Capitalism Versus Fair Trade

One of the many topics for discussion among Anarchists, at least those I tend to speak with regularly, is that of Anarchism and economics. We live in a capitalistic economic system, sometimes referred to as "free trade". Although free trade is typically limited to international definitions, I hear it often in regards to national economics as well. Meaning, we are free to trade our goods and services, for a price, with few legal restrictions. The capitalist market is supposedly the last word in freedom of trade, businesses are generally free to charge whatever they deem appropriate for goods, and they allow the consumers to dictate if that price is too high, or just right. The government limits companies on pay rates, so that we, the employees aren't treated as slaves, and are able to earn a fair wage and work in safe conditions.

But is this the truth?

Capitalism may make trading free from too many restrictions, but it doesn't in fact, guarantee that said trades are fair. What I mean by this is that what we trade - our services for currency, our currency for goods - isn't equal in value, thus not a "fair trade".

Think about it like this. Let's say you work for a grocery store for $8 per hour. You collect your check at the end of the week, put it in the bank, then head right back to the grocery store to buy the food you need to survive. You spend around $80 for the basic foods you need to last you a week.

You have just purchased ten hours of your time, and hard work. The company gives you money, then takes it back at a higher rate then which they are willing to pay you, for the very products you've helped them to sell.

To make matters worse, "market conditions" can dictate inflationary costs - thus costing you more time, and more hard work, for the very same products. While your earnings stay relatively the same. There is also, of course, the illusion of a competitive market. While you may think you have the freedom to choose one store over the other, with regards to costs they are all about the same. As one store goes up in prices, so too, do all of the others. It never seems to go in the other direction, save for a large amount of promotional sales, a marketing trick that barely brings the overpriced items down to a reasonable level. Thus rendering your contribution to competitive pricing, null and void.

Is there a better option?

Yes, there is. it's called fair trade, and it is attainable. Desirable, even. Fair trade is also done freely. Some call it bartering, others, "freecycling". Whatever you'd like to call it, I call it preferable.

With fair trading you still barter your time, or your products, but instead of receiving a relatively worthless piece of paper, you get something you actually need. Our currency is rather meaningless. What is it? It's paper, with numbers on it. An IOU, essentially that has literally no backing to it. Our currency hasn't been backed by gold in a number of years, and even if it was, so what? Exactly how much is a bar of gold worth to a hungry child? Nothing. The feudalistic attempts to make rare items such as gold into something of value is a topic for another post, however. Let's suffice it to say for the moment, that you can't eat money. You can't build a house with it, you can't protect yourself with it, you can't do much with it other than trade it in for the goods you actually need, at an ever increasing rate due to it's fluctuating value. Food's intrinsic value to a human however, never fluctuates.

With that said, let's get back to fair trade. Let's say my car needs new tires. Well, what do I have? I have skills in thus and such industry. I have time, I have something of value to trade. Great! Who do I know? So and so has some tires he no longer needs, let's see if he needs what I have to offer. He does? Great! Let's trade.

Now, the capitalist market would have you believe that those tires are worth a specific price at an inflated cost (no pun intended!). But to someone who no longer needs them, they have little value, other than for trading. So, you come to an agreed upon trade, one that both folks are happy with, and viola! a fair, and free trade has just occurred sans any currency whatsoever.

This kind of trade can occur on many, many levels. Goods for goods, services for goods, goods for services. Many items for trading can be found locally, and freely, too. I went to the beach today and collected bucket fulls of shells and seaweed. Both have value to certain groups of people, some for jewelry making, others for sustenance, etc...either way, for about an hour of my time, I can now go to someone else and trade the goods for something I need.

But, but but! What about production costs?! What about imports! Exports! Taxes!! yes, yes I hear the objections already. On a large national and global scale fair trade hasn't found it's niche. But it will. Eventually, as trade deficits get too high, and taxes and tariffs become too burdensome, and all around costs skyrocket, people will become creative in getting the goods and services they need, sans currency.

It's time to ditch the dollar, my friends, and start working on a way to cooperatively get what you need without being driven into insanity trying to find a way to pay for it.

The thought of having a company pay me a marginal wage to make large profits for them so I can turn around and give them too much of my money by purchasing their over priced products is absurd.

More to come on this subject, as the inner workings of Anarchist economics is simple, yet complicated!

March Against the War Machine.

If you are wondering where I've been today, I have been at a protest. Today there was a protest, organized by the St Francis House of New London, at the US Coast Guard Academy in the same city. Last year the Coast Guard Academy invited president Bush to speak, and this year it was vice president Cheney. Personally speaking, I think Cheney is worse than Bush, as he has been after this war in Iraq for decades upon decades. He has had an twitchy trigger finger, and we all know what happens when Cheney's finger is on a trigger.

That said, today's event was much smaller than last year, and a bit different. It was a silent march and protest. We weren't to speak, or yelp or make noise, no singing (except for the Raging Grannies at the beginning of the rally), just silence, the occasional prayer or soft spoken word by the Franciscan Reverend, and a little pantomime act. The act included a die-in, which I got to participate in. It was great fun.

The day started out really early for us, as we had to get there at a reasonable time - because the rally started at 9 AM sharp. We met up in downtown New London, at a big monument near the train station (whose bathrooms have no paper towels!) and were handed out guidelines for the march, and lyrics to the Raging Grannies songs. We also picked up tombstones, each bearing a list of names of soldiers who have been killed since the start of war.

There were far too many of those tombstones filled to the brim with names.

Then we marched. And marched. I think the folks who organized it opted to pick the longest route possible. We got to our point of destination - and really we were just present, and plenty of local news stations were about, but Cheney was never going to see us. Neither were the folks who organized the event, invited Cheney, or anyone who even remotely supports him, not including the Gathering of Seagulls Eagles of whose numbers dwindled somewhere between 15 and 20 people.

Then we went home! It was quiet, solid, and I think we made our point without saying so much as a word. Your friendly neighborhood Anarchist however, made the news! So I'll stop with the talking, and give you guys and gals some photos to look at. Some I took, some were took of me by local news folks.

Code pink and Raging Grannies sing.

The theme of the protest

My love.

Aww, aint Anarchist couples cute?

More raging Grannies

The Smattering of Seagulls

Oh, so it IS about the money! Glad we cleared that up.

Tombstones (just a fraction of them)

Excellent protest poster!

The die-in, with Cheney killing freedom, liberty, and the constitution.

Me, Marching.

Protesters, marching.

Me again!

To see the Video Click on the first link!

Aha! finally a link to embed teh video!

The Fashionistas

What good is being an Anarchist, if you aren't fashionable about it? I mean, honestly, if we must conform to nonconformity, at least let that nonconformity conform to the fashionable standards we have all grown to loathe and hate love and adore over the years.

Besides, there are some Anarchist fashions that have stood true through the test of time, riots, chemical spray, flame retardant flags, lighter fluid, and slurpies.

I'm here to help you find your innermost Anarchist Fashionista.

Let's start with the basics.



The balaclava look is tried and true. It works great for protests, riots, and peeping in your neighbors windows. With this hot balaclava style you too can smash the State!





The highly accessorized Anarchist never leaves home without their trusty bandannas, goggles, and patches. It helps us distinguish the Anarchists we know, from the ones we don't. If you like the patches on the hoodie, you know them. If you don't they suck and are probably posers, anyway.







Speaking of posers, meet the beautiful Anok in a box. Here's a hint, she's not a real Anarchist! If you bought an Anarchism kit from Hot topic, go home, and listen to Green day, you'll feel betterknowing you smashed Capitalism by buying Anarchist stuff from capitalist corporations.
















Here's one for all you non conforming conformists out there. The ever fashionable HazMat Anarchists. Guaranteed to repel pepper spray, asbestos, and raging Republicans!








No protest is complete without fully painted riot shields. Don't buy girls and boys, you got to make your own!










You should never go to a protest without your trusty black flag, and wicked cool Anarchy Blackberry! You'll need both if you want to get to the designated escape route after the protest.




















Last but not least we have the Anarchist Fashion disaster. Ladies and gentlemen, this poor Anarchist tried to be Fashionista, but the cape would just never do for a good, old fashioned riot.

Anarchist Parenting, Why Discipline is So Important.

There is an aspect to Anarchy that isn't often addressed, but has been brought to my attention through some well meant ribbing. That would be parenting. Because many people believe that Anarchists have little use for any rules whatsoever, and amount the entire ideology to that of a chaotic and violent world, it's only logical to assume that this thinking would apply to parenting as well.

Well, it doesn't.

In fact, as I pointed out in an earlier post Anarchists aren't against "house rules" per se. Those rules and morals and social ethics are mutually beneficial for individuals and the tribes they belong to. No, it is the State enforced laws - often created by people too far removed from anyone affected by said laws that Anarchists oppose. Those laws are reactive, rather than proactive, and often times arbitrary with regards to behaviors that are or are not beneficial to the people who must abide by them. Of course, I've already delved into all of that, let's get to parenting.

Keeping in mind the acceptance of "house rules" or "natural law" as some would say the natural progression of logic would mean these rules are also applied to parenting. Anarchy itself is a rather disciplined practice. Individually disciplined, that is.

First, I would like to go over some basic terms, to make sure we are all on the same page here. When I talk about discipline, I am not talking about punishment. Punishment is only a fraction of what discipline entails. To be disciplined one must be well learned in the ways of whatever ideology they follow. In humanitarian terms, that means learning responsible, ethical and moral behavior. I hesitate to say "good" behavior because "good" is also interpreted as "desirable" and that which is considered to be desirable behavior swings wildly from individual to individual and the outcome isn't always "good", or should I say, ethical and moral? Sometimes punishment is needed during the learning period, but it is not, and should not be the first line of defense of a teacher.

So, as we parent we apply discipline, the art of teaching our children what kind of behavior is appropriate, good, moral, ethical, and responsible and we reinforce these lessons by rewarding good behavior, and punishing bad behavior. This might also be a good time to point out that in child rearing terms, these life long lessons are the building blocks of a child's moral character, and this learning occurs most rapidly between the ages of birth and age 7. After the age of 7, or the "age of reason" information that is taught to the child goes through a filter which did not exist for the first 5 to 7 years of their life. The youngest years are the most crucial years in a child's development. So, when I am referring to children, I do mean young children.

If you're wondering what I'm rambling about, I'll get to the point eventually, I promise.

In a joking manner a fellow blogger expressed humorous shock at the fact that an Anarchist expected parents to construct rules and structure for their children. Of course, there is a pragmatic reason for doing so, and it seems so obvious I almost shouldn't even go into it, but I will.

Children are not adults.

Adults maintain the ability to use reason and logic, and understand the link between cause and effect. This allows adults to function within society in a manner that will keep themselves, and others safe, happy and healthy. Children, however, lack that ability. Anyone who has ever cared for a child knows that children haven't got any common sense. They have a very limited comprehension of cause and effect, and have limited use of reason or logic. Although a child may seem to understand that activity X causes result Y, they in fact have not made the connection between the cause, and the effect. Which is why parents and caregivers know that even if the child physically experiences cause and effect, the child will soon forget, and try it again. Running comes to mind immediately. No matter how many times you tell a child not to run because they might get hurt, they do it anyway. Even if they get hurt, they will get back up and do it again.

Hence the need to create and enforce rules. It's for their own safety, as children are incapable of keeping themselves safe without the help of a parent.

There is another reason, however. Children, being a mostly empty little vessel upon birth, will be filled up with life lessons, and quickly at that. It is a parent's responsibility to ensure that their child be filled with solid, informative, and beneficial life lessons. This is where the ideal of Anarchism come into play, at least in Anarchist households. Although, I suspect that many parents do this without even realizing it is an Anarchist principle.

Teaching a child the discipline of personal responsibility is one of the key elements to teaching a child the basic principles of Anarchism.

You can't teach a child how to be a responsible person, if you don't have any structure, rules, or discipline in place. The rules here are not to be confused with authoritarian style dictatorship. On the contrary, when you discipline your children in a structured manner, you teach your child to make their own decisions based on the moral, ethical, and responsibility building blocks they need to become well adjusted Anarchists adults. They will grow into adults with the knowledge that they don't need a governing body telling them the difference between right and wrong, they are more than capable of making the distinction on their own, and are prepared to actually follow through and do the right thing.

Oh, wait, maybe I did mean to say Anarchist after all.

This method is a proactive method, and there is no need for a government to create laws to make it work.

In any case, that is why structure, discipline and rules are so important to Anarchist parents, without it, our children will not learn the much needed practice of responsibility, ethics, and even self reliance (at an older age) that an Anarchist needs in order to live, as an Anarchist.