[Chapter_Fourteen] The Realth of Nations

[Antonio Roman-Alcala]

Hello all-

As Margaretha explained, I'm interested in facilitating a discussion around
ways of conceiving wealth that contrast with typical modern capitalist
conceptions like GNP. I'd like to write a piece that explains how
individuals in the U.S. and other "first world" countries can effectively
fight the negative effects of capitalism without needing a totalizing
political economic theory on which to base their actions (like communism,
socialism, free market capitalism, etc), by directing their activisms
towards "real wealth" ("realth"). I see the undercurrents of contemporary
political movements (including permacultural ones) already indicating a
reaching towards these new conceptions of wealth, and would like to propose
that activists can use "real wealth indicators" to more effectively judge
the successes and limitations of their activism.

The writing project is an attempt to distill, out of the diverse worlds of
ecological and social justice activism, some mechanisms available to effect
change as individuals and groups, and to frame these mechanisms within a
non-dogmatic but helpful theory of change. What I hope distinguishes this
project from others (like Riane Eisler's *The Real Wealth of Nations* or
Chris Carlsson's *Nowtopia*) is its focus on ways people can make positive
social change here and now, both inside of existing power structures and
without. While Eisler's book focuses on the macro level (using better
measures of wealth to direct government policy) and Carlsson's on the micro
(case studies of ways people are creating "realth" outside of paid work),
this writing will bring together all these elements to create a holistic
picture of the possibilities for political action, from paid non-profit work
and entrepreneurialism, to volunteerism, to conventional political
organizing, and everything in between.

This effort is probably a little ambitious, and possibly foolish. For that
reason, I'm hoping to get feedback from people, regarding:
1) Do you see relevance in this project? Does "realth" as a concept mean
anything to you? Whether or not the neologism is necessary, can you see the
concept of realth as helpful to activists examining their own activism?
2) Is breaking down the divisions between diverse anti- and post-capitalists
possible? Personally, I'm sick of arguing with communists about whether or
not the proletarian revolution is coming, with anarchists about the
unlikelihood of masses of people "dropping out" of society, and with new
"green" capitalists about the historic benefits of capitalism. Is it worth
trying to convince others that maybe these different ideologies aren't
necessarily incompatible? That each has something to offer, as long as its
adherents can remain self-critical and open to new ideas, and can
collaborate with those with differing ideologies?
3) Part of my impetus for writing this was beginning my schooling at UC
Berkeley, where there are so many young people who are being exposed to
critiques of capitalism, without necessarily being offered clear ideas about
how capitalism has been and could be challenged/altered/abolished/improved.
In talking to classmates, I figured a simple, historically contextualized
description of options could help some people define for themselves what
they can do with their time to create social change. So, in that vein, I'm
wondering if anyone has heard of similar books/projects, which I could look
at to decide whether or not this is a project worth putting a lot of time
into (if someone else has already done this...I'd like to know!).

   Below is my most recent "book jacket description" of the project.


*    *

**

*Right now, all over the world, and even in our apathetic and overworked
western culture, people are engaging in "post-capitalist" action. These
actions transcend individual issues--deforestation, industrial pollution,
worker exploitation, gender violence, income inequality--because they come
from a single point of commonality; Post-capitalist actions emerge from a
belief that another world is possible, and that this other world can be
built on an economy that doesn't have the essential failures of capitalism.
Post-capitalists may have divergent views on analysis and implementation,
like the longstanding arguments between social reformers and revolutionists,
or anarchists, social democrats, and communists. But, when evaluated as
forces for social change, these actors work in concert more than is assumed.
All together, their efforts seem to be leading towards a new conception of
societal wealth which deviates from the norms of Gross Domestic Product and
perpetual economic growth. Real wealth, in contrast to capitalist forms of
wealth, serves the needs of people and the environment without externalized
costs or systemic exploitation, and is being fought for in all sorts of ways
by all sorts of people.*

*
*

*By using real wealth indicators as measures of the success of our activism,
and thus of our emerging economic alternative to capitalism, we can counter
paralysis with effective, holistic, and reasoned (but not emotionless)
action. We can use real wealth indicators to assess government policies and
economic-productive processes, just as real wealth can guide our personal
philosophies, helping make decisions in accordance with our post-capitalist
principles.*

*
*

*This book is intended as a realistic, non-pollyannaish answer to the
question: what can we do? When our historical context is understood, and
when we observe and analyze what people have done and are doing to contest
the domination of space and people by capitalist production, we can begin to
see the myriad options available to us to act--thoughtfully and without
hesitation--to create real wealth in our lives.*

**

Instead of proposing that these diverse sets of activists share an ultimate
political platform and just haven't realized it, my goal is to encourage
activists to see the ways their different perspectives and approaches share
commonalities, and are either mutually supporting or destructive. If this is
successful, I hope that activist readers will become less divisive,
sectarian, and dismissive of each other's work, and therefore more
successful in creating broad effective movements. Looking mainly at the U.S.
(as this is my area of experience/expertise), this project will strike a
balance between challenging activists to always be self-critical regarding
tactics, assumptions, and beliefs, and encouraging them to be more accepting
of those whose tactics differ from their own.


Some other themes I intend to elaborate in the piece:

1) A workable synthesis of what I consider two main approaches in activism:
asking where we are and how to get away from there (i.e. problem, or
"reality" based), and asking where we want to go and how to get there (i.e.
solution, or "fantasy" based). This is somewhat similar to the perpetual
reform/revolution debate, and I intend to write a convincing position that
the proper approach is both/and not either/or.

2) The conflicts between "making a living" from activism and "making a life"
of activism (including comparisons of historical movements and their
organizational structures and compensation regimes). This includes an
analysis of the historic role of the "non-profit industrial complex", good
and bad.

3) How can individualist and collectivist activisms become mutually
reinforcing?

4) The use and misuse of "natural" metaphors for designing our activism
(e.g. horizontalist movements as ecosystem "networks").

5) Without degenerating into typical white liberal self-flagellation, I will
analyze the problematic role of "identity politics" vis-a-vis political
transformation--by confronting both issues of privilege in activism and the
limitations of "using the problem (race, gender, etc) as the solution".

6) Understanding patterns of co-optation and recuperation (of efforts to
create radical change); accepting the potential positive outcomes of this,
but proposing strategies for avoiding its deleterious effects.

Thanks for taking the time to read all this, and I look forward to hearing
your thoughts!

-Antonio

-- 
sf urban ag alliance @ sfuaa.org
movie and blog @ insearchofgoodfood.org
community farm @ www.alemanyfarm.org
permaculty @ www.permaculture-sf.org
newspaper @
http://soex.org/alternativeexposure/index.php/antonio-roman-alcala/
personal music @ www.myspace.com/ammra
people people @www.myspace.com/mercurialbombastictenacity
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