralization and corporate globalization will be the primary dialectic soon. It won't be a simply a matter of a few conscious souls living lightly and peacefully. (I am speaking of worldwide, not only in the U.S.)
But I personally don't like the term "Nowtopia". It sounds like the latest McDonald's gimmick. "Try our new Nowtopia veggie burger!"
Keeping our thinking small, simple, and local are the keys to sustainability. Avoid grandiose or national thinkers who speak of societal shifts and big political changes. The big thinkers will inevitably attempt to identify trends and comodify them. The idea is not to get rich but to live well and to cooperatively help others too. If we take care of the smaller and local things the larger things will take care of themselves.
A perfect example is a national brand shoe company producing recycled shoes for $80-$100 bucks a pair. Forget these national brands. Instead keep it local by picking up a pair of used shoes and letting the local shoe repairman fix them. It's much cheaper and avoids the exploitation of national corporations.
Another example. Green building is being co-opted by major corporations offering green products for two or three times the price necessary. Simply reuse items you can find locally. Keep the corporations out of it because they will ruin it.
The new movement and corporations do not mix well. Corporate people will never get it so just simply avoid them. We know who we are and what it takes to survive and live well absent their involvement. When they crash the economy at least we will have established quality networks of like minded and peaceful people. Our small local groups will survive just fine.
The greenwashing done by Walmart and similar Big Retail outlets is a perfect example of why it's better to go local and to put reusing and recycling to work if it's not renewable.
Very good points. Capitalism continually threatens catastrophe. Localism delivers economic stability among many amazing features.
I'm an inventor. I operate under the general assumption that concentrated sunlight is inherently more efficient, up to a point.
I find that my federal government is a train wreck, in terms of making progress against global warming.
I find that my state government at least has a pulse, but it wasn't really much help when I have needed some.
I find that my local universities sign compacts claiming that they shall help local inventors in the solution of global warming, but in practice there's nothing real. It's total greenwash. Other universities without the piece of paper are more interested in actually doing something green which saves them money, or which brings a certain professor more cred and grant money. That's better.
Then we get to the guy five blocks away. He's a carpenter. He gave five days of his time to putting up my small prototype. (I owe him!) And there's the friend who let me put the prototype in their backyard. And there's the religious organization now considering a full-size prototype in their big backyard. And the friend who wants to be an investor.
We are going to yank the plug and remove the oil tank on global warming. My finding is that it's the ordinary people who are going to do it. Congratulations in advance, and more power to you.
Paulk,
Good for you. Unfortunately, a lot of workshop folks in my area are always under constant harassment from police and law enforcement officials with often false charges of "creating terrorism". Often times, bad neighbors who are generally pro-religious-right and/or pro-Republican staunchies will go out of their ways to complain to the police against the workshop kiddies causing no trouble. Add to it, Big Brother has only gotten uglier from federal to even local levels.
Of course, I'm in South Carolina where the religious fundies dominate and fight against science but still, I can't hope but wonder when this madness will ever end and a lot of us, myself included, try to fight these fundies time and again. Going green isn't so easy although I'm thankful that the zoning laws are not as harsh against people who want to put solar panals and wind turbines on their homes and get their own electricity. Well, SC is depopulating in a lot of rural areas anyway so what's to lose, right?
Very interesting story. Do you have space for your own workshop? Small local enterprises have a down to earth, organic agenda protecting the people the biosphere and the truth.
You are correct Paul. There is far more innovation in the garages and backyards of America than there ever will be in central planning units such as corporations. Decentralization is the key. I have written to my Senators and Congressmen about providing small easily attainable grants to individuals and small companies. No one ever wrote back addressing this issue. It seems that the Energy Bill is aimed at big corporations. Centralization is the prescription for defeat, not success. The minds in Washington have been calcified by money. It's heartening to hear stories like yours.
While Money and business are not inherently "evil" it is clear the efforts of many Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and others have made it VERY much so- too many times in too many ways that do hurt/degrade/damage/cheat and so on.
But how to get back to the "Garden" so to speak- I think that will involve people
getting BACK to their own Divine nature- eliminating all religious and monetary and political filters/layers/lies where they TAKE AWAY from the Divine we all have, all share, and all are a part of.
Thank God for cyclists (outlaw or just rolling along) and any kind of Gardener, anybody who finds some courage and moves themselves- and all of us really...FORWARD.
AMEN!
I grew veggies in containers this year and had more than I could use, but not knowing anyone or being able to get around, I ended up putting the spare veggies in bags with a note saying I was overwhelmed with the veggies and hoped they would help me out by enjoying what I was offering, then hung the bags over the fences into my neighbors yards. The response was amazing.
People have stopped believing in acts of sharing, kindness, and instead expect acts of vandalism or theft, and they distrust anyone they don't know.
I LOVE IT !!! NOWTOPIA !!! Yes, I have been thinking and dreaming of a non-consumer-driven-society for 10 years now. As I have worked less, spent less and interacted more w/ people in conversations and other socializing events I have found more depth to my soul and a lust for living!!
As Nader says "We have far too many problems than we deserve and far too few solutions that we apply". We must be the leaders, movers and shakers of our own destiny....barter, voluntary simplicity, time-dollars, freecycle, free skool, intentional communities, growing hemp, bike riding, more mass transit, more solar and wind power, organic & community gardens, and the solutions go on and on!!!
MAKE A LIFE NOT A LIVING !!!
peace,
mindy
... and your enthusiasm is infectious, Mindy. Thanks! I've been exactly where you're at, but unfortunatly, I'm no longer able to do much more than take care of nature's little creatures that live in my small universe, and the little universe itself; and offer an encouraging smile to everyone I meet when I must go out.
Love Nowtopian ideas. Much needed in this country. One problem though is the fact that we live in the United States of NO! No you can't do this. No you can't do that. You want to do this? Well, sub-section C says that you must have that license and go in front of the board and yes, you do fall within the same category as NASA and therefore must do this report and that report and five million dollars later you are accepted within the community of the United States of NO! and you can do all the Nowtopia-ing that you want. Good luck with that, Duhmurica.
Killjoy! Killer of hope! This attitude is what makes so many just give up. They feel there's no hope for anything better. NO way to change their dreary existence. But hope, even when there isn't any possibility, enlivens the soul and keeps us going. And sometimes it's that hope that makes things change. People in my town are coming together in little ways. An unused plot of land behind a business was recently given over by the owner so the people in the local food bank could plant a garden there to provide more fresh food when the money didn't stretch far enough to meet the demands, and few donations were coming in because we're all struggling. And when the word of the garden got out, there were all kinds of volunteers coming to help with the garden, including those having to depend on the food bank. It was something that gave people hope - hope for there being ways to survive after all.
So please billiam 1, if you have no hope, don't kill what little hope others may find from this article.