Funny Money

Funny thing money. On the one hand it allows the principle of reciprocity to operate on steadily bigger and more complex scales, yet at the same time it is prone to crises of that self same reciprocity that stunts useful activity for years at a time, and also allows the concentration of power in a small set of hands and for those hands to exploit many. That said exploitation is a funny thing, for in a way we all need to enslave each other, like freedom, it is a double edged sword. Without confidence that there will be milk at the supermarket, we may not put the kettle on and go to work each day in case there is no milk tomorrow and everything grinds to a halt There are few constants as reliable as self interest and that is the source of Capitalism's durability. That said, corporate power is often not in my or our interests, and the order that arises spontaneously out of chaos is not the order we would choose. Sometimes though it is better to just leave things, no matter how unsatisfactory, alone, as tampering with them is likely to make them worse. It is interesting that that those in favour of free markets and those in favour of legalising drugs often use similar arguments even though they are on the opposite side of the opposite argument, if you see what I mean. Complex though these arguments are though, I am still comfortable to say that I am on the left, as the intellectual bankruptcy of our times is not planned economies as such but neo liberalism and neo conservatism. That said I am not confident of the chances to really transform the world we live in. I think survival and pragmatism are the order of the day. That aside I think the ethics that the weak should be protected (me included) is where we should concentrate our idealism. That is where we should point our artillery. That is how history shall judge us. But to step outside a narrative of conflict, I think a massive Green Fiesta is called for. We should approach saving the world with gusto and joy. A massive lower case green party! An orgy of green enterprise and energy. Crisis? Bah! Its an opportunity!!