The Corporation

"This crisis of capitalism is not all bad news"

If the video doesn't work, you can watch it here.

I admire the fact that Professor Ghosh, even though she claims that the current recession is "much bigger and more extensive" than the Great Depression, manages to be optimistic about the future, and denies that the crisis will necessarily lead to fascism as it did in the 1930s. I appreciated the way she started out, arguing that the current market/financial/banking needs to be changed to lead to more social justice and better care of the environment. But I was disappointed about her conclusions : she wants to reform capitalism, not do away with it. It's similar to Nicolas Sarkozy who on one hand says that "laissez-faire capitalism is over" and denounces the "dictatorship of the market" and on the other hand declares that he wants to "restructure capitalism". Now I don't know if they are being hypocritical or if they are just naïve. But reforming or restructuring capitalism just ain't possible. Controlled capitalism is an oxymoron. Welfare capitalism is a myth. Capitalism isn't evil : it can't be, it's not a person. But capitalism, by its very nature, has to expand to exist. If it stops growing, it collapses. It feeds on growth. If we really want the world to be a more just, ethical, sustainable place, we can't just reform the capitalist system, we have to pull out of it. What to set up in its place is a matter of great debate, and I don't believe that an alternative system will solve all of the world's problems, but that doesn't change the fact that capitalism has to be done away with.

Of Bread and Frogs

Turning vegetarian - that was unforgivable for our French friends. Refusing to eat "le" meat ? How could we be such philistines ? (Yes, meat-eating is considered an art in France). Then it was choosing to get around on bikes.

But now we've given them another reason to label us as crazy arrogant foreign hipsters. We bought a bread machine. Now, our French friends don't know this yet. But I can already imagine their reaction. "What ? You don't like baguettes ? Food snobs !" Well, I guess baguette is okay now and then as a novelty, but it gets boring when you eat it 365 days a year - as many French people still do. Plus it isn't even healthy. There's no wholegrain in it. And if you drink water with it, it makes you bloat. Yes, like frogs.

It's part of a wider move. We're trying to buy less pre-packaged, processed and ready-made food, and cook/bake more ourselves. It takes much more time, but it's cheaper (no matter what people say), it's healthier, it's yummier, and it's more ethical.

So who cares what the French think ? I'd rather be arrogant and healthy any day than cynical and bloated.

PS. Don't miss the Age of Stupid drama-docu film about climate change when it comes out this Spring.

A Really Inconvenient Truth

A Really Inconvenient Truth is an analysis of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and a critique of capitalism by American eco-socialist Joel Kovel, who ran against Ralph Nader for the Green Party's Presidential nomination in 2000 .
If you're a hardened capitalist, you'll probably hate this video. Otherwise you should have a look.



The main point Kovel makes is that you can't try to stop environmental crisis and the thrashing of our planet without challenging the capitalist system, and all that it entails.
I really appreciated the fact that Kovel makes it clear that we, as individuals, have to change our lifestyle of unabashed consumerism. Too many socialists are busy attacking capitalism (which is a good thing in itself) but aren't ready to change any of their own habits.

Bicycles

Découvrez Queen!

I'm just back in from a bicycle ride. Very refreshing! L and I each bought a city bike last week. So far, we've been used to going everywhere either with the bus or on foot. Now we can go to places that are not at a walkable distance and where buses don't go. We'd been hoping to get bikes for a long time now, and with the sales on and the summer here it was the best time to do it!
Here are a few reasons why using a bicycle is cool.

• It's fun!
• It's much healthier than taking the car or the bus. If like me you're not really into running/jogging, or team sports, cycling is a good alternative to keep you active and on the go.
  
• It's handy for groceries... I attached a basket to the front of my bike, which already attract a few strange looks. It's not considered a typically "masculine" thing to do in France, but people should get over it. In the Netherlands and Flanders, it's the norm!
• It's cheap! No need to pay the bus fare as often, and it's (literaly) costs nothing compared to all the money you have to put into a car... no petrol, no insurance, no MOT test...
  
• Last (and most importantly), it's eco-friendly. There's no CO² coming out of a bicycle! There are so many people over here that take the car just to drive a few hundred metres down to the bakery for their baguette. Worse, in our cities we have lots of SUVs and 4x4s roaring down our streets, driven by upper middle class mothers with fake tans and sunglasses driving their model kids to the local Conservatoire (the notoriously snobbish French music school). Maybe they are scared of leaving their enclaved suburban homes or snazzy city-centre dwellings for the urban jungle of ordinary people, and feel protected behind the wheel of their safari-style vehicles? I think those cars should be prohibited or severely restricted in urban areas. If you aren't a farmer or a forester, frankly, you don't need one, so give it up!