A
wet dream of a
nodeshell.
I an twelve years old and was born in Indonesia. In 1965, at the behest of major corporations, the CIA installed one of the most brutal dictators of all time as president of my country. Those same corporations then bribed him and his cronies who live like kings to initiate policies specifically designed to force millions of us off of our land, and to keep labor and environmental standards low while they set up factories. In desperation we had no choice but to move to the filthy slums surrounding the cities and work in these factories. I work 16 hours a day for three dollars, and will for the rest of my life. With the help of the CIA, Suharto killed a million people who spoke out against what our country had become. Most people in the U.S. are unaware of what their government has done with their money because those same corporations own the media. Capitalism is not freedom for me.
I am a computer programmer in the United States. On my web page, I hyperlinked to a site that provides information on how to crack DVDs. I am now in jail, awaiting trial for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Capitalism is not freedom for me.
I live in Argentina. In the 70s the fascists then in charge of my country agreed to the terms of certain ridiculous loans from the IMF. International corporations made it 'worth their while,' and today they live in some of the biggest houses in Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, it is absolutely impossible for my government to pay the loans. It has crippled the economy and we have very little meaningful political choice or control over the destiny of our nation because the loan repayments are most of the government's budget. Capitalism is not freedom for me.
I am a farmer in Brazil. It is 2005. For generations, my family has replanted the seeds from the previous year's crop. Now, thanks to a hemisphere wide instant patent system in the FTAA agreement, a Canadian corporation was given the internationally recognized rights to my variety of seed, simply because they applied first. Now I must pay them a large sum to plant the same seeds I we have planted for free for hundreds of years. I can no longer afford to farm. I must move to the filthy slums of a city. Capitalism is not freedom for me.
I live in the Netherlands. We have created a wonderful society. Unfortunately, much of it will be under water in 50 or so years thanks to changes in global climate patterns. While the dangers of excessive carbon emissions have been agreed upon by all serious scientists in the field for nearly 20 years, oil and auto corporations continue to bribe the political process and prevent the necessary measures from being taken. Capitalism is not freedom for me.