Crisis of Capitalism

*** I wrote this back in 2019 for the blog I write for my job, but never published it because I was worried it was too political. Now I feel like everything going on with COVID is exactly the "excruciating event" that might launch us all into action about these broken systems that hold all the power One of the biggest challenges to being sustainable is not having reusable/refillable options for everyday products. TerraCycle teamed up with UPS and several top brands to create a completely closed-loop container system called Loop. I started to feel excitement about it and then I realized something... why is this MY responsibility? I am not a billionaire, millionaire, nor do I have any power. Why is this gigantic mess something I am supposed to pay to fix? Does this even fix it? No. It's creating a new system of revenue out of trash, which is the only way capitalism will ever handle pollution. I don't trust most solutions that require a new product. Granted, there are plenty of solutions that really do offer alternatives to current ways of doing that are harmful. But, then there are things like reusable produce bags and I'm saying "every bag I have is reusable if I bring it with me". All these companies can simply get rid of their single use models, not leave it up to customers to "do the right thing". Essentially I am paying extra for the corporations unwillingness to stop being massive polluters. Seems like they're trying to offer another solution to a problem they created, and I'm paying for it. Crises of capitalism indeed. I am so tired of trying to "do what's best" because all I really feel is that I'm a puppet in this broken system. It's very difficult to speak out against capitalism in the USA. You get labeled a socialist or Marxist or communist. I am none of those things. I am a realist. Capitalism is based on nothing. Money isn't backed by anything other than social agreement. If we were to place a limit on $ right now... not create any more for our global system. What would happen? How would it rearrange itself? If we keep treating the environment and its people like an endless supply or cache, we are in big trouble. That flawed mindset comes from a capitalist system that has no limit. Limit it... like everything it depends upon to "survive", money needs to have limits. Cap it off so we can allow our systems to reorganize themselves, stop inflation, and come to a conceptual understanding of our energetic systems. We cannot continue to operate in the belief that when we need more, we create more. The laws of nature, of matter, and energy are absolutely not in agreement with that: matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. How do I simply opt out of the capitalist system that is focused on continual growth and expansion beyond capacity? I think hard about what I am buying and why. I stop buying many things I don't need (except Legos... OMG I buy a lot of legos). I buy what I do need from people in my community. I make things myself, re-purpose what I already have, and can hopefully recycle the rest (usually I can't). I don't fall for the marketing trap of "specialization" and get every gadget designed for one purpose... I use one gadget to perform many tasks and still manage to survive. I work hard at being happy with what I already have, and resist the constant push for more more more. I work for others only after I have worked for mine and my own family's needs, and I do so without guilt. I am done being a puppet in this growth & productivity society. I am so close to disappearing into the wilderness somewhere lol. This job is hard for me right now. I have to work within the reality of capitalism to try and find the best possible solutions that currently exist. Most of them fall very short, but I tell myself it's part of the process of change. Nothing happens overnight. Then I think of fires, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, drought, landslides and I realize some things DO happen overnight so I feel helpless. Sometimes I feel guilt... like I have a responsibility I am not living up to, but I don't know what else I can do. I feel incredibly small and insignificant. I feel like all I'm doing is still buying into a broken system that rewards consumption over true change. I can honestly say, as a scientist and biologist... I am most definitely experiencing some profound ecological grief as I think about the animals and cultures we are losing. I have cried hard about Australia. I can't stop thinking about the next decade of trying to save all the animals that just lost their habitat... can it even be done? Are we about to helplessly watch entire species go extinct? What do we do? What more can I do as an individual? I may feel depressed, but I am also hopeful. I am not looking forward to the coming years that will be excruciating enough to shift public opinion on inaction, but I know things will change. How do I know? Because they absolutely have to change for our very survival, and that's one thing humans definitely care about! Grasshoppers better be ready because the ants are realizing their powerful numbers.