They (the 1%) say that we don’t have demands … they don’t know, perhaps, that our anger alone would be enough to destroy them. But here are some things – a few “pre-revolutionary” thoughts I had – for us to think about together:
We want to put a lid on this system that manufactures inequality. We want to put a cap on the unfettered accumulation of wealth and property by individuals as well as corporations. As “cap-ists” and “lid-ites”, we demand:
• An end to cross-ownership in businesses. For example, weapons manufacturers cannot own TV stations; mining corporations cannot run newspapers; business houses cannot fund universities; drug companies cannot control public health funds.
• Natural resources and essential infrastructure – water supply, electricity, health, and education – cannot be privatised.
• Everybody must have the right to shelter, education and healthcare.
• The children of the rich cannot inherit their parents’ wealth.
This struggle has re-awakened our imagination. Somewhere along the way, capitalism reduced the idea of justice to mean just “human rights”, and the idea of dreaming of equality became blasphemous. We are not fighting to tinker with reforming a system that needs to be replaced.
As a cap-ist and a lid-ite, I salute your struggle.
[Also fun to see them trying to mouth the words Lal Salaam and Zindabaad]
