I just read and article in the paper about a groups push to establish a ‘living wage’ in New Zealand.

It was an interesting read and you can see it here

I liked that the approach they are taking is about appealing to the conscience rather than relying on legislation to enforce their aims.  Underneath the whole issue though is this idea of capital and labour each struggling against each other to get the most they can.

I read things like this and it makes me sad.  Sad that we have organized our society in such a way that this opposition and struggle is inherent in almost all our relationships.  I don’t think it has to be that way though.  I think that collectively we can re-imagine how we relate to each other and reconstruct our society so that co-operation is this norm.

Moving in this direction will require fundamental change in not only our societal institutions, but also in each of our individual attitudes, habits and ways we see the world.  Things that we take for granted as obvious ‘truths’, particularly in how we need to interact with others, would need to be discarded and a new point of view taken up.  This might be scary at first, as it would mean moving from what we know – and while it is problematic – has become ingrained in us, to something that will probably seem strange and unfamiliar to begin with.  I think making the shift will be worthwhile though, and I think there are a lot of people leaning in this direction and trying to find how they can make a change.

I think if not GFRF itself, at least some of the ideas behind GFRF could be part of this change towards a happier, co-operative rather than competitive society.