We get what we want

World economy by nominal GDP doubled in size during this last decade.
But today it seems pretty obvious that while developing countries actually are growing, the economy of the developed (as in not developing anymore) world, is mainly growing by debt.
Another sign of our fake wealth is declining happiness.

I guess we all se the need for change, the question is how. This is my take.

First, forget about politicians and “experts” of the corporate elite. They’re all biased creators of the dysfunctional system. (Watch the great movie Inside Job, if you want the full drama).

Two thirds of our economy is consumer driven. That means WE are the rulers. And since change nowadays goes bottom-up, this is a task for you and me.

Steve Jobs once said “When you’re young, you look at television and think, There’s a conspiracy. The networks have conspired to dumb us down. But when you get a little older, you realize that’s not true. The networks are in business to give people exactly what they want. That’s a far more depressing thought. Conspiracy is optimistic! You can shoot the bastards! We can have a revolution! But the networks are really in business to give people what they want.” 

The market is exactly the same. It will give us what we want. So every time you swipe that card to purchase something you also make a micro decision about how the market will act. How society will be in the future.

Do you really want lower prices and larger corporations?
You know it means the market will lower costs, hunt for minimum wage labor and cut wildly in your neighborhood.
It will exploit for short-term profit with no time to think about future generations. It will grow, buy and process food until everything we eat is junk. It will move resources from poor to rich.
The market will continue to increase the gap and society will be torn apart.

Look at the Greeks. The European Central Bank experiment fooled them to borrow money at the same interest rate as Germans (sheissebilligt) and now we blame them for doing just that… Sheissebilligt means nothing but those two words; shit & cheap. Someone always pay the price, in the end you will to.
Shit cheap today, rioting crowds and molotov cocktails in the back yard tomorrow.

The short-term solution I believe in is the opposite of cutbacks (as preached by “experts”). Inflation will have to ”take care” of this debt crisis just like we did it after World War II. If we don’t want to see a new version of the dark ages that is.
But the long-term solution is all about you and me and our everyday decisions.

We are the rulers, and we want beauty, cleverness, simplicity, elegance, humility, directness, truth.
We want first class; the direct opposite of cheap shit.

And for the first time in human history the Internet give us the ability to organize the movement.

Spend your money and time wisely with pride. Give companies, organizations and people you believe do good for society, your support and attention. Tell your network about it.
Punish the ones who do bad and learn how to see through and resist their attempts to manipulate you. Tell your network about it.

I believe this is the great challenge and opportunity of our generation.
I believe this is how we will change.

Tagged as: Capitalism, Change, Consious Capitalism, Steve Jobs, Sustainable business, Vision