It’s well known that the planet is warming. It’s also well known that extinctions are on the rise. Some people attribute these things to capitalism.
But remember, a lot of humanity doesn’t live in capitalism. Communism, socialism and monarchies span large portions of the globe too. And these nation states also contribute to our troubles. So replacing capitalism isn’t enough.
We could lump all these systems under “profit-making”. For sure, profit drives a lot of human activity. It literally drives economies, whether those economies are capitalist, communist or otherwise.
Some say profit is evil. Is it though? Doesn’t the pursuit of profit help spur innovation? Hasn’t the possibility of getting rich benefited humanity? It’s not that simple, of course. But profit, like capitalism, isn’t all bad.
Which is why we’re not down on either. Instead we focus on an alternatives to these. We still point out problems with both. But we don’t vilify them. Not like some groups do.
Is it capitalism? Or something else?
For example, recently, a Copiosis supporter sent us a photo. It features a campaign poster from Extinction Rebellion (XR). XR is a UK based global organization. Its mission is to compel government action to avoid ecological collapse. Its primary method: “nonviolent civil disobedience.”
XR’s campaign poster vilifies capitalism as a “killer”. Some people might agree with that. But is capitalism really that bad? Is it a “killer”? Or is it something else?
Sure capitalism creates some bad outcomes. However, capitalism creates good outcomes too. One could say it produces more good than bad, at least compared to other systems. That may be one reason why so many want to move to the Unites States. People around the world look to the US as representing the American Dream. A dream hinging on living a good life. That good life primarily made possible through capitalism. That and the US Constitution.
Calling capitalism a “killer” is over the top. Not only is it overblowing what’s really happening, it also makes it harder to replace it.
Positivity works better
A lot of people support XR. Many are critical of it too. XR thrives on raising awareness through disruption. Its methods have issues too. Every action helps of course. Even bad acts generate awareness. But focusing on bad things happening and creating disruption aren’t the most productive ways to creating change. Vilifying what’s happening produces more push-back than progress as well. After all, over 60 percent of Americans hold positive views of capitalism. Criticizing it will likely make America defensive. And defensive people don’t listen well.
So what’s the better approach? Criticizing what’s happening? Or praising it? We believe the latter. That’s why we choose to focus on the positive. Including positive contributions capitalism has made.
Positivity just works better. It also feels better. Besides, who wants to be around a bunch of people being negative all the time? That gets exhausting. And, eventually, negative people end up making matters worse. Worse for themselves and for others.
Instead of criticizing what is, we praise it. Then we offer a better alternative. That’s something XR isn’t doing. They attack what is and make demands. That only goes so far. At some point, we need solutions. They expect others to come up with them.
We’re offering solutions.
The virtuous spiral
All that positivity we exude affects everything around us. It’s subtle though. It takes a while for the result to show up. Particularly when seeking global change. But that positivity triggers a virtuous spiral. One that eventually becomes unstoppable.
Positivity inspires action too. But that action is much more effective. It’s also aligned with All That Is. Because All That Is is oriented positively.
We’ve said before: spirituality is our foundation. Through our spiritual approach we sow seeds in fertile ground. Ground in which our seeds will thrive. Thrive and produce fruit. Fruit that will nourish the world. And everything living on it.
Meanwhile, we’re having fun. We see our individual lives improving. We see evidence of the world we want happening. That improves our moods. And that feels good.
We can’t create a better world if we’re mad all the time. Life doesn’t work that way. There’s no happy ending to an unhappy story. Those only exist in Hollywood.
Reality is different. It demands consistency. That means, if we want a better world, we must come at it from better places.
XR is doing it their way. A lot of people take that approach. Good for them. Every way does its part.
Humanity’s needed solutions will not come from XR. That’s obvious because they’re not offering solutions. Solutions we need are going to come from people like us. People focused positively. People focused on possibility instead of what’s bad.
That focus makes creating a new world fun instead of a challenge.
We wouldn’t do it any other way.