When all you have is a hammer, all of your problems start to look like nails, and when all our interactions become transactions, money starts to look like our only tool. Thank you for the reminder that there are other ways of looking at things.
I thought this would be about the concepts of economic goods. lol. Im glad this video was about moral good. 1:06-1:22 That's a really neat concept. But its also it is about goods lol.
My immediate impulse was to make a joke about wanting this video on a t-shirt and then I had to sit here for a second and think about what I've done........ ANYWAY: this is a very good and important reminder!! Thank you!!
thanks for the video!! i often feel this tendency to buy stuff creep up when feeling like i havent done enough; which is a screwed question because I dont even know what counts as "doing something" anymore - sure, as you problematised, the act of purchasing is the ultimate end on the spectrum of "buying into the system" but is signing a campaign, even starting one not also already too ingrained into the system that tries to sell solutions? when I lobby to those in power, am i really "doing" something or is the change i propose overruled by a system that eventually appropriates and commodifies any idea, initiative, etc? this is probably an idea too big for a video cause god knows i have read enough political theory without being able to sum it up, but id love to hear your perspective on it (if this video already exist, pls forgive me, id love the link!) .
this is a really interesting question that I've pondered a lot because every collective action is a lot of individual ones put together, and usually you can't draw any single one of them to a direct outcome. So maybe the petition you signed was just an email acquisition tactic for a nonprofit, but if they email you later to volunteer and you do it, that does actually accomplish something? Or maybe everybody buying a slogan totebag does help change public sentiment in some way. I guess my main admonition is just that we need to be in relationship to one another and feel responsible and accountable to each other. And making a purchase *rarely* advances us toward that goal.
@ItsRadishTime thank you for taking the time to reply!! its for me a dilemma i cant shake as someone working in an iNGO while also still trying to finish my degree in social science, i constantly feel torn apart between a super demanding job, that ultimately fulfills a vital role in combating disinformation and strengthing the free press, and a) the fact that in this whole process, I do only stuff with numbers, finance and controlling makes me feel like im not doing anything political or progressive or like for one another all, while b) im also too strained to really engage with local activism (apart from attending the odd demonstration) which is what i used to do and what really informs my understanding of what it means to "DO" something,, so being paid for this work that is very much part of the political realm even though not in the role I'd prefer or consider "real", already feels like consuming, buying into it
The specific thing that this makes me think about is Keep Cups. I remember after loosing my third keep cup in a row and buying another one. I had to hold my own face in my hands and gently remind myself - fundamentally, it’s impossible to buy your way out of a capitalist problem.
there is a lot of good to be done!
When all you have is a hammer, all of your problems start to look like nails, and when all our interactions become transactions, money starts to look like our only tool. Thank you for the reminder that there are other ways of looking at things.
I thought this would be about the concepts of economic goods. lol.
Im glad this video was about moral good. 1:06-1:22
That's a really neat concept.
But its also it is about goods lol.
Oof resistance merch! 😭 Drag us!
OOP
My immediate impulse was to make a joke about wanting this video on a t-shirt and then I had to sit here for a second and think about what I've done........
ANYWAY: this is a very good and important reminder!! Thank you!!
we really need to come up with something catchier than "i value this thing but don't feel compelled to possess it!"
thank you so much for this
thanks for giving it your time and attention!
thanks for the video!! i often feel this tendency to buy stuff creep up when feeling like i havent done enough; which is a screwed question because I dont even know what counts as "doing something" anymore - sure, as you problematised, the act of purchasing is the ultimate end on the spectrum of "buying into the system" but is signing a campaign, even starting one not also already too ingrained into the system that tries to sell solutions? when I lobby to those in power, am i really "doing" something or is the change i propose overruled by a system that eventually appropriates and commodifies any idea, initiative, etc? this is probably an idea too big for a video cause god knows i have read enough political theory without being able to sum it up, but id love to hear your perspective on it (if this video already exist, pls forgive me, id love the link!) .
this is a really interesting question that I've pondered a lot because every collective action is a lot of individual ones put together, and usually you can't draw any single one of them to a direct outcome. So maybe the petition you signed was just an email acquisition tactic for a nonprofit, but if they email you later to volunteer and you do it, that does actually accomplish something? Or maybe everybody buying a slogan totebag does help change public sentiment in some way. I guess my main admonition is just that we need to be in relationship to one another and feel responsible and accountable to each other. And making a purchase *rarely* advances us toward that goal.
@ItsRadishTime thank you for taking the time to reply!! its for me a dilemma i cant shake as someone working in an iNGO while also still trying to finish my degree in social science, i constantly feel torn apart between a super demanding job, that ultimately fulfills a vital role in combating disinformation and strengthing the free press, and a) the fact that in this whole process, I do only stuff with numbers, finance and controlling makes me feel like im not doing anything political or progressive or like for one another all, while b) im also too strained to really engage with local activism (apart from attending the odd demonstration) which is what i used to do and what really informs my understanding of what it means to "DO" something,, so being paid for this work that is very much part of the political realm even though not in the role I'd prefer or consider "real", already feels like consuming, buying into it
The specific thing that this makes me think about is Keep Cups. I remember after loosing my third keep cup in a row and buying another one. I had to hold my own face in my hands and gently remind myself - fundamentally, it’s impossible to buy your way out of a capitalist problem.