What does ‘Free Trade' really mean?
Free trade isn't free. It's a contradiction in terms. The words ‘trade' and ‘free' are actually polar opposites. When something is free, no trade occurs. Only when things are not free must we trade. Capitalists use the word ‘freetrade' to describe the economic system that lets them maximize their profits at everyone else's expense. ‘Free trade' is the freedom of capital (and therefore capitalists) to dominate other people, communities, and the earth. ‘Free trade' removes all the barriers that (rarely) stop corporations from clear-cutting forests, dumping poisons in our water supply, and moving our jobs to third world countries where they can pay pennies an hour for the same labour. As ironic and Orwellian as it sounds ‘free trade' is actually economic slavery.
If free trade existed a few hundred years ago the slave trade would never have been abolished (not that it really was, see pennies an hour and economic slavery) because that would have been a barrier to trade. Today Dow Chemical Corporation is suing the government of Quebec for not allowing them to spray their cancer-causing pesticides on lawns in that province, because health is a barrier to trade. Protecting the environment and human rights are barriers to trade as well.
I believe people deserve to be free, not trade. Trade is what enslaves people. Corporations have carved up the entire world and turned everything on this planet, including the land we stand on, the water we drink and all the beautifully complex ecosystems and animals into mere commodities that can be bought and sold. They've taken everything from us, and now they force us to work for them in order to survive in the system of domination and exploitation they've created. We trade our lives away for survival, living paycheck to paycheck, selling our labour just to be able to afford shelter, food, and other necessities of life.
It doesn't have to be this way. We can reclaim our freedom from those who've traded it away for profit. In these times of economic hardships (many Canadians have been or are about to be laid off) we need solidarity and mutual aid more than ever. Collectively we have much more resources than we do as isolated individuals. There IS enough for everyone, but corporations would rather fill dumpsites than share with us. They make sure nothing is free by creating artificial scarcity in order keep us at their mercy.
It's time we rise up and declare freedom from economic slavery. Let the ‘free market' die and give rise to the ‘really really free market': A market where free people give each other gifts simply to make each other's lives better, and because they understand that sharing is more fulfilling than owning. We all have things, skills, ideas and talents to share with each other. The more we share with each other, the less we are forced to work to ‘afford' life, and the more time we can devote to living in the ways we want, spending time in our communities, and working on our own projects.
A ‘really really free market' is a radical step in the right direction. By instituting a gift economy through ‘really really free markets' we counteract and undermine capitalism, waste, and wage slavery by offering an immediate alternative to the current system in which everyone can participate and benefit from.
We've all have boxes full of junk we don't need, but others might have great uses for it. We all got amazing talents, but what good are they unless we share them and liven the mood of those around us? We've all got great ideas, but if we don't present them to others they will never evolve to their full potential? We are all valuable and we each have so much to offer each other.
So I invite you all to experience life outside the confines of commerce and celebrate freedom this Buy Nothing Day (Friday, November 28) as we take Forwell Hall and turn it into a living example of a society based on gift-giving and mutual aid rather than capitalism. The entire SUB building will be turned into Fanshawe's first ‘Really Really Free market' with free films, free music, a free microphone for free speech, free stuff, free food, free services, free everything!
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
If free trade existed a few hundred years ago the slave trade would never have been abolished (not that it really was, see pennies an hour and economic slavery) because that would have been a barrier to trade. Today Dow Chemical Corporation is suing the government of Quebec for not allowing them to spray their cancer-causing pesticides on lawns in that province, because health is a barrier to trade. Protecting the environment and human rights are barriers to trade as well.
I believe people deserve to be free, not trade. Trade is what enslaves people. Corporations have carved up the entire world and turned everything on this planet, including the land we stand on, the water we drink and all the beautifully complex ecosystems and animals into mere commodities that can be bought and sold. They've taken everything from us, and now they force us to work for them in order to survive in the system of domination and exploitation they've created. We trade our lives away for survival, living paycheck to paycheck, selling our labour just to be able to afford shelter, food, and other necessities of life.
It doesn't have to be this way. We can reclaim our freedom from those who've traded it away for profit. In these times of economic hardships (many Canadians have been or are about to be laid off) we need solidarity and mutual aid more than ever. Collectively we have much more resources than we do as isolated individuals. There IS enough for everyone, but corporations would rather fill dumpsites than share with us. They make sure nothing is free by creating artificial scarcity in order keep us at their mercy.
It's time we rise up and declare freedom from economic slavery. Let the ‘free market' die and give rise to the ‘really really free market': A market where free people give each other gifts simply to make each other's lives better, and because they understand that sharing is more fulfilling than owning. We all have things, skills, ideas and talents to share with each other. The more we share with each other, the less we are forced to work to ‘afford' life, and the more time we can devote to living in the ways we want, spending time in our communities, and working on our own projects.
A ‘really really free market' is a radical step in the right direction. By instituting a gift economy through ‘really really free markets' we counteract and undermine capitalism, waste, and wage slavery by offering an immediate alternative to the current system in which everyone can participate and benefit from.
We've all have boxes full of junk we don't need, but others might have great uses for it. We all got amazing talents, but what good are they unless we share them and liven the mood of those around us? We've all got great ideas, but if we don't present them to others they will never evolve to their full potential? We are all valuable and we each have so much to offer each other.
So I invite you all to experience life outside the confines of commerce and celebrate freedom this Buy Nothing Day (Friday, November 28) as we take Forwell Hall and turn it into a living example of a society based on gift-giving and mutual aid rather than capitalism. The entire SUB building will be turned into Fanshawe's first ‘Really Really Free market' with free films, free music, a free microphone for free speech, free stuff, free food, free services, free everything!
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
