The eventual problem with corporatism

Haven't seen it, Wolf, but I was listening to a report on the radio this morning which made me think...

Bush is raising money like there's no tomorrow (and if he returns to office, there may not be). Many of his most important sources are corporations -- huge great monsters with subsidiaries all over the place. The company which produces the mayonnaise you buy may be a subsidiary of a corporation which heavily underwrites Bush. I make a couple of financial sacrifices to be able to send dimes and pennies to Dean. Why should I not make sacrifices in my buying practices and not buy goods and services of companies which support Bush. If a lot of us do it, talk about it, send letters to the newspapers about it, the publicity alone would help. But most of all, it's a measure of how deeply we are willing to commit parts of our own lives to get rid of a serious menace.

Why do I like this idea? Because I think part of the real division in the community is the division within ourselves -- we stand for something philosophically but we "go along to get along" in our daily lives.

Wolf:

That is also a fundamental probelm I see with Libertarianism.

They seem to believe that the market CARES about the planet, workers etc.

Tar:

That may be a good idea, but it may be difficult to do. I also think there may be movements like this afoot.

Neo -- Every time I propose this idea, the immediate response is that it "may be difficult to do so." Of course it's difficult and onerous. So's marriage, childbirth, art, writing your dissertation saving someone from the death penalty, climbing Mt. Everest, and just getting to the supermarket if you're handicapped.

Tartarin: wise final words, nicely blending with NeoGuin's signature quote. Yes, libertarianism or classical liberalism suffers from an ideological fallacy. By axing everything around the individual interest, they hope to get the best out of men... yet this is not working: it stimulates corruption.

I would add that the capitalist adagio of essential growth is a method of planetary self-consumption. The summum of hubris and foolishness. We need less skyscrapers and more villages. Less ambitious centralization and more sharing partnership.

In the defense of general entrepreneurship, I encourage the need for environmentally sustainable corporations. Those I would applaud.

So let's publicly identify those corporations which are supporting Bush, link them to products in daily use, and write our newspapers saying Here's why I won't buy or use X while the parent company (named) continues to support the current administration's negligence and corruption.

Positive. Your idea should be applied by all consumers.

So, who are his funders? Lockheed, Exxon, ...

WHITE HOUSE FOR SALE!!!
Funny you should ask . . . We just happen to have this . . .

http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/

This is a web site "that shows how the democratic process is being put up for sale to the highest bidder in the Presidential election. Using big money contributors, President Bush intends to raise an unprecedented $200 million for the primary election season in 2004. The President is raising this money despite the fact that he is running unopposed!"

Don't know how we received this, but here it is for your perusal. :-)

This[/u] says it all. Those should be our real aims of protest.