WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR TODAY?
Yes that's right, everyday millions of Americans vote. Every dollar you spend is more like a vote for a particular company or corporation. Each time you by a Nike product or buy gas at Shell you are saying, "I support your evil company and the particular way in which you exploit and/or pollute my environment". Shell, if you haven't heard already, is a less than admirable business. They have been polluting the Niger River delta, home of the Ogoni people, for the last 40+ years. The traditional farming and fishing habits of the Ogoni people have been devastated as a result. Also, the Niger River delta has been declared as the most polluted river delta in the world in direct relation to Shell's exploitation. And yes WE(everyone who has ever bought something at Shell) have been contributing to it. Speaking of evil companies, Nike can't be so bad. They just make good shoes, right? Not really, they have closed American factories and reopened them over seas, leaving thousand of Americans without jobs and paying their new employees as low as 67, yes 67 pennies an hour. Now that is the real American way. While I'm on the subject of clothing companies I'll mention another corrupt organization. When you buy Guess clothing you are supporting the sweat shops that they run in southern California. By allowing these types of sweat shops to stay open we are allowing wages to be pushed to the lowest possible dollar amount. Not only are we allowing Guess to hurt the poor and oppressed people of southern California, we are allowing them to hurt every working class citizen indirectly. What can you do? Simply don't buy their products. Also, find out what companies exploit people and the environment and then spread the word and boycott them to. Also, Use LINEX instead of Microsoft for your computer. The new programs are just as easy to use and you will be happy that you stopped helping Bill "I'll belligerently steal existing technology" Gates to corner and monopolize the market. When you notice a company is taking part in the centralization of capitalism simply stop voting for them.
WHAT WOULD A LIBERTARIAN SOCIALIST THINK OF HACKERS?
From what I've read about hackers, concerning their personal manifestos and purpose statements, is that they all seem to converge on the idea that all information should free. Specifically corporate information that influences the welfare of citizens, not a person's private information such as their e-mail and so on. In fact most hackers tend to hate Bill Gates and Microsoft. You might say that it is lucky for us that Gates has developed the Internet to such an extent. However, what you don't know is that computers AND THE INTERNET are the result of public initiative and expense. They were then handed over to people like Bill Gates(who really didn't have interest in the Internet until the past decade). As long as the Internet was under control of the Pentagon, a public subsidy, it was free to use for information sharing. Now that it is part of the "Free Market" it is in the corporate industry's best interest to, if they haven't already, divide the Internet, cut it out of public domain, turn it into inTRAnets, and use it for internal corporate operations. Microsoft would like to control access by guiding the users (consumers) to what they "want", like home shopping and other privately profitable sites. Less profitable sites will be, and already are, extremely hard to find. Therefore, A Libertarian Socialist would be in favor of Hackers because the hackers want freedom of information while respecting the privacy of individuals, not individual corporations. Most Hackers understand that the Internet was intended for public use, not corporatization. Visit the"factory picture"link on this page for more info.
ONE ROTTEN APPLE SPOILS THE WHOLE BUNCH
"Rotten" being social and economical development. What I mean to say is that the American government makes sure that no other country sets an example of a prosperous, and paradoxically free, economy. Most often it's the smallest and undeveloped countries that receive the most subversion. Look at Laos in the 1960's for example, possibly the poorest country in the world. As soon as a small social revolution began to take place, Washington subjected Laos to a secret bombing, devastating the undeveloped settlement. This had nothing to do with the war waged on South Vietnam. The same with Grenada, Washington quickly moved in and destroyed the mild social revolution there. The US wants stability for the elite classes and foreign trade. So they will attempt to destroy any new form of government that might put that in jeopardy. Just look at the current day Chiapas, Mexico. The Zapatista National Liberation Army is trying to overthrow the current dictatorship government that is killing its own people. This dictatorship claims to be capitalist so it gains the support of the US. The US has provided aid and arms to the Mexican government to repress this revolution. The US call the Zapatistas Communists so that they will be stereotyped. When in actuality the Zapatistas are fighting for direct democracy and true freedom. They released a statement that reads, "We have nothing to lose, absolutely nothing, no decent roof over our heads, no work, poor health, no food, no education, no right to freely and democratically choose our leaders, no independence from foreign interests, and no justice for ourselves or our children. But we say enough is enough! We are the descendants of those who truly built this nation, we are millions of dispossessed, and we call upon all our brethren to join our crusade, the only option to avoid dying of starvation". They are trying to lift the burden of poverty while the US funds a militant government which represses their attempts for freedom. The US does this in the name of Capitalism, the so called "free market". As Madison, a US patriot, said in the constitutional debates: the goal of government must be "to protect the minority of the opulent against the majority".
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS
Its ironic that we criticize and try to organize against our government that allows us the right to do so. However, don't think the government cannot take away that right. That is why it is essential for us to keep exposing our government for what it is, a "Bureaucracy" not a Democracy.
POTENTIAL MARXIST
I feel that this neglected customer should get more vindication than simply screaming at a corporate answering machine. So if you want to here a potential murderer of a corporate executive, not to mention possibly many more employees who don’t appreciate customers,then CLICK HERE
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
My Research Paper
