On 23 August 2021, as part of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg’s Women’s Month activities, activists from various communities in Limpopo, Gauteng and Eastern Cape were treated to a spirited conversation with author and activist Professor Jacklyn Cock, to celebrate her 80th birthday. One of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg’s founders, Prof. Cock also shared her learnings from decades of experience of pursuing environmental and climate justice, and the development of the movement in South Africa.
She says, “If we bring together social and environmental justice we could build a strong movement for a radical and just transition to an African eco-socialist future.”
What do you need to be happy? This may seem like a loaded question in our capitalist society, since it teaches us that in order to be happy, we need to consume a lot of material goods, even if we do not need it. It encourages people to compete (even though we don’t need to) and put themselves first (to satisfy the ego and individual needs/wants), rather than satisfying the needs of the collective (the community.)
“Capitalism is not working. This system is destroying us and eating our souls. And the only way to survive is if we develop a completely different economic system, where we live simply, producing our own supplies and sharing with others. Our society is falling apart at the level of social relations because we are no longer caring and supporting each other. In a country where it seems as though everybody is angry or afraid or both, the best way to address this is to start the conversation,” says Prof. Cock.
Let us consider that question again: What does happiness mean to you? Does it mean having a secure, comfortable home? Having a good job? Feeling safe in your community? Being able to put food on the table? Have access to water? Access to quality education & other opportunities? We all want to feel secure in this life and that is why we need a new system based on equality, where everyone lives simply, lives well and where no-one is living better than the rest.
She says, “As human beings we have a capacity to be happy, but we must realise that we are social creatures. To be happy, we need to experience a sense of solidarity. However, with capitalism, people have been manipulated into believing that, for example, eating fast food is somehow progress, rather than cooking a nutritional meal at home – with produce from your own garden, etc.”
“What apartheid did, very successfully, was break down this sense of community (characteristic of African peoples). Individualism was promoted…Divide & conquer. Solidarity & a sense of community is 1 of the biggest tools we have against the status quo,” observed one attendee.
The first step to changing the system is to deal with the deficiency in leadership… We need the #JustTransition and #ClimateJusticeNOW.
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