[P2P-F] important debate: fighting cuts in an age of powerdown

[Michel Bauwens]

http://transitionculture.org/2011/03/15/richard-heinberg-interviewed-in-totnes-i-think-2011-is-going-to-be-an-interesting-year-in-the-chinese-sense-part-two/

Dear friends,

I have some difficulty in articulating the following issue, and hope you can
help me in framing this in the right way,


so, here is the problem,

on the one hand, we have a classic systemic 'end of wave' crisis of
capitalism, a bail-out of the financial class and austerity measures imposed
on working people to fund it, hence, a natural mobilization to defend the
population against those cuts by 'getting the money where it is'

on the other hand, we have a much more systemic systemic crisis due to
climate change, peak oil, etc ... and we have forces such as the transition
movement, these people are saying, it's useless to fight the cuts, they
reflect the end of growth, etc ..  in one of the articles I read, I forgot
about which town, you could see how these people were talking to the
austerity-minded cost-cutting conservative city hall while there was a
massive mobilization of the anti-cuts movement going on,

so, we have 2 contradictory realities, yes, the current austerity is fake
and the money is there but captured by the elite, but, yes, the deeper
crisis is also there and we have to think about changing our economic system
more fundamentally, and part of this is indeed changing the growth system,
etc ..

my hunch is that it is essential to be in solidarity with the workers and
citizens in the anti-cuts movement, but this somewhat reflective attitude
needs an add-on, a broader context, that reflects the second truth, but
without putting us on the side of the plutocracy in justifying the cuts ..

so, how to formulate the right frame that honours both truths?

Michel

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