If you’re a multimillionaire Hollywood star and you’re living well in a mansion somewhere along the California coast, it’s probably because you earned your money the old-fashioned American way: Through capitalism.
You produced a product that people wanted — entertainment — and you managed to parlay your talents into a huge sum of money.
Good for you. That’s the capitalist way.
But then it makes you look tone-deaf, hypocritical, selfish, and stupid to denounce the very economic system that you yourself utilized in order to reach a level in life that few will ever experience.
And yet, scores of entertainment types have just signed a petition to end capitalism as we know it, and most no doubt did so from the comfort of their coastal mansion.
The petition, titled, “Please, let’s not go back to normal,” states:
The Covid-19 pandemic is a tragedy. This crisis is, however, inviting us to examine what is essential. And what we see is simple : « adjustments » are not enough. The problem is systemic.
The ongoing ecological catastrophe is a meta-crisis : the massive extinction of life on Earth is no longer in doubt, and all indicators point to a direct existential threat. Unlike a pandemic, however severe, a global ecological collapse will have immeasurable consequences.
We therefore solemnly call upon leaders – and all of us as citizens – to leave behind the unsustainable logic that still prevails and to undertake a profound overhaul of our goals, values, and economies.
The pursuit of consumerism and an obsession with productivity have led us to deny the value of life itself : that of plants, that of animals, and that of a great number of human beings. Pollution, climate change, and the destruction of our remaining natural zones has brought the world to a breaking point.
Some of those who have signed this ridiculous, fear-mongering document include Madonna, Robert de Niro, Cate Blanchett, Jane Fonda, Marion Cotillard and Monica Bellucci.
As for “consumerism,” who are these people kidding? They know good and well ‘consumerism’ is what drove their wealth; consumers of their entertainment products, all of which require some form of energy, manufacturing, and other resources to produce.
But of course, when they talk of “ending consumerism,” they aren’t talking about people no longer watching their movies or buying and downloading their songs. No.
They’re talking about how the rest of us should be forced to lower our standards of living while they, the elitist celebrity crowd, continue to live like kings and queens because they’re ‘more special’ and privileged than the rest of us.
They will dance and sing in their massive kitchens and claim “we’re all in this together” during the coronavirus-induced lockdowns while tens of millions of people are losing their jobs, many for good.
What they’re really looking to do is “create a vertical economy of princes and paupers where no one outside of their bubble is allowed to elevate themselves,” writes Paul Joseph Watson. And when the pandemic is over, they’re going to hop back on their private jets and ‘create emissions’ while condemning the rest of us who simply want to jump in our cars and go to a restaurant.
Absurd. But typical.
