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

Fri Mar 18 10:49:12 CET 2011

I ll give it a try:

Austerity cuts will not aim de-growth or something like that, it  
clearly aims rearrangement the path that will take us to the growth,  
with acceleration if possible.

Cuts also means less spending and effort on research and development  
for transition to alternative/green economy base, if it is intended at  
all.

Both will be an outcome of [capitalist] intra-class struggle over the state.

Transition movement and labour class have common interst both in  
transtion to an alternative socio economic cultural reality and more  
people and planet focused use of peoples money [or crystilised value  
created by poeple].

So common strategy needs to be based on reclaiming the state, its  
organisational transition, so in this way pushing the cracks of the  
system further -to brake it down, in order to bring about an immedate  
systemic alteration.

just as starting thoughts.

Quoting Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004 at gmail.com>:

> 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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