Thanks very much for this, we have started a discussion on this text with a small group of firends, good for brain and heart, rhodante On Sun, 3 Jul 2022 at 02:57, Pallav Das <[email protected]> wrote:
Friends,
For the last few months, the Radical Ecological Democracy website (REDWeb) has explored the Australian thinker, Anitra Nelson's recent book, "Beyond Money" for ideas and inspiration to help us negotiate these confounding times of end capitalism. With the help of her intellectual insights, we have, as Bertrand Russel encouraged us to do, hung "a question mark on the thing(s) you've long taken for granted" - the brutal constraints of "universal exchange" and the mesmerizing seduction of money. The response to our efforts has been amazingly powerful, somewhat shocking, frankly, given the omnipotence of money. It seems the interest in Anitra's ideas is a reflection of the growing popular unease towards the oppressive structures of the market economy and its rapidly evident links with the ecological and economic disasters unfolding in front of our eyes. And, needless to say, Anitra spurs us to continue to respond to that societal need, and does so with more than just her words, as if in a sacred communion with Dostoyevsky who said, "I don't know how to be silent when my heart is speaking." Earlier, today, she shared a powerful short film based on her book's significant convictions, which I'm sharing with all of you:
https://anitranelson.info/beyond-money/
I encourage you to take a listen to the resolute calm of Anitra's narration cleverly overlaid on the strikingly insistent and riveting drone of Bruce Rogers' didgeridoo - a quintessential Australian experience, indeed. Strung together with stimulating images of experiments in non-money existence, the disarming simplicity of the film is an affirmation of our growing belief that achieving freedom from the hard clasp of capitalism does not necessarily have to be a complicated affair. But, it starts with the embrace of the idea of "alternatives" with warmth, and dare I say, fervor! As a dear friend of mine often insists, elegantly traversing the chasm between the personal and the political, "indifference doesn't go very well with freedom."
For our part, we at REDWeb are putting together a dynamic team with the help of some brilliant partners to take Anitra's ideas further - more articles on the various ways in which non-money exchanges are being imagined and created, the increasing adoption and adherence to alternative currencies, and the spread of sturdy and secure solidarity economies all over the world, followed by a series of stimulating webinars with thinkers and practitioners of these cutting edge ideas - hopefully, beginning in early autumn. Stay tuned for more news on that!
In the meantime, please share Anitra's film with your networks, and for those of you who may have missed out on the article on the central ideas of her book, here's the link to it:
https://radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/is-post-capitalism-post-money%ef%bf%b...
And, here's the link to the review of Anitra's book by our dear friend and comrade, John Clark:
https://radicalecologicaldemocracy.org/against-the-universal-agent-of-separa...
Shoot me an email if you have any questions, and please continue to share your ideas and opinions on our listserv (and let me know if you would like to join it).
Have a pleasant rest of your weekend, and a Happy 4th to those of you here in the U.S., whatever be the meaning and significance of the day for you! I hope you can relive some old memories, and also create some fresh ones. And, a barbecue under the open sky is always a welcome relief, whatever be the reason for it!
In solidarity,
Pallav
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