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There are so many to choose from. Every one of these selections is an act of corporate treachery that takes billions of dollars from the American people.
1. Selling Medication For Up To 100 Times More Than It's Worth
Pharmaceutical companies reap billions of dollars in...
Paul Buchheit
13 min
The poor pay more for everything, and such transactions are highly profitable for those selling goods and services to the poor. Profits are made on the labor of the poor, the consumption of the poor, and the debt of the poor; meanwhile the poor remain-poor.
4 min
Why does the G20 - meeting this year in Brisbane, Australia - exist? And what's it supposed to do? The group is a forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies. The members include 19 individual countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada...
2 min
Ever seen an angry economics editor? Paul Mason explains why he's sick of standing outside RBS's headquarters talking about banks doing something wrong.
2 min
From small town neighborhoods to cities, the shift in the economy and continued financial struggles is having an adverse effect on communities and creating devastating isolation for its inhabitants. As a result, time banks begin to form encouraging members to repair and...
3 min
Colin Farrell gets some help from a zombie to explain how a TRILLION DOLLARS is being siphoned out of developing countries every single year. You probably know that money laundering, tax evasion and embezzlement goes on, but we bet this Trillion Dollar Scandal is the biggest...
15 min
State lotteries claim to be good for education and the general wellbeing of citizens. But are they? (Spoiler alert: No.) Connect with Last Week Tonight online...
The human economy is currently too big to be sustainable. We know this because Global Footprint Network, which methodically tracks the relevant data, informs us that humanity is now using 1.5 Earths’ worth of resources.
We can temporarily use resources faster than Earth...
Richard Heinberg
132 min
"Only power that is hidden, is power that endures."
3 min
Around the world, the gap between the rich and poor is spiralling out of control. Extreme inequality is not accidental or inevitable - it's the result of deliberate policy choices by people in power. Together we must even it up and stop inequality from undermining our fight...
Libertarianism is, in theory, no defender of the rich and powerful who must always be subject to market competition. As a libertarian who has engaged in countless classroom and online debates, I’ve often asked myself why other people cannot see that. However, I’ve come to...
Andrew Kerr
There’s a wonderful phrase for how capitalism works in the real world (I’m not sure who first came up with it, but I associate it with Noam Chomsky): “The socialization of risk and cost, and the privatization of profit.”
Kevin Carson
What's basic income?"A basic income is an income unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without means test or work requirement" (src).What are the benefits of basic income?Benefits include, in no particular order:Eliminates the "unemployment trap". Under...
Reddit Wiki
2 min
Robert Reich connects the dots to show how a range of positions, on issues ranging from the minimum wage to unemployment insurance to food stamps, work together to keep poor and working families in desperate situations -- and calls on all of us to do something about...
It’s a recurring theme lately that whenever one will point out suffering and generally bad stuff happening because of Capitalism, right-wing libertarian apologists will pop-up from the woodwork to point out that “This ain’t Capitalism”. They will claim that the gover
A Division by Zer0
25 min
Can you resolve these three questions/problems logically without realizing the need to remove the Market Economy?
If so: Make a video and email it to us:
17 min
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Rutger Bregman (1988) studied at Utrecht University and the University of California in Los Angeles, majoring in History. In September 2013 Bregman joined the online journalism platform...
4 min
SolidarityNYC's animated short explains what the solidarity economy framework is and how housing co-ops and community land trusts, worker co-ops, community supported agriculture, and credit unions help to meet everyone's needs within it.
The UK has two welfare states. There is one that is reported and endlessly discussed, and another, which is rarely mentioned. Whilst the first is suffering enormous cuts under the Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition, the other just keeps expanding.
syzygysue
4 min
More than 5 years after the expropriation of €492,000 from 39 different banks, a group of activists reveal how the money was used and how they lived through the experience. The driving force behind this collective is the situation imposed by the current system, civil...
Advocating liberty means opposing the use of force to restrain peaceful, voluntary exchange. But it doesn’t have to mean calling a system of peaceful, voluntary exchange “capitalism.”
Gary Chartier
The global gap between incomes, wealth and living standards is a long-standing failure of human ingenuity and purpose. But in recent years we’ve alsowoken up to the blight of economic inequality within countries, including in the UK where the problem has been growing for the...
Helen Kersley
The indignity of working-for-a-living is well-known to anyone who ever has. Democracy, the great principle on which our society is supposedly founded, is thrown out the window as soon as we punch the time clock at work. With no say over what we produce, or how that production...
IWW
The word “anarchist” is thrown around a lot these days. When discussing their mild disagreements over foreign policy, healthcare, tax rates, gun control, immigration, torture, or the war on drugs, it’s not uncommon for a Republican or Democrat to hurl the word at each other...
Jason Lee Byas
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has been getting some pretty bad press after his rather strange comments on equal pay. Nadella remarked that women shouldn’t ask for a raise but should just wait for the system to reward them with ‘good karma’. Nadella has since backtracked but the...
Amit Singh
20 min
This film presents a huge social problem called technological unemployment. Whilst doing so, the film also presents two potential solutions to this major social issue. The transitional path described in the film concerns a transition towards a job guarantee program of...
As businesses increasingly embrace a not-for-profit culture, an end to overconsumption on a finite planet could finally be in sight. But given the huge lobbying power of vested interests, it will remain impossible to create a truly sustainable world until the illegitimate...
Rajesh Makwana
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) are the latest in a long line of international free trade agreements. But why are they bad for the majority of people and the...
Michael Goodwin, Illustrated by Dan E. Burr
7 min
Naomi Klein — “the most visible and influential figure on the American left,” as The New Yorker puts it — dropped by the Grist office to chat with David Roberts about her new book. They kicked things off by discussing its provocative title: This Changes Everything
There are places where you can come over a bridge and see a whole big city spread out before you. The Mystic River Bridge coming into Boston is such a place, as is the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan or the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. Driving over one of these...
James Herod
For decades now, Noam Chomsky has been widely regarded as the most important intellectual alive (linguist, philosopher, social and political critic) and the leading US dissident since the Vietnam War. Chomsky has published over 100 books and thousands of articles and essays...
C.J. Polychroniou
What does genuine economic progress look like? The orthodox answer is that a bigger economy is always better, but this idea is increasingly strained by the knowledge that, on a finite planet, the economy can’t grow forever.
Samuel Alexander
First, the truth
If you are naked, cold, and hungry, and somehow you get shelter, clothing, and food, you will feel better. Providing for these necessities creates a qualitative change in life, and could even be said to, in some ways, produce “happiness.” You feel...
Thom Hartmann
For-profit capitalism has created social and economic inequality; successful not-for-profit businesses including Mozilla and the Big Issue point to an alternative path
At the heart of the failing capitalist system is the “for-profit” ethic. Based on the myth that humans are...
Donnie Maclurcan and Jennifer Hinton
6 min
In the years following the financial crisis, the UK wasted £375bn on a failed scheme to stimulate the economy and end the recession. This was one of the biggest missed opportunities in history. Here's how it happened and what would happen if the Bank of England had taken just...
When we, as human beings, get a fever, we immediately get worried and take action. After all, we know that if our body temperature rises to 1.5ºC, let alone 2ºC [3.6 ºF] above the normal average, there can be severe damage, while an increase of 4-6ºC [7.2-10.8 ºF] or more can...
Climate Space
These ten moving and often funny short films document a proud 50 year history of campaigning, strikes, occupations, work ins and solidarity in the name of fair pay, decent jobs, and economic justice. The films are made up of interviews with key organisers, speaking about the...
Economic Justice Project
The time has come when we must demonstrate
in our millions not against this or that,
but rather for who we are
* * *
At this time of economic turmoil it can be difficult to perceive for oneself how the principle of sharing is a solution to world problems, and this is...
Mohammed Mesbahi
4 min
A ‘normal’ working week of 21 hours could help to address a range of urgent, interlinked problems: overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and...
I recently read about a cash-strapped seven-year Walmart employee in Louisiana who says she'd live in her car if she could figure out how to do it. Another Walmart employee claims that many Walmart "associates" actually do that to make ends meet, but it's really not an option...
Lawrence J. Hanley
29 min
Ahead of UN summit, organizers of direct action say the planetary crisis of global warming 'is a result of an economic system that is based on endless extraction, endless growth, and ceaseless exploitation of the earth and people.'
What does climate change have to do with...
Sarah Lazare
16 min
John Oliver discusses student debt, which is awful, as well as for-profit colleges, who are awfully good at inflicting debt upon us. Connect with Last Week Tonight online...
15 min
Will robots take most of our jobs in the next several years? The film depicts the changes in the economy, technology and human labour.
For the numerous readers who asked: "But what can we do?" after reading my "10 reasons to smash capitalism," here are ten ways we can build a better economic system:
10. We can elect governments that represent people rather than corporations. This will require serious...
Gary Engler
10. Capitalist corporations suffer from a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and are rewarded by shareholders for acting that way. If corporations could be sent to a criminal psychologist's office they'd be...
Gary Engler
What would happen if we didn't have to worry about making a living anymore? Would people just sit on their asses all day or actually do something meaningful with their lives? Michael Bohmeyer, a 29-year-old founder of a tech startup in Berlin, wanted to find out.
Chris Köver
2 min
A shocking exposé of the inner workings of the $50 billion a year U.S. family law industry, Divorce Corp shines a bright light on the appalling waste, and shameless collusive practices seen daily in family courts. It is a stunning documentary film that anyone considering...
4 min
But we're too disconnected to notice. Featuring Arik Mcbay and Charles Eisenstein.
This is a clip from "Occupied Cascadia" (2012). Watch the full film here.
4 min
This is a clip from "Occupied Cascadia" (2012). Watch the full film here. Featuring Derrick Jensen, Charles Eisenstein and Dillon Thompson.
7 min
John Oliver explores America's wage gap between men and women and proposes a possible solution. Note: Solution proposed is 100% sarcastic.
28 min
What if everybody received every month enough money to live by? Will society collapse? Will we all become slackers? Myths and facts about Unconditional Basic Income, with analysis from a real world experiment conducted in India between 2011-2013. Keynote speech by Federico...
“Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure.”
Maria Popova
4 min
Not many Americans know that the value of the minimum wage has dropped significantly since its peak in 1968. One could have bought a grocery basket full of food with only one hour’s worth of minimum wage work in 1968 (working out to $10.75 in 2014 dollars) . Today, one would...
In an article that will no doubt make “progressive” hearts go pitty-pat (“The 1% May Be Richer Than You Think, Research Shows,” Bloomberg, August 7), Jeanna Smialek suggests that top 1%’s wealth is far greater even than official statistics indicate – and that because so much...
Kevin Carson
An amazing cartoon made by Gavin Aung Than, which is inspired by this great lecture of the philosopher Alan Watts.
Gavin Aung Than
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. They are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them. They are not an interruption in our work. They are the purpose of it. They are not outsiders in our business. They are a part of it. We are not doing them a...
17 min
Payday loans put a staggering amount of Americans in debt. They prey on the elderly and military service members. They're awful, and nearly impossible to regulate. We've recruited Sarah Silverman to help spread the word about how to avoid falling into their clutches.
"The revolution in this era may not need pitchforks, as the ‘peasants’ can just stop paying for the plutocracy."
“The Pitchforks Are Coming ... For Us Plutocrats”! This is how self-proclaimed unapologetic capitalist Nick Hanauer addressed the explosion of global economic...
Nozomi Hayase
Americans think it's normal to hate their jobs. Let us introduce you to the Danish concept of arbejdsglæde. It means happiness at work. Here's how Danish offices make sure it's happening.
Alexander Kjerulf
2 min
Our journey began in 2012...
Psst: Working less is the key to success.
Lynn Stuart Parramore
"What I can't understand is, why aren't people rioting in the streets?" I hear this, now and then, from people of wealthy and powerful backgrounds. There is a kind of incredulity. "After all," the subtext seems to read, "we scream bloody murder when anyone so much as...
David Graeber
Self-organized commons are undergoing a renaissance today as one of the most robust alternatives to modern-day capitalism.
Mention the commons and most people conjure up the image of a bucolic English pasture. The commons were the fields and forests where medieval commoners...
David Bollier
35 min
Documental animado que trata sobre el agotamiento de los recursos, la energía, y el crecimiento. Realizado por Dermot O'Connor - Incubate Pictures - El problema del crecimiento infinito en un planeta finito: una paradoja. El vídeo nos introduce en el análisis del problema...
Like a few other cities, the city is letting some citizens vote directly on how the city spends its money. But, of course, it's adding an online twist.
The heart of Silicon Valley is experimenting with a novel form of direct democracy that gives citizens direct control...
Gregory Fernenstein
47 min
El documental presenta la mecánica de creación y control del dinero, y por ende del poder, por parte de unos pocos haciendo uso de los bancos, y explica de forma muy clara mediante una historia de animación el cómo se pasó del uso exclusivo de monedas al uso de billetes, y...
14 min
John Oliver discusses America's growing wealth gap and why it may be a problem in the future.
Almost everywhere we look, there is an emerging debate on the im
Share The World's Resources
Shared ownership helps to diversify rather than concentrate wealth and roots the value it generates in communities.
Jeffrey Hollender
A quiet revolution is rumbling through New York's municipal offices as they retool to support the creation of worker cooperatives as a way to fight poverty.
Abby Scher
56 min
This 'Accelerated' Crash Course video condenses over 4.5 hours' worth of detailed material on the trends most likely to shape your future into an easy-to-follow exploration that takes less than an hour to view.
28 min
As countries like Greece and Spain struggle under massive debts that are impoverishing its people, the elites around the world are getting richer and richer. This report looks at the ever widening gap.
109 min
These Tuesday evenings begin with brief updates and analyses of major economic events over the last month. June's meeting will focus on: The super rich and major capitalists mobilize to offset capitalism's "side-effects" (poverty, inequality, environmental...
As history has shown, France is capable of the best and the worst, and often in short periods of time.
On the day following Marine Le Pen's Front National victory in the European
Razmig Keucheyan
6 min
Last Call provides a high-level examination of one of the most fundamental environmental questions of our time - are there limits to growth?
In 1972, the publication of the book The Limits to Growth stimulated worldwide interest and debate, selling 30 million copies in 30...
29 min
On October 2nd 1992, Marland Mold, a Pittsfield, Massachusetts plastic mold manufacturer became an employee-owned company. The once radical notion of worker ownership was employed for conservative
91 min
The story of how a group of investigators pursued and exposed Bernie Madoff and his elaborate ponzi scheme which defrauded investors out of $50 billion.
The film includes interviews with Markopolos and fellow investigators Frank Casey, Neil Chelo, Michael Ocrant, and Gaytri...
During the 15 years, I lived and worked in Asia as a development professional from 1978 to 1992, I witness a troubling paradox. GDP was growing, incomes were rising, there was an expanding middle class, and a few people were getting fabulously rich. Development seemed to be...
David Korten
9 min
Wherein the most popular arguments for capitalism are looked at more closely.
Sources:
Worldwide, 13% of workers feel engaged with their work
10 min
Is 'true' capitalism good and crony capitalism the real problem? This debate has been raging for a long time and finally, we have a definitive answer. This video kindly cuts through all of the divisive rhetoric and misunderstandings and offers a constructive path towards...
23 min
Jeremy Rifkin, one of the world's most popular public thinkers and political advisors, argues that capitalism will no longer be the dominant paradigm in the second half of the 21st century.
95 min
This is the movie the food industry doesn't want you to see. FED UP blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and weight loss, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry, aided by the U.S.
Back in in the day, an activist colleague of mine liked to wisecrack that whenever corporations talked about environmental solutions everyone could live with, what they meant were "solutions" only a politically acceptable number of people would die from. That is so 1980s...
Annie Leonard
Modern America has a strong generational divide. Whether it’s cultural or political, there are a wide-range of topics that can be off limits when talking to “the grandparents.” On the reverse side, it can be hard to listen to the “wisdom” of a generation that’s had such a...
The peoples of earlier times prospered from the guidance of simple stories that offered answers to their deepest questions. We need those now more than ever.
David Korten
This is a 'testament to how working people can push back against the status quo of poverty, inequality, and injustice'
'We made this progress possible... but it is neither strong enough nor fast enough.'
That's the summarized reaction by progressive activists in Seattle...
Jon Queally
Half of all Canadians want it. The Swiss have had a referendum on it. The idea's not as far-fetched as it sounds
What if you could receive a guaranteed basic yearly income with no strings attached? Didn’t matter how much money you made now, or in the future. Nobody would ask...
Lynn Stuart Parramore
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "It's really American to avoid paying taxes, legally...It's a game we play...I see nothing wrong with playing the game because we set it up to be a game."
It's not a game for Americans who need jobs and education and public transportation...
Paul Buchheit
First, the bad news: Even if the economy improves, middle-class career paths will continue to disappear as globalization and technological innovation render more jobs obsolete.
David R. Wheeler
Bill Moyers and Michael Winship
Tax day, April 15th, is a day of celebration in the United States. On this day we citizens of the great republic take pride in the fact that we can come together in a democratic society and make decisions cooperatively with one another. The fruits of our labor, beholden to...
Grant Mincy
101 min
Recorded February 25th, 2014 in Vancouver, BC Richard Heinberg speaks on his newest book, covering the short-term nature of the recent North American oil boom and the financial bubble that supports it.
9 min
What is a steady-state economy and how could it positively impact human behavior and our survival on the planet?
Among the big energy stories of 2013, “peak oil” -- the once-popular notion that worldwide oil production would soon reach a maximum level and begin an irreversible decline -- was thoroughly discredited. The explosive development of shale oil and other unconventional fuels
Michael T. Klare
33 min
Temp labor is one of the fastest growing industries in the US. Increasingly, temp workers are part of a business strategy to keep costs down and profits high. From mega-retailers to mom-and-pop shops, temps are hired to do some of the hardest and most dangerous jobs. While...
4 min
Abby Martin explores the public distrust of the US financial system, discussing the controversies surrounding 'High-Frequency Trading', a practice that involves advanced computer algorithms that gives buyers and sellers on Wall Street an advantage over the general public.
2 min
In the series “The Secret Life of a Food Stamp,” Marketplace reporter Krissy Clark traces how big-box stores make billions from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, aka food stamps. What’s more, the wages of many workers at these stores are so low that the...
3 min
Our politicians are hung up on keeping the growth curve rising. But does GDP really tell us all we need to know about a country's wealth and well-being? In this new RSA Short, Kate Raworth makes a powerful argument to look beyond economic growth alone for a true measure of...