The problem faced by analysts is the orthodoxy of radicalism that frames activism as rhetorical rather than strategic. Relying on this faulty model inevitably generates apathy and despair.

Retooling the human rights movement within the framework of the public health model is the logical solution, but that is not clearly understood outside the rare milieu of mostly unsupported anti-fascist networks. To create an empowered critical mass of effective activists requires an enormous undertaking in reeducation.

The top backer is Coca-Cola, but other familiar brands like GM, GE, McDonald’s, Kodak and Budweiser are easy for consumers to avoid.

As we continue to propose such things as the law of generosity, we would do well to learn to incorporate harmony and beauty in all our communication, symbolic or otherwise.

Perhaps this explains why hippies, as producers of the 1960s co-op renaissance, were marginalized by established business associations. Marginalization is an essential aspect of the ongoing psychological warfare between destroyers and creators.

A disturbing incident I recall from the 1980s was listening to an otherwise kind neighbor deriding hippie culture, specifically mocking peace and love before his young children. As a friend remarked when I told him this story, “What I didn’t understand well at that time was that authoritarians teach a lesson of self-loathing in every way they can. They isolate people and uproot them and belittle them through the media.”

The hippies I hung with in the 1970s started housing trusts, consumer cooperatives, and community gardens. Within this structure, many of us were able to barter for our needs and live well on little income. When the shell of our micro-economy was pierced by hostile development from outside, our community was shattered.