Aim for manipulation
Thanks for the experiences. Terrifying to say the least, but good examples of how we are thinking about health autonomy. Within Woodbine and what we hope to see in the larger conversation around the “Living Communism, spreading anarchy” theme is a recognition of our dependence on institutions. I think holistic medicines and yoga and meditation are amazing tools that we must grow and learn from. But as we always say, if I break my arm, I’m not looking to reiki. And especially through my job as an ER doc, Im trained and beholden (monetarily and functionally) to these institutions. In this transition period, I do think we need to recognize the role of these institutions and utilize them. But I would disagree with the end of your thoughts. One thing I have seen through my experiences in medicine is that these institutions are not neutral entities. For example, in the cases you described above, the modern ICU care here in the US is utterly life-saving. But the costs of that care is entirely externalized. From an environmental standpoint, the amount of waste to sterlize things, create medications, and treat is fundamentally based upon a destructive model. In addition, the economic supply chains dictate that the costs of production and destruction are borne by poorer countries and individuals (toxic waste dumps, environmental racism, people needing to clean, people stuck in dead end jobs creating sterilized instruments). Lastly, the hospitals themselves are now these “non-profit” corporations, where the medical community is fully attached and perpetuates the upper middle class/elite class lifestyle (i.e. in the “watershed” moments mentioned above, the doctor used to be a member of the community. Now the doctor is a country club member), and so the motivations for the hospital is revenue. I bring these up not to critique the use of these institutions. But as we’re seeing in Hamburg now, inevitably to live the “communism” we want, we will have to partake in the destruction of these systems. I think that is a lesson we can take from the “back to land” movements of the 70’s here in the US. It is not enough to have the positivity of communal life or autonomy. There must be the negativity, the destruction of these systems that want to destroy us (if in doubt, think about the fact that dioxin, which is the most toxic substance created, which is produced from the destruction of plastic, and then think about how much plastic is thrown out in hospitals, and then think that that substance is not found in almost all breast milk, it touches on the idea that modern industrial capitalism wants to destroy us). Some would argue that this is dark, but the world is dark. We must acknowledge that. What I think our mission and the ideas we would like to highlight, is how can we create projects that are motivated by creation, but utilize the destruction. I think a more strategic aim is to think of how to manipulate these institutions. How can we make it those that the ICU serves the commons, not us serving the ICU.
Looking forward to the thoughts and conversations!