[Chapter_Fourteen] The Realth of Nations

Wed Dec 29 16:19:37 PST 2010

dear antonio, rachel & all,

thank you for an interesting prompt.

i agree with rachel's inquiry insofar as a clear definition of "real
wealth", and what its indicators are is necessary. depending on the sources
you use to flesh this out, i could see some potential rabbit holes around
the terminology of "real" versus "unreal" wealth. this could also be very
illuminating though, given that what i presume is unreal wealth is not only
floating, but unsustainable, largely dependent on exploitative labor
practices. one could also say, however that this wealth is very real when it
comes down to privilege: who gets to eat what, move freely, luxuriate when
and where, and make or break laws. then again, if the proverbial plug is
pulled, who is in the strongest position?

i wonder if you are talking about a kind of commons, perhaps something a bit
broader than a purely land-based commons, but a commons still: a shared set
of resources, be it gleaned produce, physical public space, or
creative work<http://creativecommons.org/> that
isn't constricted by copyright. i'm curious if you agree. the dangers of
co-optation are great, particularly if all the diverse movements were to
unite somehow. i've heard it said that production/ distribution houses
actually want to see a controlled amount of music shared; this actually
boosts sales. so how is this accounted for in your analysis of co-optation?
do you see potential for a balance? between real wealth and unreal wealth,
commons and corporations? i ultimately don't, though i may be persuaded that
there are some necessary interim stages on a "path" towards sustainability.
curious if you do. maybe this would tie into your synthesis of reality-based
and fantasy-based modes of activism...

in regards to some of your other points and questions, i'm curious about 3
and 4:
3) How can individualist and collectivist activisms become mutually
reinforcing?
 -- what do you define as individualist and as collectivist?

4) The use and misuse of "natural" metaphors for designing our activism
(e.g. horizontalist movements as ecosystem "networks").
 -- the use and misuse of permaculture/ ecosystem metaphors for people make
me very uncomfortable as well; they frequently sound like social darwinism
to me, and usually (accidentally) imply a dismaying dismissal of lives,
perspectives, positions.

i think it would also be good to hear a range of real world examples....

looking forward to hearing more about all this!

best wishes,
/m

PS
in regards to reading, i might suggest the gift by lewis hyde, radical
materialism for definitions of reality, and perhaps an understanding of
levinas for the politics of difference. perhaps hardt and negri's
multitude.... not at all necessary to draw upon for the text itself, but to
develop the background ideas.

On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 9:06 PM, Rachel A. Buddeberg <rachel at rabe.org>wrote:

> This sounds like a very interesting and rather important project, Antonio,
> and i am excited that you are sharing it here on the list.  It sounds like
> you are trying to figure out a way to hold together diverse movements
> without forcing them to give up their identity.
>
> Before i answer your questions, i'd like to share a question that kept
> running through my head while reading what you wrote:  How is realth
> different from other alternative indicators?  For example, Amartya Sen's
> Human Development Indicator (used by the UN) or the Gross National Happiness
> (here's a list of sustainability indicators:
> http://www.eoearth.org/article/Indicators_of_sustainable_development).
>  From what you wrote, i suspect the difference is that these indices measure
> something of a country whereas you are interested in measuring the impact of
> movements?  If so, how would you measure it, especially since many movements
> are defining "real wealth" differently...
>
> Now to your questions:
>
> 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?
>
>
> Most definitely.  I've recently left corporate America because financial
> wealth had lost its luster for me a long time ago... But i would have to
> ponder what "realth" means to me before i would find that concept useful
> (so, unlike GDP/GNP, it's not something "top of mind" but that might be part
> of what you're trying to address...).  Also, i am not sure if it's one
> thing.  I suspect it would be a cluster of things: realth of nations could
> be the health of the soil; realth of people could be the amount of
> supportive friends we have, the amount of leisure that's available to spend
> with those friends.  Those definitions will depend, though, greatly on our
> situation in life: If i don't have enough food, i might not care much about
> leisure... So, realth could also "just" mean having enough food to eat...
>
> 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?
>
>
> Iris Marion Young tried to formulate an umbrella definition for
> "oppression" because she was tired of one group arguing with another over
> who is more oppressed. Basically, she helps us see how many people are
> oppressed in at least one of five ways - and that oppression is really much
> more prevalent than these discussions suggest (since they seem to present
> people as oppressed or not...).  I don't think she got very far with that...
> BUT i think that these attempts are crucial because they help us experience
> diversity: just because i don't agree with your end goal, doesn't mean that
> we can't agree to work together on some things.  So, i think it definitely
> is "worth trying" to find the common threads.  Actually, the "Right" has
> been rather good at this, so maybe it's time for us to do the same - we
> can't move a mountain with one strategy alone.
>
> 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!).
>
>
> Aside from the indicators i mentioned above, you might want to look at
> Young's work (I can email you the "Five Faces of Oppression," which is a
> chapter from her book "Justice and the Politics of Difference," which came
> out in 1990, so is a bit dated).  In her 1990 book, she sketches - rather
> vaguely, imo - an ideal city, which allows for diversity to thrive without
> demanding an artificial unity, something she accuses both liberals and
> communitarians of imposing.  The other book you might want to look at is
> David Schlosberg's "Defining Environmental Justice." He, too, is interested
> in using diverse definitions to bring together various movements to increase
> their impact but also to teach diversity (my suggestion in #2 is based on
> that).  There is also a chapter in Loretta Pyles book "Progressive Community
> Organizing," which deals with identity politics (chapter 10).  Essentially,
> she suggests that the most important thing is to keep them out in the open,
> acknowledge them, and use them as strengths (I found this book a bit
> superficial, so i am not sure how useful the chapter is...).
>
> If anything isn't clear, you'd like more details (or better cites), please
> let me know!
>
> I look forward to more discussion!
>
> Rachel
>
>
>
>
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-- 

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http://www.hayesvalleyfarm.com/

Lecturer, Film and Digital Media
University of California Santa Cruz
Communications 151

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