Nonprofits Day

Today is Nonprofits Day, the day in the year to celebrate all those volunteers who help charities etc. In the United States alone there 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered and around a quarter of American have vulunteered to do unpaid work of some sort for some length of time for those nonprofit organisations. According to Charity America, donations to charity for 2002 were $241 billion, 76.3 per cent of this given by individuals. It's heart wrenching seeing every dollar donated 20 cents goes to the recipient and the rest to the organizing structure, wages and so forth.

But here is what the SOYMB suggests. What about an AntiProfits Day. We’re looking for a real change. We seldom win popularity contests as we decline to support nonprofits on the grounds that such organisations are merely trying to deal with the symptoms of capitalism rather than capitalism itself. Are we unfeeling and uncaring, when confronted with the evidence of great misery and malaise around the world? Hardly, but we understand that misplaced caring within a capitalist system is as useful to the suffering as no caring at all.

Nonprofits through their assorted campaigns foster the dangerous illusion that, either through increased donations or increased participation of the public, the 'problems' which plague so many of us can be solved within capitalism itself. But, history shows otherwise.

Humans are endowed with the ability to sympathise and empathise with their fellow humans. Humans derive great pleasure from doing good, are at their best when faced with the worst and will go to extraordinary lengths to help alleviate the suffering of others.

It is the profit system that stands in the way of satisfying human needs. Now I the time to abolish the profit system. Let’s campaign for the abolition of capitalism and not misdirect our energies in trying to humanise capitalism.