Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter system--to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There's not a shred of evidence to support it.
Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginning of the agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems. It is in this era, Graeber shows, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.
With the passage of time, however, virtual credit money was replaced by gold and silver coins--and the system as a whole began to decline. Interest rates spiked and the indebted became slaves. And the system perpetuated itself with tremendously violent consequences, with only the rare intervention of kings and churches keeping the system from spiraling out of control. Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a fascinating chronicle of this little known history--as well as how it has defined human history, and what it means for the credit crisis of the present day and the future of our economy.
The 2008 “financial crisis” in the United States was a systemic fraud in which the wealthy finance capitalists stole trillions of public dollars. No one was jailed for this crime, the largest theft of public money in history.
Instead, the rich forced working people across the globe to pay for their “crisis” through punitive “austerity” programs that gutted public services and repealed workers’ rights.
Austerity was named “Word of the Year” for 2010.
This documentary explains the nature of capitalist crisis, visits the protests against austerity measures, and recommends revolutionary paths for the future.
Special attention is devoted to the crisis in Greece, the 2010 G20 Summit protest in Toronto, Canada, and the remarkable surge of solidarity in Madison, Wisconsin.
This fun animation provides a vision of what a post-consumer society could look like, with people working fewer hours and pursuing re-skilling, homesteading, and small-scale enterprises that can help reduce the overall size and impact of the consumer economy. Narrated by economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor (julietschor.org).
Peak Moment 199: "My own reaction seemed so crazy to me," says
psychologist Kathy McMahon of her response to Peak Oil. Wondering if she
was the only "wacko", she started the Peak Oil Blues blog to explore
her own and readersapos; responses. As the "Peak Shrink," Kathy
formulated a delightfully tongue-in-cheek "Panglossian Disorder" -- an
unrealistic optimism about the future. She is about to publish "I Can't
Believe You Actually Think That! A Couple's Guide to Finding Common
Ground about Peak Oil, Climate Catastrophe, and Economic Hard Times."
(http://www.feistylife.com/).
Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, alcalde de Marinaleda nos muestra la experiencia que estan realizando en la población andaluza y comparte su visión sobre como hacer para caminar hacia ese otro mundo posible.
http://solari.com | Financial terrorism and the war on the middle class.
Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H.W. Bush Catherine Austin Fitts blows the whistle on how the financial terrorists have deliberately imploded the US economy and transferred gargantuan amounts of wealth offshore as a means of sacrificing the American middle class. Fitts documents how trillions of dollars went missing from government coffers in the 90′s and how she was personally targeted for exposing the fraud.
THE KINGDOM OF SURVIVAL seeks out radical and alternative visions that challenge the status quo and features Prof. Noam Chomsky, Joe Bageant, Dr. Mark Mirabello.
The Kingdom of Survival is an interdisciplinary documentary combining speculative travelogue and investigative journalism in order to trace possible links between survivalism, spirituality, art, radical politics, outlaw culture, alternative media and fringe philosophy. Circling through themes of utopianism, globalized capitalism, anarchism, intellectual and spiritual self-defense, religion and art, the film investigates physical and psychological survival strategies practiced by groups and individuals in a conflict-ridden and confused post-post- modern world. Maverick writer and filmmaker M.A. Littler hits the outlaw highway in search of visions that challenge the status quo. On his journey Littler crosses paths with renowned linguist and dissident Prof. Noam Chomsky, outlaw historian Dr. Mark Mirabello, gonzo journalist Joe Bageant, legendary reclusive cabin builder Mike Oehler, anarchist book publisher Ramsey Kanaan, egalitarian radio host Sasha Lilley and folk musician Will "The Bull" Taylor. Together they explore radical and alternative visions for the 21st century. Bob Meisenbach, Mike Oehler, Sasha Lilley, Ramsey Kanaan of AK/PM Press and Will "The Bull" Taylor.
The Kingdom of Survival est un documentaire interdisciplinaire qui combine enquête-itinérante-spéculative et journalisme d'investigation afin de tracer des liens possibles entre le survivalisme, la spiritualité, l'art, la radicalité politique, la culture hors-la-loi, les contre-médias et la philosophie de marge. Naviguant autour des thèmes de l'utopie, du capitalisme mondialisé, de l'anarchie, de l'auto-défense intellectuelle et spirituelle, de la religion et de l'art, le film étudie des stratégies de survie physique et psychologique telles qu'elles peuvent être pratiquées par des groupes ou des individus qui ne se reconnaissent plus dans une société post-moderne régie par la confusion et les conflits permanents. M.A Littler, écrivain et cinéaste dissident, taille la route à travers l'Amérique à la recherche de visions qui défient le statut quo. Au cours de son voyage il croise le chemin d'un objecteur de consciences et linguiste renommé, Noam Chomsky, d'un universitaire spécialisé dans l'histoire des Hors-la-lois, Mark Mirabello, d'un écrivain et journaliste gonzo, Joe Bageant, d'un légendaire ermite et constructeur de cabanes à 50 dollars, Mike Oheler, d'un éditeur de littérature anarchiste, Ramsey Kanaan, d'une productrice de radio égalitaire, Sasha Lilley, et d'un musicien de Folk, Will « the Bull » Taylor. Ensemble ils explorent et proposent des visions radicales et alternatives pour le XXI ème siècle.
"Celui qui croit que la croissance peut être infinie dans un monde fini est soit un fou, soit un économiste."
Kenneth Boulding (1910-1993), président de l’American Economic Association.
L’association "Recherche & Décroissance" (degrowth.net) met en œuvre et diffuse des études et des recherches théoriques et pratiques s’inscrivant dans le champ de la décroissance économique. R & D soutient une décroissance économique en tant que réduction collective des capacités d’appropriation et d’exploitation des ressources naturelles ayant pour objectif une société plus écologique, plus équitable, plus démocratique et répondant aux besoins humains.
En marge de la deuxième Conférence sur la Décroissance, organisée par R & D , au mois de mars 2010 à Barcelone, nous avons pu recueillir les impressions de quelques intervenant-e-s et participant-e-s. Ils nous livrent leurs analyses à chaud de la situation du mouvement de la décroissance et leurs réflexions sur les changements nécessaires pour sauver notre monde de la catastrophe.
Cette seconde conférence, s’appuyant sur le succès de la première et l’élan de chercheurs travaillant sur la décroissance, entendait se concentrer sur les nouvelles conditions amenées par la crise économique et souhaitait développer des propositions politiques claires et des stratégies d’action dans le cadre de la décroissance.
Musique : "Puerquerama" de Toluca (Etat de Mexico), "I wanna be a white trash man" "Pare de sufrir" "Cinismo al servico de la masas" - myspace.com/pqrm
Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern
the properties of cities -- that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and
many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the
city's population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how
it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations.
Prof. Dave Montgomery gives his talk 'Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations' at Edmonds Community College in April 2010. Prof. David Montgomery is a geomorphologist who has discovered that the roughly 3 foot-deep skin of our planet is being slowly eroded away, and we are in danger of suffering the same fate as the fallen empires of Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, and Rome. To learn more, visit: http://www.samaralectures.com/speakers/david-montgomery/
Webcast sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. Author David
Montgomery has discovered that the three-foot-deep skin of our planet
is slowly being eroded away, with potentially devastating results. In
this engaging lecture, Montgomery draws from his book 'Dirt: The Erosion
of Civilizations' to trace the role of soil use and abuse in the
history of societies, and discuss how the rise of organic and no-till
farming bring hope for a new agricultural revolution.
Vean este documental de 20 minutos de duración y difúndanlo entre sus vecinos, amigos, comunidades, organizaciones locales, en centros culturales, festivales de cine, manifestaciones... Pueden incluso organizar una proyección seguida de un debate al que puedan invitar a campesinos y autoridades locales o a quien esté interesado.
