Demanding Social Justice

Recently people in Israel, and elsewhere too, are beginning to see that the purpose of the economy is to serve human beings, not the other way around. Human beings create the economy and we can change it.

Nearly 300,000 people have demonstrated in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere in Israel demanding change. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Jerusalem Post, August 7, 2011

Itzik Shmuli, head of the National Union of Israeli Students, rebuked assertions that the movement has become partisan or overly politicized.

“We aren’t asking for a change of personnel in the government or a change in the coalition in the parliament that was elected by the people. We are young people who are demanding a change in the cruel economic policies. We are demanding a personal economy over one that tramples, we are demanding an economy that takes into consideration the suffering of people and not one that only crunches numbers,” Shmuli said.

“We want a more correct balance between the free market and the human economy. We are demanding serious attention to closing social gaps and for a more far-reaching answer to be given to the basic needs of the citizens of the country, in particular the country’s weakest citizens.”

Read more about Israeli’s demands for justice – NOT charity, here. When will we demand the same for people here in the U.S.?

You may also like Greeks Resist Public Bank Bailout, Cry of the Poor and How Extreme Inequality Destroys the Economy.