Yes, i always thought it was a joke. But, then i got myself a table at an anarchist-run holiday craft sale. Now, what the hell does that mean?
In practice? That there were no assigned places, that vendors had to problem-solve any issues together (as a group of folks working together towards a common cause, as opposed to as competitors) rather than relying on a boss-lady to tell us what to do. That the live entertainment, instead of shlocky christmas music, was live and ranging from neutral to leftist politics. That some of the vendors had sort of alternative or radical content. That junto (the local radical lending library) got a table. That the merch there was (theoretically) local/handmade, although that's (theoretically) true at all craft sales.
So, offering a venue for local people to be self-employed and self-empowered, that's pretty great.
Encouraging people to buy local, handmade, sweatshop free, etc, that's good.
But how many of the materials used by the vendors are truly local/sweatshop free etc?
How much of the content of the stuff being sold was really in any way radical or anarchist?
And is a holiday shopping spree really anarchist?
Here are the reasons i'm still skeptical:
1) what's driving us over the edge is EXCESS. how many of the things one sees at a craft sale are unneccesary? how much of it was made with new material? is consuming these things in any way anarchist? (if i stop for a minute and envision the magical, mythical world where capitalism is gone, i could imagine folks making things to trade or give to each other and while most of it would be useful things like food etc, i think there'd still be a place for art.. but it would have to be made in a way that's respectful of the places the supplies are coming from, for starts.)
2) while we do need to have money to survive, this doesn't necessitate total compromise. we can make money selling things without being assholes about it. i really like the idea, for example, of sliding scale. i really like the idea of "pay what you want". i like the idea of taking the buyer's means into consideration when figuring out what they should pay for something. i like the idea of bartering.
So, the sale was interesting. Most of the folks there did seem to be selling things they'd made themselves, as opposed to being some sort of "middleman" (a loathsome human being and a capitalist of the worst kind). So that was good.
Things i'd love to see at future anarchist craft sales, though?
- skillshares! fuck shopping, learn how to knit and make scarves instead. or whatever.
- more visible promotion of local shopping and recycled products, explaining that there's more to shopping local than just kitcsh or (barf) nationalism. (ie buying local doesn't incur the environmental damage of shipping overseas or across the country) i really like the idea of buying local things (when you have to buy them at all) but really hate how that too is being absorbed into "green capitalism" (barf) so that's becoming sort of a touchy and complicated thing to promote properly.
- flexible pricing. set a sliding scale that can accomodate a wide range of incomes. my experience is that most people will aim for the middle or top.
- more encouragement of bartering.
So what's the point of this long ramble?
My usual point: An anarchist craft sale is sort of a compromise, but we're living a life of compromise so it's, in it's context, not a bad idea. (and that this doesn't mean we should embrace it whole-heartedly, it means we should not destroy it, but work to improve it, and use it as a tool to break down shit that really needs to go, like mindless, selfish, destructive consumerism)
I feel a bit like a liberal. I'm not entirely convinced of what i'm saying. Please help?
.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Capitalism is first and foremost about one thing: freedom. The freedom to assign value to your things yourself. No more of the lord of the land telling you how much your harvest of grain sells for. No central politburo dictating how much you get for making a scarf: you set your price, and people can then make their own decisions, depending on whether they think they get a fair deal. As is their right.
At the time, it was a pretty good improvement over, say, feudalism. Given my perception of the value anarchists give to individual liberty, I think these things are compatible. Especially now that you can use cutting-edge technology to make the playing field more level, bypassing a lot of the large corporate entities that might otherwise take a cut of what's yours. I don't think you're operating at a level where you need to worry about your actions oppressing people - for now ;)
Capitalism is about the freedom to assign value, but what value that ends up being depends on a whole lot of other things. One thing those lovable neocons rarely mention is that capitalism is only as fair as it is transparent. If people actually knew how their beef pattie is made, they would eat less at McDonald's (mmmm, meat slurry). If people saw the way factories work in China, they might think twice about buying from WalMart - or Apple, for that matter.
Access to information is crucial, so I like your suggestion of workshops at craft sales: I think that if people learned how, say, a scarf is knitted, some might pick it up, but most (I think) would realize just how much effort is involved, and might actually be willing to pay MORE for one that's handmade.
This is true, but capitalism is also exploitation. Profiteering almost always happens to the benefit of one person and the detriment of another, or a lot of others.
I think that most of the stuff i make and sell is alright, ethically, but i'm not sure how i feel about supporting the crossover between anarchism and capitalism at all, and especially when most of the vendors probably don't self-identify as anarchists.
Capitalism continues to fuck us all over by incorporating anything that seems to threaten it. A great example is how the environmental movement use to be presented in opposition to capitalism, and now it's presented as an ethical branch of capitalism, and the fact that "eco-friendly" products are still made in poor working conditions, the fact that they're still for the most part unneccesary, and that it's not the specifics of the things we consume that's destroying everything so much as the QUANTITY, are all overlooked.
The same thing happens with all kinds of alternative cultures.
Post a Comment