“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.” – Anna Lappe
We live in a world measured by value rather than values. That one letter makes a massive difference. We need to switch from economic value to human values. The majority of us don’t measure our happiness and wellbeing on the salary we earn or the assets we own (studies show that after a basic amount for human rights relative to each country it doesn’t make a difference anyway). We don’t tend to admire others for this either.
It wasn’t long ago that we did value things differently though. One of the exciting things about the future is how we actually get to shape the world. None of us alive here had much of a say – hypercapitalism kicked in and away we went. Economists took the reign and we let them. We even talk about the economy in abstract ways not really understanding why it is the shape it is. Our future though? We’re at a crisis point – we get to collectively mold it. Take it offline and get involved in local politics. Understand what’s happening. Know your local officials. Attend town halls. Go to rallies. Hold an event. Door-knock. Get chatting. Run for office (and if you’re doing this please alert us – we want to champion it!). Demand more. Create a vision. Share your vision. Hold discussions around the table. Write to companies. Demand more again. Take a passion project and vow to have it executed this year (like food waste in your community). Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote for people who have a positive idea for the future and a plan on how to get there.
In terms of using our own money though, where possible, reduce as much as possible. Save your pesa and buy ethically when needed. There’s so much you can do when you frame your choices by your values. Support small businesses. It’s privileged and we’re lucky we can do it. Share that privilege. Use it. Extend it. We also think it should be thought of in terms of budgeting – the less we buy the better, full stop. And that saves money for experiences and projects you can do instead.
