very afraid

The comments to my 3 Quarks Daily article on the shamelessness of the post-hegemonic state have been lively.

Here are my four suggestions so far for tactics for punching back against the big banks and other assorted bad guys:

1. Shareholder activism, as I have outlined at 3QD.

2. The Move Your Money campaign.

3. Lobbying local government to do as New York is doing: moving $25 million (more preferably) in public funds to local credit unions.

4. Civil disobedience, particularly directed at the offices of the largest banks and health insurance companies.

Now that winning elections is not enough, it is time to rethink tactics.

Finally, here is the quotation of the day, from today's New York Times:

'I can't tell you how often I heard the phrase, "reputational risk." "Oh, the banks wouldn’t do that." This is trying to shame the shameless.'

Who said that? Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the TARP.

make them afraid

My most recent contribution to 3 Quarks Daily is now available for your reading pleasure. I ask the question, what can we do when the powers that be can no longer be shamed into appeasing, even if only cynically, the powerless. It draws on Antonio Gramsci, J.M. Coetzee, Jenny Holzer, and Eva Cherniavsky. I invite you to check it out.

[Note: comments will be moderated until further notice because spambots have been colonizing my blog, as you may have noticed. All comments from real people will be allowed.]

He deserves better.