Time for Change (Bregtje van der Haak)

[Trencavel]

Hello Everyone !

I know I haven't been around the board for a while :redface_002: . But I thought this is an interesting video to share with you guys.


Meet the new revolutionaries of the Do-It-Yourself cultures in Barcelona, Tallin and Jakarta. They are modern day heroes. They do not wait for political parties or institutions to change their world; they simply do it themselves, by creating new local currencies, by working in social networks or by simply robbing the banks and redistributing their money.

The world economy is in crisis and public trust in financial institutions has hit rock bottom. As commercial banks were bailed out with billions of taxpayers money and continued to practice their old vices, many people lost faith in bank managers and politicians. They got angry at the speculative financial system that brings extreme wealth to a few and instability and unemployment to many.

Could this dissatisfaction lead to social change? Can we imagine viable alternatives? Backlight goes on a worldwide search, with sociologist Manuel Castells and philosopher Peter Sloterdijk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqpVe9kNbhg

It'd be very nice to read your opinions on the subject.

Cheers !

[The Lawspeaker]

The VPRO (and so is Tegenlicht as a program) is rather left-wing but some of the ideas may be interesting enough.

[Trencavel]

The VPRO (and so is Tegenlicht as a program) is rather left-wing but some of the ideas may be interesting enough.

Yeah, I noticed that when looking through their youtube channel videos.

This one is not THAT left winged I guess. Some of the remedies, as shown in the documentary, sound rather "apolitical" and maybe a bit (from my own personal point of view) "utopic".

I know it's a bit long (51 mins) and maybe lot's of members wont have the time. Well, let's see what happens !

[The Lawspeaker]

I personally think that both the situation and the answer are very, very complicated. One can say that our society at large has been corrupted by certain interest groups (bankers, Frankfurt School) and is falling apart at the seems (and they are using multiculturalism as a tool to destroy it).

The answer to our social problems is also not simple- although kicking out the immigrants would certainly give us a breathing space but the problems aren't over yet and in order to save ourselves (if we still can that is) we may have to start from scratch with an entire new economic system. One that would try to make sure that there is social justice, while also allowing people to own their private businesses and that encourages keeping things small and decentralized (and thus local and personal) encouraging people to actually start a business.

Banking should also be changed. The time of the big banks ought to be over we should maybe look towards credit unions and co-operative structures.

Maybe a mixed economy with some necessary state regulation on big business and the forceful break-up of big banks and the re-distribution of it's assets, the end cooperate welfare would be a nice start. Distributism.

[Smaland]

Meet the new revolutionaries of the Do-It-Yourself cultures in Barcelona, Tallin and Jakarta. They are modern day heroes. They do not wait for political parties or institutions to change their world; they simply do it themselves, by creating new local currencies, by working in social networks or by simply robbing the banks and redistributing their money.

The world economy is in crisis and public trust in financial institutions has hit rock bottom. As commercial banks were bailed out with billions of taxpayers money and continued to practice their old vices, many people lost faith in bank managers and politicians. They got angry at the speculative financial system that brings extreme wealth to a few and instability and unemployment to many.

Could this dissatisfaction lead to social change? Can we imagine viable alternatives? Backlight goes on a worldwide search, with sociologist Manuel Castells and philosopher Peter Sloterdijk.

Didn't know that the James Gang were modern-day heroes. That's ok, though. They stuck it to the railroads and the banks, and that's enough for me. :D

[The Lawspeaker]

That idea of a Bank of Happiness is very interesting indeed. We seem to have one too here in the country and I hope that the idea is adopted by more people.

Having said that. We should stop thinking about the Gross Domestic Product alone and and learn from Bhutan: every country should start measuring too along Gross National Happiness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness#Weakness_of_GDP) and maybe one day it can even replace the GDP- measurements altogether. But I believe that generosity towards ones fellow citizens (in the social welfare) will indeed contribute towards a more cohesive society and a higher GNH. Frankly I believe that Herr Sloterdijk's proposal regarding voluntary rather then compulsory taxation is very interesting.

This could have some interesting consequences when the social welfare state, the infrastructure, the education system etc. is communal in the sense that we look after it together as a society on a voluntary basis rather then under threat of persecution because now we are forced to pay the same amount (unless you're rich) while the profits and assets get's privatised and the losses are handed over to the tax payer. So Herr Sloterdijk's system makes sense.

[Trencavel]

That idea of a Bank of Happiness is very interesting indeed. We seem to have one too here in the country and I hope that the idea is adopted by more people.

Having said that. We should stop thinking about the Gross Domestic Product alone and and learn from Bhutan: every country should start measuring too along Gross National Happiness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness#Weakness_of_GDP) and maybe one day it can even replace the GDP- measurements altogether.

Yes ! and that resulting in social cohesion and probably increasing reproduction ? :D

Now, what the catalan guy did is debatable, but isn't it a "good" effort into taking action ?? I mean, the money he "stole" from the banks is actually a debt, and he's using it to look for alternatives to our current banking system.

[The Lawspeaker]

Yes ! and that resulting in social cohesion and probably increasing reproduction ? :D
Exactly. But without the immigrants only certain European countries would need increasing reproduction as many countries are already overpopulated without the immigrant so they ageing population will give us the chance to renew ourselves when that generation is going to buy subterranean log cabins with a garden roof on top. :cool:

With the immigrants we will be stuck in the same mess. Without them - we at least get a breathing space.




Now, what the catalan guy did is debatable, but isn't it a "good" effort into taking action ?? I mean, the money he "stole" from the banks is actually a debt, and he's using it to look for alternatives to our current banking system.
He broke the law alright but against such criminals it is usually justified IMHO.
Bankers don't care for property rights, democratic rights or personal rights and could best be compared to locusts. People like that Catalan guy are small-scaled pest controls.