My dad is always saying that “back in the day… we had bank books…” He goes on to point out that identify theft was nearly unheard of, the banker at the corner branch knew you by name, and that banks were safe places to keep your money. Now, he says with more than a little irony “things are better!” The software that the bank relies on is constantly being hacked, personal details are constantly being stolen or sold to giant corporations, the banking software that runs on your phone is glitchy and prone to lockouts, and there is no branch on the corner of your street, let alone, banker to recognize you or call you by name.

His observations dovetail with a book that I’m reading called Loved Clothes Last: How the Joy of Rewearing and Repairing Your Clothes Can Be a Revolutionary Act by Orsola de Castro, who effectively argues that the capitalist economy is out of control and it has slowly changed our behaviors to the point where we are buying, consuming, and dumping faster than we ever have before. All of this has huge ramifications on our world: human trafficking, modern day slavery, ecological catastrophe, individual financial insecurity…. Her thesis, like my Dad’s is that we’re not on the right track.

I just ran across an article on CNN about Paramount, and how they are trimming $500 million and laying off thousands so that they can merge with a company called SkyDance. Undoubtedly, a few executives will make a ton of money, but lots of other people will lose out. To what end? How does it end? When does it stop? What’s the point of all of it, because clearly, it’s all completely unsustainable. 📚