I was sitting in one of the two lounge chairs on the tiny patio of my favorite coffee spot when a woman and her daughter stepped up, looking for seats. The utilitarian thing to do was offer them my seat, along with the empty one, and move to the tables, squeezing in with some other folks. So that is what I did. I settled in with my coffee compatriots and began soaking up the caffeine and the conversation. And the conversation was revolution.
The first coffee house appeared in London in the 1650’s, as coffee made its way from Turkey northwards across the continent, carried by traders and commerce. Coffee shops soon became the gathering point for merchants seeking a buzz and news of business, and the citizenry seeking news of the English revolution or the restoration of the monarchy. Coffee, Cromwell and conversation. Coffee houses became the engine of revolution, a tradition that continues to this day.
Back at our table, coffees in our hands, I was the oldest of the gathered by a good two decades. The talk was earnest, driven, and from youthful mouths. Topics ranged from conspiracies of corporations to the evils of Monsanto.
When the conversation came around to the financial world and its control of citizens lives, I had to pop in my tuppence worth. I asked my fellow imbibers if they really wanted to strike a blow against capitalism. Heads turned and since I had now opened my big yapper I plunged on.
Paraphrased from my feeble memory, my harangue went something like this…..
“I don’t think revolutions are started or won by grand sweeping gestures. They may have been at one time, but the old model of taking to the streets or barricades to march or picket is just not getting it done. It worked for awhile in the 1960’s, probably because it took the established powers by surprise. When they recovered, they learned to co-opt the forces of change and use those forces to sell products. That is what they have been doing ever since.”
“If you want to strike a blow against capitalism, if you really want to send a spasm down the place that their spines would be if they had them, eliminate all of your debt. Pay off all of your credit cards. Drive a car that is paid for. Better yet, pay cash for it. Buy serviceable, used, things instead of new crap. There is an immense power in the hand, or the pocketbook, of the American consumer. Corporations court us and seduce us. They depend on us for their livelihoods and their existence. Banking institutions thrive on public indebtedness. Strike a blow directly at their control. Pay off you debt. Not only does it free you, it gives you control over them, instead of the other way around.”
“Eliminating your consumer debt strikes a blow and frees you at the same time. Convincing some of your friends and neighbors to do the same strikes a sharper blow and makes your neighborhood a richer place. Convince a segment of the population to eliminate their consumer debt and you start to unravel the system. Modern capitalism is based on consumer spending and debt and the dream of an ever increasing cycle of both of these things. It is impossible to sustain. So go ahead, pay off your debt, free yourself. In the process you will also be raining blows on the ill-conceived props that are holding up this house of cards.”
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