Defeating the Corporate Power

If we can't create a real Utopia, without greed and massive inequality, is there anything we can do to live well and have a positive impact on our world? Bruce Levine suggests that we can organize our lives in such a way that we are able to fight back effectively against corporate greed. Here's step #3 in his 10 Steps to Defeat the Corporatocracy:

We can recover our self-respect and strength by regaining our integrity. This process requires a personal transformation to overcome our sense of powerlessness and fight for what we believe in. Integrity includes acts of courage resisting all illegitimate authorities. We must recognize that in virtually every aspect of our life in every day, we can either be on the side of authoritarianism and the corporatocracy or on the side of anti-authoritarianism and democracy. Specifically, we can question the legitimacy of government, media, religious, educational and other authorities in our lives, and if we establish that an authority is not legitimate, we can resist it. And we can support others who are resisting illegitimate authorities. A huge part of solidarity comes from supporting others who are resisting the illegitimate authorities in their lives. Walt Whitman had it right: "Resist much, obey little. Once unquestioning obedience, once fully enslaved."

I encourage folks who are seeking a little reassurance in these trying times to read all 10 steps. Bruce Levine acknowledges the tremendous obstacles we face, but also points out how much power we have to adopt a positive and empowered attitude. This was just the tonic I needed, and I'm grateful to Bruce Levine for serving it up so well.