Consumerism Breeds Violence

People of the world, unite. Today we recognize May Day.

“The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles."

- Gandhi

Consumerism is a violent way of life. From the violence of tearing raw materials from the earth, to the violence perpetrated against workers in extraction, transportation, manufacturing, wholesale and retail, everywhere is violence.

Consumers, who may truly believe that life is better surrounded by things they don't need, and act as cogs in the machine, are wracked with the violence of being part of the relentless War on Everything.

Together we can tackle the real weapon of mass destruction - greed. It is this missile that spreads the cluster bombs of poverty, inequality, misogyny, and ecocide.

Today we can begin to take back our lives, and stop the violence. But to do it, we will have to unite under the banner of living with nature and each other, and through that work save our planet for the benefit of all her children.

"That’s the only thing that will prompt a new consensus to form around some alternate, more plausible future, and the emergence of a generation willing to fight for it, even if it requires some real creative destruction of the things that are killing us anyway." 

- James Howard Kunstler