The post corporate world

Escaping corporate mind control

Going against the herd
After my wake up call on the sustainable design course at Schumacher college I started buying books like ‘capitalism at the cross roads’ and ‘The post-corporate world’.  I found reading them very comforting as it was a relief to realise there were lots of people out there who thought the same as me, I was not alone. It helped clarify my thoughts and gave me confidence, it’s hard being the different thinker in a group as you are going against the crowd and we have an instinctive need to fit in with the herd so it is uncomfortable when you’re basic survival instincts are in conflict with your need to live your values and beliefs.

I had often wondered why the seemingly intelligent people I worked with were unwilling to question the bigger picture when the role corporations were playing in damaging our ecosystems was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore but I knew they didn’t want the uncomfortable feeling that questioning would cause, they wanted to fit in with the herd and they had bills to pay which I completely understood. The command and control hierarchy works by institutionalising people over many years, the longer their ‘service’ the more ‘rewarded’ they are with higher status and greater responsibility but in reality the longer they stay the more disconnected and out of touch they become from the world outside and the greater their fear of leaving the institution.

Climbing the ladder
The corporate structure and purpose is aligned with the survivalist view of the world, ascending the hierarchy (having power over others) and beating your competitors to ensure the biggest profit for yourself (survival of the fittest) but this very limited life purpose and way of relating to others was deeply unsatisfying to me.

I do not see the value in the personal goals of ‘climbing the ladder’ and the reward of earning more money that those who buy into the business hierarchy appear to accept as a life purpose. I have no desire to ‘achieve these successes’ as ascending a thought construct based on the egoic need to feel superior to others feels like an empty and pointless goal to me.

These thought constructs are clever control mechanisms disguised as something that will fulfil your ‘needs’ as part of consumer society. There is no recognition of you as a human being, so it’s important to be able to differentiate between the genuine needs of your heart and the ‘needs’ you have been conditioned to believe you have by people who want to control you.

Energy of fear and greed pours into the universe 

When I was inside the building the feelings of fear and greed were very strong and being in there for too long would make me feel ill, a kind of negative sensory overload. There was definately an absence of love but most people could not allow themselves to fully connect with this reality because otherwise they would not be able to stay.