The Corporate/Consumer Gift

The corporate/consumer gift keeps on taking.

The corporate/consumer gift is a glittering package that we have laid at the altar of greed. It is a gift that keeps on taking... and taking and taking. And taking.

A recent Oxfam study has shown that the number of billionaires has doubled since this blog began in 2008. The study also found that the planet's richest 85 individuals have as much wealth as the poorest 50% of the population.

If anyone is wondering how much of the Earth's resources corporations wish to access and consume, I have the answer. They want to take it all.

All the planet's primal forests, all the clean water, all the pristine wilderness, all the sweet smelling air, all the fish in the oceans. Everything. Until it is all gone.

Then what?

The corporate/consumer gift that we have created, and perpetuated to near-planetary collapse, is a stylish brick on the accelerator of society, speeding us along to the point of no return. Riding shotgun are pro-corporate, jobs-at-all-costs governments that smooth the way toward the brink by cancelling current environmental laws and preventing new ones from being introduced.

All so the corporate/consumer gift can keep on taking. Most of the stuff we buy is the same - it takes more than it gives.

In order to tame the beast we have created, and take the brick off the gas pedal, we can think about whether we wish to burden ourselves and our loved ones with additional fetters before buying superfluous stuff. Especially around this time of year.

Happy holidays - two more days and the light begins to return.