Over the past few weeks the Occupy Wall Street movement has been making waves all over the country as a backlash against financial institutions and corporations. Influenced by the magazine Adbusters, the protests have spread all over the world, involving people from diverse backgrounds, ages, and genders. But does the Occupy Wall Street movement have anything to do with postconsumerism?
How Did We Get Here?
While there hasn’t been an official list of demands, the focus of the protest seems to be about the influence of corporations on politics and on the distribution of wealth in America. Corporations’ lobbyists have been influencing Washington politicians for decades, but where and how did they get such funding and the ability to wield it? The overriding American attitude of buying more and not being satisfied – driven by the advertising machine – has made these corporations billions of dollars in profits. Instead of being satisfied with enough, it’s put people through an enormous amount of debt that’s just buried so many – they can’t afford to pay off student loans, pay rent, or be covered with basic health insurance due to a system stacked against them.
Not the Protesting Type? Go Local
One of the memes I’ve seen making the rounds on Facebook lately is the quote “If you want to occupy Wall Street, do your holiday shopping at a local independent merchant.” We’ve always been big fans of going local for shopping needs – you’ll end up spending less money in the long run and supporting local sustainable business is always a plus for any community.
Find Enough for You
If there’s one takeaway for people during these hard economic times, it should be finding out what’s enough for you, one day at a time. And that’s what we’re all about here at Postconsumers: learning to live more with less is a fulfilling lifestyle change, not just a passing phase. It’s about finding the satisfaction of enough for you – and living more in tune with your own values is the best way to show others that it’s possible!
Have you joined any of the Occupy protests? Like us on Facebook and tell us about it!
