[Marxism] Aikido Activism -- a new economic and social model already begun?

[Burkhart <aikidosphere@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A NEW PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL STRATEGY: AIKIDO ACTIVISM 

Traditional capitalism segments "For Profits" from "Not for Profits" with one 
result being excess on both sides: 

- "For Profits" aim for maximal profits while often ignoring social and 
environmental consequence (responsibility) 
- "Not for Profits" aim for social and environmental justice and 
responsibility, but are impeded in their efforts by a traditionally 
philanthropic basis that causes "For Profit" myopic-profit efforts to dwarf 
"Not for Profit" responsibility-seeking efforts. 

Tradition had been that philanthropists would reap a certain amount of spoils 
in the first part of their life, to later "give back" via philanthropy to 
progressive and remedial causes. This had been the best model possible, given 
the larger forces at play in society. But society is increasingly self-aware, 
due to an explosion in communications and idea flow occasioned by the Internet. 
The same forces of globalization that have empowered society, have also led to 
an increasing necessity to change this traditional model of focusing myopically 
on profit at the expense of humanity and ecology -- else we may destroy our 
planet and our society. The growing realization of this is leading to 
innovations in socially responsible investing, triple bottom line accounting, 
and total corporate responsibility. 

But there is another, complementary, activism-oriented proposal worth 
considering: Aikido Activism. 

Aikido Activism is a new proposal -- but like any true next step, is already 
beginning to take place. Aikido Activism (detailed more fully in an essay at 
tinyurl.com/2pfng ) sees society's future as operating at a point between "For 
Profit" and "Not for Profit", reigning in the excesses of corporations (taking 
a myopic-focus on profit to a more balanced focus on economics, society and the 
environment -- with greater transparency for accountability) while liberating 
progressive causes from the paupery of "Not for Profit" status. 

Kevin Danaher, a leading activist and writer regarding the history of corporate 
objectives and excess, has used the term Aikido to describe Global Exchange's 
strategic campaign against Nike, Starbucks, etc. -- using the force of PR (a 
power and momentum traditionally leveraged by corporations) or the threat of 
that force to present a turning force to the corporation, just as Aikido 
leverages the momentum of an attacker into a progressive outcome. Aikido 
Activism generalizes the concept, and introduces the specific case of 
Intellectual Property Aikido Activism, in which the individual empowerment 
afforded by intellectual property law is leveraged into a progressive 
corporation that is both profit-maker and activist corporation -- strengthened 
by the collective empowerment and competitive protections provided by 
intellectual property laws. 

High-tech is a field involving rapid change, major inflection points (Andy 
Grove's term for business changes based on clever innovations), and 
intellectual property protections. Is it possible that the next big thing will 
ONLY be the next big thing because instead of opting for the traditional 
myopic-profit route, it has opted for building the next big thing via Aikido 
Activism?

Aikido Activism has become possible on a broader scale today because in OECD 
countries, the phrase "a rising tide lifts all boats" is coming to be seen 
today as "a rising tide or lowering tide is actually sinking the boats of many 
OECD-region wage earners and the environment, as jobs follow a global race to 
the bottom that still lifts the boats of corporate-owners."

The original essay on Aikido Activism can be found at http://tinyurl.com/yssuq
 .


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