Indigenous/Communalist Values vs Capitalist Values

“For years I labored with the idea of reforming the existing institutions of society,”…“a little change here and a little change there, but now I feel differently. You have to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values.”

“We as a nation, must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-orientated society to a person orientated society When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important that people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” MLK, issued this call in his 1968 speech, Beyond Vietnam: He was not able to develop this in more depth, as he was assassinated a year later. Yet his call is still relevant today.

Most people are unaware that that Capitalism has values and that we were all raised with these values, which now reside in our thinking and lead many of our actions in the world. Because they are unconscious, we continue to act on them, in our personal, familial, professional and movement lives. We cannot decolonize ourselves if we are not aware what these values are. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”― C.G. Jung

Plus, we need to find new values that are more just, equitable and sustainable. Indigenous values are almost diametrically opposed to Capitalist values and have been tested for over 90% of human history. Not just Native…