tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-920574111698185797.post6111959540735505209..comments2023-04-02T07:48:17.094-07:00Comments on Aric Mayer Studios: Some Thoughts On SustainabilityAric Mayerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00322822822136065188noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-920574111698185797.post-24889218565666958082009-01-30T20:52:00.000-08:002009-01-30T20:52:00.000-08:00Tom,Thanks for your comment and for the link. I'm ...Tom,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comment and for the link. I'm particularly interested in ideas like Parecon as utopian ideals... internally consistent and very compelling, even desirable. But none the less requiring a kind of modification of history and human behavior in order to implement. <BR/><BR/>Wealth and class have always been aligned with a kind of military power and the willingness to use force. In order for Parecon or any other new model to be implemented, some kind of significant external pressure must be exerted on the capitalist system in order to either persuade those that have the power to relinquish it or to take it away from them by force. There are too many people who enjoy subjugating other humans, whether consciously or unconsciously, for the system to go willingly. <BR/><BR/>The expansion of wealth in the west has been so significant over the past centuries that most westerners have no idea just how far there is to fall. I fear that whatever form that pressure comes in, and I believe it will come in the form of environmental collapse, the ride down will be too chaotic for macro systems to be implemented. <BR/><BR/>And this is just where Africa may teach the west how to survive, for African have been developing micro economies and communities for a long time. Perhaps those social and economic structures, combined with our science can bring a new model to bear.Aric Mayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00322822822136065188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-920574111698185797.post-6502289071580739112009-01-30T05:46:00.000-08:002009-01-30T05:46:00.000-08:00There is indeed a need for an economic practice th...There is indeed a need for an economic practice that at it's core rejects the rampant consumerism that drives the capitalist system. Free markets are all well and good for the short term gains enjoyed by those at the top of the pyramid, but when the base collapses (as it has done recently) there are major problems.<BR/><BR/>One theory of what can replace capitalism is participatory economics. For more info on that look here<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.zmag.org/znet/topics/parecon" REL="nofollow">http://www.zmag.org/znet/topics/parecon</A>Tom Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03707445619651296310noreply@blogger.com