2010 – CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It

CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It

CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It is an ongoing movement of interruptions/actions by artists from around the world in response to the need for a fundamental shift in our approach to Capitalism and the negative impact it has on the environment, health, and wellbeing of all. The status quo is not sustainable.

CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It, Lunch-In performance, 2010

CAPITALISM IS OVER IF YOU WANT IT! Manifesto

Capitalism as it currently exists has proven to be ineffective and destructive for the vast majority of beings on the planet and the planet itself. The failure of the capitalist system has required vast inputs of public money, vast inputs of the non-renewable resources, and vast inputs of human labor to keep it functioning and benefiting less than 1% of the global population. While human kind has throughout its history engaged in trade and while currencies have been in use for centuries, it is their co-option into the capitalist military industrial system supported by U.S., European and other international taxpayers that we reject.

We are dismayed and angered by the runaway greed of the past decade and the policies, practices, and deregulation of the thirty years prior that have contributed to the current state of despair for hundreds of millions of people throughout the world.

This careless drive for personal excess has also played a significant role in the global destruction and poisoning of our planet with subsequent effects on the health of all beings/ecosystems; – especially those that are already impoverished. One current example is the well-publicized oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused by a combination of corporate negligence and greed on the part of BP (British Petroleum) and the United States’ government’s compliance through its lack of regulation and oversight in the name of corporate/financial interests. However, what hasn’t been highly publicized is that an Exxon Valdez sized oil spill has occurred on average every year for the past 50 years in the Niger Delta, according to an independent team of experts led by IUCN (International Union of Conservation for Nature) and the World Wildlife Fund. This is a global crisis rooted in greed and capitalism.

While those with financial and political power attempt to appease our concerns by telling us “the economy is in recovery,” “the worst is over,” and “please trust us,” the truth is: it’s not and we should not. The economy is not “in recovery”, the environment is continuing to be destroyed beyond repair, and everything that existed before the economic crash and the Gulf oil spill – for all intents and purposes – is in operation. The same powers that were/are behind the financial and environmental crises are still in force and their greed and lust for excess is alive and kicking. Without a fundamental shift in our approach to capitalism, income disparity and the impact it has on our environment, health, and wellbeing will continue to grow and a much greater collapse is inevitable. This way of life is not sustainable. We need alternative models.

We invite you to join us and add your ideas of how to address the current crises and produce sustainable change. Through Capitalism Is Over! If You Want It our goal is to support the movement to adopt and enact alternatives to Capitalism through creative channels. While making art in response to this runaway greed may seem an act of indulgence in itself, we as cultural workers are part of the community interrogating, creating and representing cultural shifts. At the very least we hope to leverage our creative capital to inspire constructive panalogue, network with others committed to the cause, and perhaps provide some fun and runaway thinking during this Summer of Tough Love … and beyond.

CAPITALISM IS OVER!
If You Want It

ATA Right Window Installation

Luggage Store Gallery Exhibition and Projections

OCCUPY!

Chevron’s Annual Stockholders’ Meeting 2011

CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It

CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It is an ongoing movement of interruptions/actions by artists from around the world in response to the need for a fundamental shift in our approach to Capitalism and the negative impact it has on the environment, health, and wellbeing of all. The status quo is not sustainable. The title of the project references John and Yoko’s “War is Over if You Want It” campaign of the late ’60′s – in the spirit that capitalism is our war of today. The title also reflects how these phenomena are based in our minds and rely on our buy-in to function. Capitalism is not a law of nature. Humans created the system, it no longer works for the majority of the world, and it can be replaced.

Through CAPITALISM IS OVER! If You Want It our goal is to support and enact alternatives to Capitalism through creative channels. While making art in response to this runaway greed may seem an act of indulgence in itself, we as cultural workers are part of the community interrogating, creating and representing cultural shifts. At the very least we hope to leverage our creative capital to inspire constructive panalogue, network with others committed to the cause, and perhaps provide some fun and runaway thinking.

We launched the movement on July 18, 2010 and to date over 100 artists have staged actions/performances in support of finding an alternative to the current Capitalist model. It was inspiring and encouraging to be a part of the global revolution that developed in 2011 through the Arab Spring and Occupy Movements and watch as we have grown and gained momentum and ultimately will manifest in long-term changes to the current status quo.