Revolutionary: Thinking vs Doing

By Mike Thayer

Being revolutionary means changing our economic relations, not just our worldview. Thinking we are different does not equal being different. So many people who think they are different have fallen into this 'counterculture' mindset that has been constructed for us in large part by corporations as a way to make money. It serves to assimilate resistance back into the system of corporate capitalism. For anyone fed up with any aspect of society there is always a shirt or bumper sticker out there that you can buy to show your opposition. Upset about some social inequalities you've heard about? Just "Google" around for a shirt which expresses your discontent. More often than not our anger is funneled into even more consumption. By purchasing that shirt, (whether is be a earth day shirt or whatever) you have unwittingly participated in that global exploitative system you are against.

So what is being different then? True, wearing a shirt may draw attention to a particular social or environmental issue. But the main reason we wear them(I'm blaming myself here, too) is to show our identity. It signals to others that we care about this stuff, it helps us meet likeminded people. And that part is good. But we can't forget that economically, our choice to buy that shirt which was most likely made in a third world country by severely underpaid people, is no different than buying anything else. It contributes to that exploitation.

I say all of this in a spirit of kindness and sharing, because I see so many young people who are aware of a lot of problems in the world, and are openly against the inequality and the atrocities. Yet, we fail to understand that the root of these problems is economic in nature. That the forces creating inequalities, creating poverty, creating environmental destruction are globalized economic forces that are really very much a part of our everyday life. And by buying clothing as the style changes, buying cd's, dvd's, ipods, more clothing, etc. that we are simply participating in the system just as much as anyone.

All this to say that I have realized that corporations have seized on people's desires to "do something good for the world”, they have seized on the feeling of wanting to "do my part” and they have provided avenues for us to feel like we are doing that. More often than not these avenues promote consumption and contribute to the global processes that are destroying our communities. I urge people to really scrutinize the ways in which we relate to the rest of the world economically, and to decide if these ways are part of the problem or part of the solution.