Revolution and Ideas

What is Capitalism?

Some Theory:
Marx in Das Kapital: He believed that labour was a commodity that people offered industry. If wheat was to be converted to bread, it was the cost of labour which made the bread more expensive than the wheat, as bread is in essence the same material as wheat only processed. The capitalist, in order to make a surplus value/ profit then tries and gets as much value from the worker, with only self-enrichment in mind. Hence the exploitation of the workforce, the specialisation of manufacture and the need for machinery to replace the worker for maximum profit. This is serious simplification and only part of the theory. But it offers the mechanics behind the economic system.
Adam Smith: Supply and Demand. When something is rare, it is highly valued and expensive; when it is abundant, cheap and worth less.

The Everyday Experience:
Capitalism has lead to the individualist society, as is the nature of the system. Capitalism leads to the individual seeking profit = getting as much from someone without having to give as much back. The individualist is obsessed with the self, their own ego and success at any cost. The community is replaced by law, the police and centralised government and business, because the community is no longer self-governed as politics and business search for "economies of scale"/ bigger is better and cheaper. People no longer feel a need/ sense of right or wrong, as the greatest ideal is individual success. The system creates the Illusion, a vision of material wealth and ideal lifestyles (holidays, gadgets, get-rich-quick) to keep the masses enthralled by the carrot and keep their eyes off the stick. As many of us know, the sparkle of things as they appear is never quite the reality (that perfume just didn’t get me friends or a shag, the Media Assistant job is just filing and photocopying). On the world scene, the search for western wealth has lead to the great wealth imbalance and the drive for the 3rd world to try and achieve a better life to no avail. Wars, terrorism, poverty, ecological disaster all stem from the current economic thinking.

What is Anti-Capitalism?
Anti-Capitalism is as yet undefined. It is made up of groups ranging from anarchists, socialists, environmentalists, community groups, etc. All these causes contribute to the melting pot of ideas behind it. What they all have in common is the belief that capitalism is not the right economic system for the future. They would like to see the following changes in society:

• People more in control of their own lives, communities and areas.
• Sustainable, environmentally-neutral organisation to stop the threat of ecological breakdown
• Against a culture of greed and better wealth distribution.

What about Co-ops?
The idea of a Co-op is creating a (structured) community that provides a service/ product without extracting individual profit. The people who buy the product are the members/ users and workers of the co-op. i.e. ******: you pay rent to ****** which pays the mortgage and services, you get a room and you decide how the surplus money is spent. You act as both tenant and landlord.
OK so how does this economic and political structure impact on the wider issues?
Monopoly and Centralisation: co-ops are independent, de-centralised bodies, ruled by the community. The boss is the community, the benefits are for everyone and the power is spread to all users and workers.
Overwork: The better value and cost of the product means that not so much work is needed to live a quality of life, meaning less time needed to earn outside money and more time for outside pursuits.
The Illusion: the "instant"culture no longer applies and the increased personal responsibility means that we are no longer captured by the unrealistic, illusionary expectations and goals that society places on the individual. The hard work inputted leads to a real and tangible change for the person and the community in which they live.
Cult of Individualism: The community checks certain individuals exerting power and exploitation on others. Decisions made by the community are for the benefit of everyone and not a selected few. Community offers compassion, understanding of human needs and situations and can act flexibly but never jeopardising the welfare of the majority. The co-op offers another model to the individualist capitalist society. When it works well, co-operation is beneficial to both the individual and the community at large.

In Conclusion
Kropotkin, the anarchist thinker on whose idea the co-operation is based, proves that the simplification of everyone’s tasks and the dependence on large industry leads to the stunting of the creative human process and the wasteful nature of the capitalist system.
The co-op idea is a solution. It follows the path of anti-capitalism and makes possible the realisation of the anti-capitalist belief system. It has the potential to change the way we view the world, our part in society and the way we live. Think of how people are impressed when they hear about the idea of ******, how we live, the rent we pay, the freedom and security it offers us on the borderline of society. Would London be such a lonely place, run on exploitative rents, bad living conditions, insecurity and uncertainty if more people could live as we do?

Dynamic Democracy

Humanity’s quest
We are all searching for better life. However, what we have to realise is that a better life doesn’t involve replacing one system of government with another, or making more money than everyone else. It starts with the individual, personal responsibility, overcoming your own illusions and imbedded cultural beliefs, that ask us to choose a lesser of two evils instead of choosing the right/best way. Bernard Shaw calls this the "superman", a man that is able to "do the right thing", doesn’t succumb easily to his weaknesses and always strives to do his best, does it everyday without knowing it. Some leaders have been this way but Shaw points out that once the leader is gone, the solution they engineered falls apart, people returning to their old habits, "thus admitting that the real social solution was not what a casual Superman could persued a picked company to do for him, but what a whole community of Supermen would do spontaneously."(Bernard Shaw in Man and Superman). It starts in small ways and only by improving ourselves; putting in the work, taking risks and being open to learning will we be able to make an impact on the wider world. And bringing the argument closer, to ******. Here we have a rough diamond, something that is ours as long as well live here, somewhere where we have control. But it needs polishing, it needs improvement, it needs everyone to contribute and do the work so that we can reach a state of the web structure, so that democracy is emboldened and we ourselves are more responsible. It’s all easy to expunge but the reality is in the action. Without action, the theory is mere airy sentiment, more suited to first-year university students than the hard-core of New Cross. So it is up to us to do it and do it properly.

Systems of Government
Ever since humans have started to become group animals, we have had to devise systems of governing to create the social fabric and bind people together. From the egalitarian systems, to chiefdoms, to kingdoms, feudal to capitalistic, taking several shapes and forms but Plato describes the fundamental systems in The Republic.

Oligarchy
He described the system as, "A society where it is wealth that counts" and in which political powers is in the hands of the rich and the poor have no share in it.” But the breakdown of the system comes when people "in the accumulating wealth, the more they value it and the less they value goodness."
Tyranny
This system is where a leader makes all decisions and the people unite under him/ her. In the ensueing political relations, the leader sanctions "Exiles,executions…and redistribution of land…till their instigator is inevitably and fatally bound either to be destroyed by his enemies, or to change from man to wolf and make himself tyrant." The situation deteriorates into a reign of terror and the leader is eventually destroyed.
Democracy
“Democracy is the most attractive of all societies. The diversity of its characters …make it look very attractive.” Democracy is empowering people to partake in decision-making and deciding their own destiny. However, its weakness comes when "the least vestige of restraint is resented as intolerable, till finally…in their determination to have no master they disregard all laws, written and unwritten." Democracy is, for most, the political system of choice. Therefore we need to explore it further.

Democracy in-depth
Democracy is "Government of the people, for the people, by the people", referring to the system of one-man one-vote to choose those who represent us. A majority elects the leaders/ representatives, thereby pleasing the most number of people. So we have a system that gives power to people by vote, giving everyman his say and empowering each individual. But where are the failings of democracy?

Capitalist democracy/ Oligarchy
We live in a capitalist democracy in the West. This means that capitalism comes first and democracy is the system of government. Economics has a huge part to play in policy decision-making and therefore influences foreign policy, consumer legislation, etc etc. In fact it is the consumer within democracy that is sometimes the driving force. Everyone demands more jobs, more welfare, better car, bigger house that drives economics above democracy.
"All Talk" Democracy
This sometimes happens in institutions. Its good to have meetings, as it is necessary make decisions that most people are happy with. However the meeting culture also can bring with it the love of meetings and making decisions, having your say and debating topics; all good per se but without the follow up action, it is just surface democracy. People can become stuck debating procedure instead of trying to understand that procedures are a tool and not a means in itself.

Dynamic Democracy
What is the recipe for this, my dear? We take the basic premise of democracy, the right of every person to a vote in the management of their affairs. Then we need an added element to make it different from the other two types. First, economics. Co-operation is a way to distribute wealth equally, so that no party has an economic interest to hold power. The community benefits and fails together, the decisions they make directly affect them, making people directly responsible for their own well-being. Secondly, a Dynamic Democracy. Making democracy work in a dynamic way requires a few things.

• We need to ask questions and share knowledge,
• understand the structure that you are working in,
• organise ourselves,
• obtain skills and be open to learn, contribute and obtain our fair share.

Dynamic democracy is democracy with responsibility. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement, where in our own self-improvement, we contribute to the wealthfare (sic) of everyone, without personal agenda or creating a parasitic relationship. Meetings are necessary. Procedure and understanding rules are necessary. But what is also necessary to treat these things as tools, to use the structure to achieve what you really want to do.
We need to take the examples of all the different sectors of human endeavour, however distasteful they may seem on the surface.
Business
It understands that hard work and endeavouring to offer a better service/ product speak of a human need for constructive work and a better quality of life. Where business fails is in its capitalistic pursuit of profit over anything else.
Army
An army takes action and achieves its goals with engineering and tactical precision, making people work together en mass. But its intellectual ability and moral understanding are lacking.
Hippies/ Philosophers
Their ideals and morals are in the right place but their action is weak or doesn’t exist, an airy existence of theory and good ideas.
If we combine the elements that make these groups good and discard what they lack we achieve a better understanding of the world and are able to achieve the mechanisms for a dynamic democracy. We must be a group that takes action and works selflessly for our mutual goals but has the insight and foresight to see its implications and respect human/natural freedoms. We must be a group that seeks to improve facilities and be open to innovation but without being overzealous in our endeavour.

Such is the character of a dynamic democracy. It is building up a habit of a democratic way of thinking so that we are able to proceed. Democracy is about taking care of community business and not just personal quests. If we choose a democracy then we agree to live under a democracy.

“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”
(Shaw)

Destructive Traits in a Dynamic Democracy
Little Hitlers
People who "demand their rights" all the time and call those that have different ideas "fascists", but they never constructively partake in the democratic process. Authoritarian Left-wingers People who claim they believe in the democratic process but their aims and agendas seem to indicate another underlying element of a need to control.
High Priests of Procedure
Bandying procedure around like a game of tennis, arguing endlessly on the finer points, holding their knowledge like an elite and playing games of power with it.
I Will Do But I Don’t Do
Its all good talking but doing is the key. If a community relies on your input, not doing what you agree to do doesn’t benefit anyone.
All these are rather dramatic examples. But they show characteristics that are found all around us. It is knowing these traits and observing them in ourselves and understanding the agendas/ actions of those around us.

"Never resist temptation: prove all things: hold fast that which is good."
(Shaw)

Your Guide to Your Co-op

We are a community in business.
We provide housing and services for ourselves.
We pool are needs and resources for the best deal.

United we have power
Divided we are just another tenant

This is a tangible democracy. U make decisions through your house rep.

Who owns the Co-op?
We do until the Co-op breaks down and is sold. If the Co-op is sold, all money from the sale goes to the co-operative movement/ charity.
Why?
Because we are a par value co-op, which means that we ignore property market values (and therefore undermine markets), and make our co-op available to even the poorest.

The Clique Model:
Power lies in the hands of those that "do" work for the co-op. Those that "do" take on more work as those that "don’t" see that they can do less/ the work becomes unavailable. This leads to the Us vs Them scenario: The "do"s claim that the "don’t"s are lazy, the "don’t"s claim the "do"s are power freaks. The "do"s become pissed off/ corrupted, the "don’t"s bitter/ apathetic.
Result: This is a hierarchy.

The Ideal Model:
The responsibility/ managing of the co-op is spread across all the members. This means that everyone does the same amount of work instead of a small group "expected" to do all the work. If 100 units of work is spread over 10 people, this is 10 units of work per person. 9 units too much for voluntary labour. If 100 units of work is spread to 100 people, this is 1 unit of work each.
Result: This is egalitarianism.

It is right to ask: "What can I get out of this?" as much as to ask: "What can I give?". The Co-op is a potential goldmine. It is up to u to tap it.