There’s no doubt a sizeable proportion of the population of this country last weekend, and the weekends to follow, particularly as we edge towards Christmas will find themselves strolling around Bluewater and Lakeside Shopping Centre, Westfield Stratford City Mall and many others dotted around the country buying and consuming to their hearts content blissfully or ignorantly unaware of the sweatshop labour, the slavery behind the products they are buying. We all do it, some more than others, it’s a modern-day preoccupation for many, a false idea of comfort and happiness. Of course, there are things we need and trying not to buy sweatshop products is quite a task. But we should be aware of the pain and suffering that goes into the making of those products, particularly if we are to be angered by the rise in energy prices coming our way.
You can’t have your capitalist cake and eat it too. You can’t benefit from the suffering of others who live in terrible working and living conditions to make your clothes and all the other ‘stuff’ that surrounds you in your house and then complain about the very same system when it affects you. Well of course you can complain, but your words are empty and hollow. You have no argument except that the system now doesn’t work in your favour.
But all is not bad! For what the current problem with the rise in energy does hand to you, is the ability to get educated, and furthermore start to work towards a system that works for the many rather than the few. It’s fuel to change the current system. In understanding the plight of the those who make our clothes, our trainers, our phones, our ‘everything’, in looking to rebalance that system we not only make their lives better but also our own. What we have is simple capitalism, greed, it’s the profiting off other people through the act of self-interest. Which is great when it works for you, but not so great when it isn’t. And pretty soon a lot of people in this country will be feeling the effects of that self-interest when their energy bills rise.
It’s pretty simple really. Do you want others to suffer for the ‘stuff’ you consume?
If yes: enjoy your energy bills
If no: then there’s somewhere to start.
Nothing can happen until you/we make a start.
Photo by https://unsplash.com/@max_thehuman
