Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wasted Energy: Fossil Fuel Divestment
In my comment
on the campus fossil fuel divestment campaign, I noted that divestment
won’t change a thing environmentally. It will only change ownership of
some shares from public institutions to private ones–like the banks we
bailed out with our tax dollars. Given the money to be made on the
booming fossil fuel industry, I’m sure the banks will be delighted to
acquire these shares, and in turn leave the public with no voice at
future shareholder meetings.
Moral theatrics like this divestment campaign might make activists and students feel virtuous, but they do nothing for the environment. They bring big bucks into the coffers of NGOs like 350.org, but they do not change public policy. Nor do they influence corporate behavior, other than in public relations and marketing. I guess that’s why corporate foundations fund NGOs that promote such nonsense.
To date, students on 300 campuses across the US are organizing fossil fuel divestment campaigns. That’s a lot of wasted energy, especially when we need that energy to change the political system that awards fraud and punishes honesty.
As Cory Morningstar observed in her article on 350.org’s divestment tour, launched by Bill McKibben, “Such sophisticated public relations campaigns as this one are quite genius in a multitude of ways. Cloaked under the guise of tackling the root causes of the global climate crisis, such campaigns change nothing. Rather, they ensure the populace is participating in what it has been convinced is meaningful action – and nothing more.” As noted in her article, all market investing is about exploiting people and dismantling ecosystems. If students want to save the planet, they should start organizing for political power to change the market system, not rally to switch investments from one exploiting portfolio to another.
Given the influence such high profile campaigns have on the naive, one might return to the simple maxim of follow the money for guidance. In the case of McKibben and 350.org, one has to ask why such capitalist titans as Rockefeller would fund an NGO that might threaten the power of the oligarchy they symbolize. As Morningstar illustrates, the answer is they don’t.
Moral theatrics like this divestment campaign might make activists and students feel virtuous, but they do nothing for the environment. They bring big bucks into the coffers of NGOs like 350.org, but they do not change public policy. Nor do they influence corporate behavior, other than in public relations and marketing. I guess that’s why corporate foundations fund NGOs that promote such nonsense.
To date, students on 300 campuses across the US are organizing fossil fuel divestment campaigns. That’s a lot of wasted energy, especially when we need that energy to change the political system that awards fraud and punishes honesty.
As Cory Morningstar observed in her article on 350.org’s divestment tour, launched by Bill McKibben, “Such sophisticated public relations campaigns as this one are quite genius in a multitude of ways. Cloaked under the guise of tackling the root causes of the global climate crisis, such campaigns change nothing. Rather, they ensure the populace is participating in what it has been convinced is meaningful action – and nothing more.” As noted in her article, all market investing is about exploiting people and dismantling ecosystems. If students want to save the planet, they should start organizing for political power to change the market system, not rally to switch investments from one exploiting portfolio to another.
Given the influence such high profile campaigns have on the naive, one might return to the simple maxim of follow the money for guidance. In the case of McKibben and 350.org, one has to ask why such capitalist titans as Rockefeller would fund an NGO that might threaten the power of the oligarchy they symbolize. As Morningstar illustrates, the answer is they don’t.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Aid to Raid: Tax Justice History
Tax Justice Network recounts the history of the tax justice movement and its emphasis on poverty reduction through taxation. Focusing on the issue of tax havens and the offshore industry where corporate wealth avoided paying its fair share, the architects of the intellectual framework behind tackling systemic poverty by eliminating tax avoidance shifted public thinking from aid to raid. Once NGOs like Christian Aid saw the light, the global economy that creates poverty became a target for campaigns to force banking transparency and global regimes to collect taxes due. It's a fascinating story, partly for its insight into scholarly activism, and partly for the inspiring message that a few good and determined people can indeed make a big difference.
Saturday, June 08, 2013
Catholic Coup
In her article How the Catholic Bishops Outsmarted Washington Voters, Valerie Tarico exposes the hostile takeover of Washington State's healthcare delivery system by the Catholic Church, despite these services being overwhelmingly taxpayer-funded. More importantly, Tarico notes the services now available or unavailable are dictated by the Vatican.
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
People Land Truth 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Too Big To Jail
As the Financial Services Forum gathered recently at the White House, Tom Burghardt runs down the ongoing criminal enterprise of President Obama's friends like JP Morgan Chase.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
False Victimhood
The Far-Right in the US has long relied on false victimhood to fuel indignation and mobilize resentment into electoral support. With the emergence of the Tea Party, the sense of rage based on false victimhood went steroidal. As Devin Burghart at the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights reports, false victimhood promoted by the Tea Party Patriots is a standard political organizing tactic.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Indigenous Diplomatic Traditions
Politics based on justice, diplomacy based on love is the subject of a
recent article by Mississauga Nishnaabeg author Leanne Simpson in
briarpatch magazine. "Even in a modern context," says Simpson, "treaties
are a storied political relationship, consolidating sacred bonds
between peoples. They are not about the cession of land or the surrender
of Aboriginal title, nor do they assimilate Indigenous law into
Canadian law. They are not a bill of sale. They are not a policy
discussion. Whether the treaty-making process is historic or
contemporary, treaties are not termination agreements."
