Earn to live, don’t live to earn!
“take charge of your thoughts.
You can do what you will with them.”
-Plato
I had promised myself to not formulate any opinions related to the COVID-19 situation that has been ruling our lives for a while now, but seeing what it is bringing out in the world I couldn’t restrain myself to talk about one thing that we are discussing more than the pandemic itself. It’s the infamous economy. Although faulty in its most basic principles, our economic system has been governing every inch of our lives. Hell! One can’t even think without some economic aspect (like money, job or even those pretty shoes) attached. I wouldn’t even bore you here with shocking, yet obvious, statistics about the wealth divide in the society, but I would like to point out that it’s also the fault of our economic system. This economic system further governs all systems of our society. So much money at the top of the pyramid (that’s another sad fact that our society represents a pyramid with only a few at the top and many struggling at the bottom) automatically translates into immense power to make laws. I have been bothered by this system for a while, and I am about to bring you into my thought process now.
Our economic structure has shown its faults at many occasions, but we as a society not only embrace it but reinforce it. When are we going to learn that it is broken in ways that are past the fixable stage. It is built on the principle of never ending growth by exploiting limited resources. Think about it! If I make £1 billion this year, growth means that I make more next year. And let’s just face the fact, no one needs (or deserves) that kind of money. Moreover, the underlying assumption for all economic work is opportunistic nature. How can that be right? And the saddest part is that generations later we have accepted it and don’t even question it anymore. Sorry to pop your bubble, but the economy is the centre of the universe of modern society, not you. We are not even the centre of our own lives.
Multiple economic crises, recessions and now a pandemic later, it’s about time we bring this into question. It annoyed me too much when over 50% of the news articles I read these days revolve around the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 (the remaining 49% are about COVID-19 itself and 1% for other semi-important things). See what happens to our economic system when we buy only what we need and desires are put at hold. Our economies start crashing. What took me with more awe was when I discovered that China is starting circulation of a new e-currency to get itself out of this mess, and I am sure other countries won’t be far behind. But how can we reinforce old mistakes in a new packaging at such a milestone point in the world when we can actually change things for the better. That’s because those deciding these monumental moves for our societies don’t have our interests at heart.
It all sounds so hopeless. I felt the same way for a long time until I found out that there is another way. What if I told you that the solution is very simple. It’s love and solidarity (finish reading before you dismiss me as an idealistic fool). For the longest time societies have squeezed the social sector with the private and public sector in our economy. But why isn’t it obvious that the social should be central to all. An alternative form of economy called the ‘Social and Solidarity Economy’ (SSE) does that. And it’s not just an idea, it’s very real. For many years influential and giant organisations like the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) have been promoting SSE to tackle the grand challenges of our society. SSE is based on the principles of love and solidarity, and puts social and environmental growth at the core (not profits). SSE is built with sustainable creation, production and consumption patterns and the beauty of it is that it values rich cultures enough to protect them. It includes certain kinds of organisations that are solidarity based such as cooperatives and associations. It promotes healthy practices like Do-It-Yourself. As for finance, SSE promotes community saving schemes, sharing schemes from “collaborative economy” and digital crowdfunding among many others. It still doesn’t sound real, right? I am sure the statistics will change your mind.
SSE organisations are found to be well profitable and stable in times of turbulence (like now). There are over 761,221 mutual organisations and cooperatives around the world that have over USD18.8 trillion worth of assets and an annual revenue of USD2.4 trillion. The membership of these organisations go upto 813.5 million people. To help you further, here are some live examples. Mondragon in Spain, Desjardins in Canada and AMUL in India. In India itself, over 2.2 million self help groups benefit over 30 million people (mostly women; Go women empowerment!). The fair trade market certified by solidaristic principles has over 1.3 million producers and workers that supply to 70 countries and it has reported a growth from USD 1 billion in 2004 to USD 6 billion in 2012 [The data is from a RIPESS report published in 2015].
I understand that even if it’s true the idea feels beyond common man’s reach. But SSE requires everyone to play their part to replace our capitalistic economy. Although we don’t make policies sitting in the Parliament, our choices matter. Every little thing we do in the micro, from what we buy, where we buy from or what we eat have a cumulative effect on the macro. We just need to make wise choices, including what kind of economy we want in our societies and change will spread like wildfire. Make sure that you are not unknowingly contributing to unsustainable practices and always remember that love and solidarity are the only vaccines that can save you from the virus called “capitalism”.
