security

Living in one of the most unequal societies in the world while being chronically interested in scarcities has made me consider what Parecon has to offer by way of access to resources and offering security around them.

A very palatable example is food security. African cities are exploding and last week our CPI data was released for urban areas, reporting a 6 year high. While South African cities are expected to grow slightly less then others o the continent, the stress that high urban inflation will have on the urban poor, married with the horrible permutations which have been triggered by our new status as a net importer of agricultural products for the first time in more than 20 years, means that even more of our already chronically marginalized will continue to sidelined.

The rampant speculation on all commodity markets, including that of food, tends to have the effect of pushing those on the edge closer and closer to tragedy by the day. In Parecon this bullying is not only tempered but eliminated, as society demands its own demands. Shortages of basic commodities will therefore only occur if there is chaotically bad luck, which theoretically should be planned for, or if the society as a whole decides that life is not worth preserving, which while possible, seems slightly out of step with our experiences of human tenacity. All in all basic security should therefore be provided for, and unwanted fluctuations in supply can be relegated to fodder for dystopian science fiction stories.

Access to basic commodities, which I doubt will be interchangeable with the term scarcity, in a Parecon society, is not the only security that a Parecon society is capable of providing though. In South Africa, like many other fractured and heavily hierarchically structured societies, the idea of safety and the excessive paranoia which goes hand in hand can be seen locally, as gated communities and heavily fortified spaces have become normalized and cease to offend even those of us who hate them passionately.

By shifting what is valued by society and changing the way that organizations are structured, there will be no need for paranoia as hoarding ‘valuables’ will seem bizarre, especially if the valuables are ugly pieces of art which only ever has speculated value. The implications of this are huge and nearly impossible for me to imagine, as the idea of not having houses and malls and offices and schools where we are always ‘protecting’ is alien whilst implying a whole range of other positive changes.

Ways to apply these elements of Parecon to daily life are varied. By trying to create strategies which support and encourage structures which have Pareconish values, and being part of groups which are inspiring and hopeful, steering clear of martyr fueled disillusionment, and being involved in our communities, we can cement these elements of Parecon in our own minds and by that be catalysed into realizing new ways to reestablish the ways our societies deal with and respond to the idea of security.