The themes of the cards which are used in Corporatopoly are loosely modelled on contemporary situations. Some of these themes are presented in brief below. In time, I hope to provide better context around each of the ideas, for now I will wait to see if any particular topic attracts attention.

 

 

 Elect Cards

 

Blockchain Based Voting 

There are many systems looking to provide voting solutions in order to stabilise the democratic process. Blockchain programming provides a low cost, tech based, auditable, alternative to traditional voting systems. Contemporary platforms offer validation of the current ballot type system whereby voters choose candidates representing parties/ideologies/wealth sectors, whereas I believe a healthier future lays with removing party based voting, and moving to a distributed network issue based system, where the voter partakes in the issue itself, rather than gambling on the ego of a political representative. See internetofvoters.com

 

Corporate Influence

When profit is the prime mover in all decisions, the value of human life is a distant second. This is clearly the case in the USA, where there is no free medical care, no annual leave, no free education, and no parental leave. Everything is geared toward squeezing the maximum out of the worker and paying them as little as possible. In order to do so, corporations destroy legal barriers via lobbyists who entice politicians to make the changes. 

 

Healthy Housing

The construction  of healthy living environments is economically beneficial over attempting to ameliorate the effects of dealing with health issues created by sub-standard housing. Civic policy can provide better basic housing, healthier indoor environments in countries where damp is and issue, better sanitation to less developed communities where housing is of a base level. 

 

 

Shifting Beliefs.     

The post-religious world leaves many people outside of organised faith structures which have guided the human psyche for millennia. The void of meaninglessness left behind leaves many hanging on the breeze in terms of inner guidance, and vulnerable to the temptations and vagaries of the modern world. 

 

Clean Water 

The availability of quality drinking water is essential to all. Across the world, various entities are seeking to monopolise control of water sources. Protection from corporatisation must occur to prevent communities being starved of basic human necessities.

 

Borderless World

In a perfect world where humanity learns to not view their fellows as leverage to profit. and in turn has dialled down the urge to exist in conflict, the notion of the nation may no longer be necessary. With the development of digital democracy, self governance processes, and integrated technologies like IOT, the need for state borders decreases. Natural boarders like mountains, deserts, rivers, and oceans, may always remain as boundaries, but equally those boundaries can be straddled by commerce, communication, and any of many human endeavours. 

 

Decentralise Media 

Moving control of media sources away from centralised power entities will minimise corporate control. While media is funded by big business, it is subservient to the views of the very few individuals who control big business, and allow the media to present information in such a way which supports their own agendas. The so-called “Fourth Estate” once delivered a narrative which was supported and funded by the state, hence delivering news which had stronger integrity, and the power to go after those who were abusing legal process, regardless of their financial and legal strength. Modern corporate media aids and abets abuse by remaining wilfully blind to corruption. 

    

Decentralised Currency 

The rise of blockchain based currencies is here. If fiat money looses its grip and trust in centrally controlled money systems evaporates, decentralised currencies will provide honest market based value, rather than centralised and corporate manipulated systems which favour those in control of monetary supply and distribution. 

 

Positive Religion Crossover

The history of religion points to common roots. By tracking and reclaiming those roots, religions can celebrate its common ancestry, and push back upon the great divisions which have been created by power-seeking egotists within each structure. A simple focus on the morality which underwrites all mythologies can begin to reconvene the positive aspects which arose as a guide to moral behaviour. 

 

Online Tertiary Learning

Free learning opportunities are growing rapidly, and moving away from the traditional education model, born an indentured to the industrial era. Knowledge is no longer the domain of the higher wealth classes, and can be accessed by anyone with the energy to pursue their goals. Similarly, web-based businesses and employment mean the opportunities to contribute to the evolving knowledge landscape are virtually (get it :) limitless. 

 

Indigenous Heritage. 

Western value systems have moved away from understanding of old-world living, for better or worse. Regardless, there is still much to be re-discovered in the ways which modern living has jettisoned traditional modes of being, community values, and internal sensitivities, in favour of trivial pursuits and idolatry behaviours. Much can be gained by a reassessment the hierarchy of importance to which our values are organised, and looking to indigenous cultures will offer much of the guidance. 

 

Sharism

…is a little developed philosophy, but I like the sound of it. The idea of sharing what there is to be shared, ideas, technology, resources, spaces …rather than monopolising them feels like a better future than the greed riddled contemporary model. The era of open source is one beginning which can lead the way in this space. 

 

Worker Co-ops

Failing businesses are being bought out or taken over by the employees of the company, then run by those same employees. The resulting business orients itself around its workers, rather than profits, which is proving to be extremely beneficial to the workers, and more sustainable as a company. 

 

Safe Substance Use 

The decriminalisation of recreational drugs is bringing a tidal shift in positive economic and social benefits to all countries which are adopting rational policy around use. Portugal is leading the way with significant reductions in drug use, related harm, infection transmission, deaths, and a rise in prevention. The US governments however, is sticking with the “War on Drugs” policy, as it provides inmates for its’ corrupt corporatised jail system, which makes money off each offender who is sent down. 

 

 

Corporations

 

 

Media

What is it that mainstream media is not delivering? The big money interests are firmly attached to media which only deal in stories which compliment their sponsors. The largest sponsors don’t want stories showing how sugary drinks cause obesity, how pesticides are causing cancer, or that opioid addiction was created within the sales methodology of the pharmaceutical company. Therefore, those stories will receive scant coverage, whereas a story which highlights the 

 

Crony Contracting

Unfortunately, all primary construction oriented work requires complex management structures to manage their crews. The larger the contractor, the larger the overhead costs, and the larger pyramid of power, of which the sharp is little more than a pyramid scheme. 

 

War Machine Engineering 

War is one of the most profitable industries on the planet. Build machines, weapons and supply networks, find large scale targets to destroy, then set about rebuilding the decimated infrastructure, whilst charging that newly consigned client pirate rates to do so. 

 

Big data

Its hard to imagine as a consumer, where the giant of big data derives its value. One person, doing  things one day at a time, in a seemingly similar manner to all the others, and in similar enough  way which things have always been done. From the birds eye view of big data, where the entire picture is scooped up wholesale, its drilling back down that reveals the treasure. Looking at patterns in data is immensely valuable to corporations looking to grab a consumers’ attention. 

 

Nuclear Energy

I’m stuck on the fence as to the future of nuclear energy. The former poster child for eternally clean energy sources has some catastrophic shortcomings. The rising stockpile of toxic waste waiting to leach out and destroy ecospheres is alarming, and the ever present threat of catastrophic failure to nuclear facilities leaves the energy source in a risk category which sits like a ticking time bomb. If however the risks can be mitigated, the energy generation capability is immense. 

 

Corporate Farming

Develop a agri-product, and coerce farmers to buy it. Then tie those farmers into a herbicide and nutrient regime which supports that agri-product. To facilitate the regime, set up a loans system which will indenture the farmer for the rest of their lives, et voila!! The farmer now has no way out. They are bound to produce a standard product, removing capacity for the more industrious to work a little harder or try something different in order to yield a better crop, forced to use a carcinogenic chemical on their farms, and locked into an eternal struggle to manage a debt system which had never been required in the past millennia of agriculture. 

 

Insurance

Beware, the world you live in is perilous, and at any moment it is all going to turn bad - make sure you have insurance, and lots of it, for every eventuality. This is the claim of insurance companies.  They have tickled their calculators gently enough to mitigate all your risk completely, and create a little nest-egg for themselves along the way. Hand in hand with the big business and the legal largesse, insurers have grown to be the largest financial institutions on the planet. Yet with all their promises, they are ready to deny your claim because you filled out form 527a-1 incorrectly, or to simply inform you that a virus will not be covered in your claim. 

 

Water Supply

The frontlines for a corporate world war or just wanton monopolising of a natural resource? The big business battle began many years ago as wealthy organisations began purchasing control of fresh water supplies across the planet. Privatisation of natural water assets sets a new horizon for exploitation of the most essential life sustaining substance we have. 

 

Pharmaceuticals

The flip side of the “war on drugs” is the battle to keep the population drugged, legally. Pushing prescription medications with corporate intent has led to the opioid epidemic, and demonstrates the  malice of profit over basic health necessity. 

 

Mining

Eco terrorism via land procurement and stripping, push out indigenous tribes from traditional lands, then leave masses of toxic sludge in ponds which leach into the surrounding ecosphere. The standard model has worked for years, and will continue to deliver, so long as political systems receive their kickbacks. 

 

Prisons    

The most egregious contemporary example of slavery is within the prison system. Big business works hand in hand with the prison system  and law enforcement to provide cheap labour by forcing inmates to escape their boredom for mere pennies per hour. Even the justice system is in on the gig with increasing incarceration penalties being levelled for low level crime in order to maintain and raise the prison population.