The next day, the children overran a neighboring summer camp and expelled the inhabitants, saying it was a camp without a children, and they were children without a camp. Plus the Bible said they should do it.
(Kidding! I kid the adorable children!! I'm sure that eventually they will all read Chomsky and be good radicals.) On Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 11:33 AM, Marty Hart-Landsberg<[email protected]> wrote: > A new curriculum for summer camps. > Marty > > > U.S.: Das Camp-ital – Kids Overthrow Bosses on 'Capitalism Day' > By Ben Case > http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47848 > > LIBERTY, New York, Jul 28 (IPS) - Workers at a munitions factory in > Almosnino walked out last Wednesday, joining an anti-war protest nearby. The > combined strikers and protesters later stormed the factory after a scuffle > with police who were trying to arrest a crowd that was blocking a truck from > leaving the factory. > > Workers immediately held a meeting inside their occupied factory and > unanimously voted to suspend production of weapons and switch to the > production of solar panels. > > Later that day, the people of Almosnino, reeling from economic woes and > unable to pay for food, convinced the chief of police to cede power and > allow a population without money to eat for free. > > This was the culmination of a daylong social experiment, practiced once a > year by Shomria summer camp. > > Shomria, located outside the small town of Liberty, New York and open to > children aged eight to 15, is run by Hashomer Hatzair, a Socialist Zionist > youth movement in Israel, the U.S., and Canada. > > Once per summer, the camp runs a 'Yom Capitalism' (Hebrew for 'Capitalism > Day') in which the entire camp simulates a town with a free market economy. > The remarkably realistic exercise comes complete with a bank, government > offices, and printed money in a make-believe town named Almosnino. > > "It might seem weird to think about a 'capitalism day' in a capitalist > society. But what we normally do here at camp is live in a kibbutz-style > socialist village," explained Yotam Marom, head of continuing education for > Hashomer Hatzair, and facilitator for the oldest age groups at Shomria. > > "This day has meaning in contrast with the way we run things on a day-to-day > basis. It gives us the ability to reflect on capitalism in a way that you > don't get just living in a capitalist society," Marom told IPS. > > Shomria is run according to egalitarian philosophies. Work is shared evenly, > issues are discussed collectively, and everything is decided by consensus. > > "We do all of our own work," Marom told IPS. "Aside from a few support > staff, the camp is run exclusively by youth." > > Central to the camp's ideology is the concept of youth leading youth. The > youngest camper is eight years old and the oldest counselor is 23. "Everyone > is connected to each other, everyone is an educator and everyone learns," > Marom added. > > When campers wake up on Capitalism Day, they are handed an envelope > containing their starting financial situation. Most will start with both > some money and some debt, a few will start with a lot of money, and even > fewer will start with land and a business. > > Throughout the day, kids are able to get jobs, acquire loans from the bank, > and start businesses. Everything that goes on in the day, including eating, > requires money, which is printed up the night before and available through > the bank or through their labour. > > Some counselors were also workers and business owners, but many were pre-set > 'characters' such as the mayor, the factory owner, chamber of commerce and > bank officials, and police officers. > > Early in the day, a multitude of businesses opened, ranging from lemonade > stands to massage parlors and salons to a sign shop, selling advertising > materials to other businesses. > > Most campers found jobs working in the factory, making 'bombs' out of > plastic bottles, water, and food coloring. A truck picked up the finished > products and delivered them to an imaginary military buyer. > > "We used a munitions factory this year because we wanted to connect labour > issues to the war," said Adam Bresgi, a 20-year-old counselor who played the > part of the mayor. > > The day also included politics. An election pitted Bresgi, a socially > liberal, fiscally conservative, pro-war incumbent, against a green, > pro-worker's rights, anti-war challenger, played by a 23-year-old > counselor. > > Throughout the day, two 'TV anchors' put on periodic live news shows to > inform everyone about what was happening all over the camp, even holding a > debate between mayoral candidates. > > By the afternoon, when the bank began calling back loans, nearly all > businesses defaulted and closed, leading to an economic crisis in Almosnino. > The mayor proceeded to simulate a bailout, giving government money to the > factory and several other businesses deemed 'too big to fail'. > > This, along with divisions that had been forming throughout the day, sparked > protests and a strike that led to the eventual 'revolution'. > > As interesting as the outcome, though, was the social dynamics throughout > the experiment. "The most educational part of Capitalism Day is watching > relationships transform," Marom told IPS. > > "Normally everything is collective: They pool their candy and share. Their > counselors care about their feelings. They work to understand each other and > really try to provide for each other," he said. > > "But on Capitalism Day the relationships get flipped on their heads in a > moment," he continued. "Kids wake up and have money or don't, and that > creates class divisions on the spot that in turn create divisions between > the kids in reality not in the game." Indeed, many campers reported having > serious feelings about what happened on Capitalism Day. > > "It was much harder than I thought to get money," Gal Gelbard, age 10, told > IPS. "When you don't have money today, you don't have fun. You can work hard > all day and still not have enough money." > > Nine-year-old Idan Cohen told IPS he enjoyed the experience even though it > wasn't easy. "Today taught you how to take care of yourself with no parents > and just your own money," he said. "It taught you how to be responsible." > > "If you have no money now you know how it feels, how it can be for our > parents," Cohen went on. "You are sometimes being a little spoiled to your > mom, but now we get it and we know." > > Tamar Golan, at age 23 one of the oldest people at Shomria, said she > distinctly remembered her first experience with Capitalism Day as a camper. > > "I just remember walking around and having all of my interactions with other > people be through money," she told IPS. "That's when it clicked for me what > the social influence of capitalism is – isolating." > > Golan played the part of the opposition mayoral candidate, who beat the > pro-business incumbent mayor by a landslide in a late afternoon election as > the economy crumbled. > > Despite not knowing Capitalism Day was happening until the morning of > it, campers were astonishingly clever and resourceful. Prime examples were > workers organising a class action lawsuit against the factory owner and > police putting undercover agents in spontaneously forming organised crime > gangs. > > "People acted just like their roles, it was amazing," Marom told IPS. "Cops > acted like cops. Bosses acted like bosses. Workers acted like workers," he > said. > > Perhaps the most important question raised by Yom Capitalism was: Why do > people in society behave the ways that they do – are there certain roles > because people are just different from one another or do power relationships > inherently create such dynamics? > > Shomria was founded in 1946, then serving as a training farm for people to > learn how to live on kibbutzim before they would move to Israel, and later > developed into a summer camp. > > (END/2009) > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > > _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
