Capitalism Is The Crisis: Radical Politics in the Age of Austerity

Capitalism Is The Crisis: Radical Politics in the Age of Austerity examines the ideological roots of the “austerity” agenda and proposes revolutionary paths out of the current crisis. The film features original interviews with Chris Hedges, Derrick Jensen, Michael Hardt, Peter Gelderloos, Leo Panitch, David McNally, Richard J.F. Day, Imre Szeman, Wayne Price, and many more!

The 2008 “financial crisis” in the United States was a systemic fraud in which the wealthy finance capitalists stole trillions of public dollars. No one was jailed for this crime, the largest theft of public money in history.

Instead, the rich forced working people across the globe to pay for their “crisis” through punitive “austerity” programs that gutted public services and repealed workers’ rights.

Austerity was named “Word of the Year” for 2010.

This documentary explains the nature of capitalist crisis, visits the protests against austerity measures, and recommends revolutionary paths for the future.

Special attention is devoted to the crisis in Greece, the 2010 G20 Summit protest in Toronto, Canada, and the remarkable surge of solidarity in Madison, Wisconsin.

It may be their crisis, but it’s our problem.

www.capitalismisthecrisis.net

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Economies and Ecologies in Crisis

by Isaac Hawkins
Friendly Fire Collective
Cascades: Conversations in Crisis

The current state of our environment is one crisis, that for most of us, is undeniable. Specifically I want to address Global Warming because I believe it to be one of the most pivotal issues of our lifetime. It is now inter-related with almost every other progressive struggle we wage. Certainly, within the environmental movement, no issue is without connection to Global Warming. If we want to stop Global Warming, we need to save our forests. If we want to stop Global Warming, we need our oceans to be healthy. If we want our rivers and oceans and people to be healthy, we need to end our energy dependence on coal, oil, gas, and uranium (nuclear). But it is not simply an environmental issue. If we sincerely believe that Global Warming is as big as we’re describing it to be; if we believe that it will contribute to or cause the extinction of up to 80% of the species on this planet by the end of this century and force millions of people to become refugees; then we also need to understand that it is not simply an environmental issue. It is a cultural, social, political and-most of all- an economic issue. If we want to adequately address Global Warming then we need to be honest in these root causes.

Let’s look at the recent events adding to this growing sense of crisis. The events of only the last three months have acted as a giant neon sign directed at our energy policies yelling STOP! First there was the flooded mine in China on March 28th, which killed at least 37 people. (This seemed like a lot until I learned that 2600 people died in Chinese coal mines in 2009 alone). Three days later, on April 6th, an explosion in a West Virginia mine killed 29 people. A few weeks later another mine collapsed in Kentucky, killing two more miners. On May 9th a Russian mine flooded killing 67 workers and on May 30th another explosion in a Chinese mine killed at least 17 more. From China to Russia to the United States people were forced to pause and question the human cost of coal. Five days after the mine incident in China, a coal tanker slammed into the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian Coast, spilling oil and wreaking environmental damage on that unique and sensitive area that scientists estimate will take least 20 years to recover. And on April 20th, the oil rig sank in the Gulf killing 11 people in what was the beginning of the worst environmental disaster in US history.

The Dawn of the Crisis Generation

March 4th is over, but we’ve only just begun.

“Why the hell did you get on that highway?” asked the cops, our cell mates, our coworkers, our classmates. There are many responses that could be given that have been outlined by banners, occupation demands, student leaders, or budget statistics, but none of them really connect to why one would take over a highway. Obviously there are no libraries on a highway. The funding for schools isn’t going to be found on any one of those lanes of oncoming traffic. And, in fact, a lot of people who were arrested on the highway were not students or teachers. This is because the highway takeover is an action against a power structure that is much larger than this year’s budget crisis.

That morning we awakened to newspaper headlines stating the governor’s support for sanctioned student protests. We weren’t the least bit impressed by this patronizing rhetoric. Our motivations for walking up that on ramp to 880 were far deeper and broader than some piddly demand for a return of the same: An education system that has for a long time been the bedrock to our highly divided class system in the United States. The myth that change will come to this society by poor people reaching middle class status through the university makes no sense; a school degree does not impact the condition of the neighborhoods and families we come from. It should also now be clear to everyone that ritualized demonstrations that fail to break out of the normal functioning of society represent nothing more than the further consolidation of state power. What fails to concretely disrupt the system ultimately strengthens it. We know that if we “win” funding from Governor Schwarzenegger this is no victory, but a diversion of funds from one group of already-struggling people to pacify another, without changing shit. For example, plans are in the works that will take money from the health care of prisoners in order to fatten university administrators’ pockets. We refuse to accept a shallow bribe that places “our” interests in competition with the interests of our potential comrades.