Assuring the 'needs' of our fellows is part of what defines a society as 'just'. Not all debt is equal. Some debts come from uncontrollable consumer debt for wants, addictions really. Some debts come from the inequalities built into the structure of capitalism, these are the needs The Debt Collective is attacking in principle. In principle because it's muddy, there is no one clear line between needs and wants unfortunately, it's a draw-it-yourself kinda line.
Defining who our 'fellows' are is as muddy as what 'needs' are. For me, as we - the lora, fauna, microbes, minerals, forces and faeries - are all in this together, we're all fellows. For me a just society would assure the needs of us all and all that connects us. A just society, wouldn't kill the web of life that supports it to enrich a greedy few, a just society 'wouldn't shit in it's own nest' as the capitalist one does. A just society doesn't indenture it's poorest in the service of its richest.
A just society re-distributes wealth so that needs are met. An unjust society is one where the corporations and elites buy political power in all the major parties, which deregulate, subsidize, and under-tax so that corporate profits and executive compensation reach astronomical heights while wages stagnate, climate change goes unchecked and the of the needy debt pile up while the elites become billionaires.
The Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual available FREE online here is an excellent resource for tuning in on 'how to' create your own non-debt ridden just society.
The other day i wondered if i'd been switched at birth when i read Aristides Hatzis, an associate professor of law and economics at the University of Athens explain that: “Normally taxes are considered the price you have to pay for a just state, but this is not accepted by the Greek mentality...Greeks consider taxes as theft.”
A just society attends to needs. A capitalist society caters to wants. We owe our support to one one, nothing to the other.
