A popular coal-miner’s riddle from the 1930s summarizes one of capitalism’s most visible and absurd contradictions. After a daughter asks her father why their home is so cold, he tells her they don’t have any money to purchase coal. He explains they don’t have money because he lost his job at the coal mine. When the daughter asks why he lost his job, the father answers: “Because we produced too much coal”.
For a contemporary example, how many of us have, through a religious institution, school, mutual aid organization, or other community group, participated in a clothing drive, soliciting gently-used clothing to give to those in need? How many of us need to borrow (or bargain-shop for) nice clothes for job interviews or court appearances? One would think the world is short on clothing. The truth is that the majority of the garments we produce go to landfills instead of other workers. In 2018, 60 percent of 100 billion clothing items were trashed. Despite the immense data-tracking technologies, even garment specialists don’t know how many clothes we produce each year, according to a 2024 article in The Guardian. Based on accessible information, however, “between 80bn and 150bn garments are made” annually, and 10 – 40 percent (or up to 60 billion clothing items) aren’t sold.
A November 2024 study by United Way NCA provides a more contemporary and data-based illustration of the inhumanity of capitalist overproduction. Analyzing data from the U.S. Census and the Department of Housing & Urban Development, they found “there are currently 28 vacant homes for every one person experiencing homelessness in the U.S.”.
There are countless other examples, some more dramatic than others, that show the absurdity of the capitalist system through one of its fundamental contradictions: overproduction. Generally speaking, overproduction occurs when too much is produced compared to how much can be sold at a profit.
Read the full article here: https://www.liberationschool.org/overproduction/
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A popular coal-miner’s riddle from the 1930s summarizes one of capitalism’s most visible and absurd contradictions. After a daughter asks her father why their home is so cold, he tells her they don’t have any money to purchase coal. He explains they don’t have money because he lost his job at the coal mine. When the daughter asks why he lost his job, the father answers: “Because we produced too much coal”.
For a contemporary example, how many of us have, through a religious institution, school, mutual aid organization, or other community group, participated in a clothing drive, soliciting gently-used clothing to give to those in need? How many of us need to borrow (or bargain-shop for) nice clothes for job interviews or court appearances? One would think the world is short on clothing. The truth is that the majority of the garments we produce go to landfills instead of other workers. In 2018, 60 percent of 100 billion clothing items were trashed. Despite the immense data-tracking technologies, even garment specialists don’t know how many clothes we produce each year, according to a 2024 article in The Guardian. Based on accessible information, however, “between 80bn and 150bn garments are made” annually, and 10 – 40 percent (or up to 60 billion clothing items) aren’t sold.
A November 2024 study by United Way NCA provides a more contemporary and data-based illustration of the inhumanity of capitalist overproduction. Analyzing data from the U.S. Census and the Department of Housing & Urban Development, they found “there are currently 28 vacant homes for every one person experiencing homelessness in the U.S.”.
There are countless other examples, some more dramatic than others, that show the absurdity of the capitalist system through one of its fundamental contradictions: overproduction. Generally speaking, overproduction occurs when too much is produced compared to how much can be sold at a profit.
Read the full article here: https://www.liberationschool.org/overproduction/
Extradition of Alex Saab: U.S. takes effort to starve Venezuelans to new lows
Liberation Audio
8 minutes 39 seconds
2 years ago
Extradition of Alex Saab: U.S. takes effort to starve Venezuelans to new lows
Note: Following the original publication of this article, Alex Saab was extradited to Miami on October 16th 2021, and remains in prison awaiting an appeal.
On March 18, The Cape Verde Supreme Court approved the extradition of Venezuelan government envoy Alex Saab to the United States. Saab was en route to Iran to secure food and medicine deals for Venezuelan public programs last year when he was arrested in Cape Verde, at the request of the U.S. government under Donald Trump. He has been imprisoned in Cape Verde since June 2020. Saab is appealing the extradition.
The arrest of Saab is part of the U.S. government’s larger attack on Venezuela’s CLAP (Local Committees for Supply and Production) food distribution program. It is also a blatant violation of national sovereignty spanning several continents as the U.S. demands the right to arrest anyone, anywhere, for pursuing economic development free of U.S. dictates.
Read the full article here: https://www.liberationnews.org/extradition-of-alex-saab-u-s-takes-effort-to-starve-venezuelans-to-new-lows/
Liberation Audio
A popular coal-miner’s riddle from the 1930s summarizes one of capitalism’s most visible and absurd contradictions. After a daughter asks her father why their home is so cold, he tells her they don’t have any money to purchase coal. He explains they don’t have money because he lost his job at the coal mine. When the daughter asks why he lost his job, the father answers: “Because we produced too much coal”.
For a contemporary example, how many of us have, through a religious institution, school, mutual aid organization, or other community group, participated in a clothing drive, soliciting gently-used clothing to give to those in need? How many of us need to borrow (or bargain-shop for) nice clothes for job interviews or court appearances? One would think the world is short on clothing. The truth is that the majority of the garments we produce go to landfills instead of other workers. In 2018, 60 percent of 100 billion clothing items were trashed. Despite the immense data-tracking technologies, even garment specialists don’t know how many clothes we produce each year, according to a 2024 article in The Guardian. Based on accessible information, however, “between 80bn and 150bn garments are made” annually, and 10 – 40 percent (or up to 60 billion clothing items) aren’t sold.
A November 2024 study by United Way NCA provides a more contemporary and data-based illustration of the inhumanity of capitalist overproduction. Analyzing data from the U.S. Census and the Department of Housing & Urban Development, they found “there are currently 28 vacant homes for every one person experiencing homelessness in the U.S.”.
There are countless other examples, some more dramatic than others, that show the absurdity of the capitalist system through one of its fundamental contradictions: overproduction. Generally speaking, overproduction occurs when too much is produced compared to how much can be sold at a profit.
Read the full article here: https://www.liberationschool.org/overproduction/
