Hacking the Debt Machine: DisCOs and the Limits of Financialization

We live in a world awash in debt. It feels as though our very lives are mortgaged to a vast, invisible machine, extracting value from every interaction, every click, every swipe. This is the dark side of finance – the financialization of life under neoliberalism, where our needs, desires, and even our futures are transformed into quantifiable assets, traded on a global market driven by an insatiable hunger for profit. But what if we could hack this debt machine, rewire its circuits, and reclaim our economic autonomy? This is where DisCOs come into play, offering a glimmer of hope in the face of a seemingly inescapable debt spiral.

The Specter of Subjective Debt

The insidious power of financialization lies in its ability to transform our relationship with ourselves. We are no longer simply workers or consumers, but entrepreneurs of the self, burdened by a constant need to invest in our “human capital”, maximize our productivity, and secure a return on our personal investment. This creates a pervasive sense of subjective debt, a feeling that we owe something to the system, a debt that can never truly be repaid.

This subjective debt is the fuel that powers the Capitalist Assemblage. It drives us to consume more, work harder, and strive for a future that always seems just out of reach. It is a self-perpetuating cycle, a debt treadmill that keeps us running, even as the ground beneath our feet crumbles.

Cracks in the Edifice: The Limits of Finance

The 2008 financial crisis exposed the fragility of this system, revealing that the emperor of finance has no clothes. The global economy, built on a house of cards constructed from subprime mortgages and complex derivatives, teetered on the brink of collapse, sending shockwaves throughout the world. But even in the face of this systemic crisis, the dominant response was to double down on the logic of finance, bailing out the banks and imposing austerity measures on the already burdened populations.

The limitations of the State Assemblage became painfully apparent. National governments, captured by the logic of the market, proved powerless to challenge the dictates of global finance. Instead, they became enforcers of debt, imposing austerity measures that intensified inequality and further eroded the social safety net.

DisCOs: Remixing the Rules of the Game

DisCOs (Distributed Cooperative Organizations), however, offer a different path. They are not simply trying to reform the system from within, but to build a new economic reality based on cooperation, solidarity, and the common good.

Here’s how DisCOs are hacking the debt machine:

• Reclaiming Value: DisCOs challenge the dominance of financial capital by recognizing and rewarding the diverse forms of value that contribute to human well-being and ecological sustainability. Through practices like value flows accounting and alternative currencies, they create a more holistic and equitable system of exchange, valuing care work, reproductive labor, and the production of commons alongside traditional market-based activities.
• Empowering Communities: DisCOs promote democratic governance and collective ownership, shifting power away from centralized institutions and back to the people. This is manifested in their use of consensus-based decision-making, worker-owned cooperatives, and community land trusts, creating a more equitable and participatory economic system.
• Building Resilience: DisCOs foster a culture of mutual aid and solidarity, creating networks of support that help members weather economic storms. This is evident in their use of time banks, community currencies, and mutual credit systems, building more resilient and sustainable economic relationships that are less dependent on the volatile global market.

The Five Assemblages: Sites of Resistance and Transformation

DisCOs engage with the five onto-political assemblages, transforming them into sites of resistance and experimentation:

• Territorial Assemblage: DisCOs like Cooperation Jackson and Laneras are rooted in specific territories, working to revitalize local economies, build community resilience, and challenge the homogenizing forces of globalization.
• State Assemblage: DisCOs engage with the state by advocating for policies that support worker cooperatives, commoning initiatives, and a more equitable distribution of wealth. They see the state not as a monolithic entity, but as a potential ally in the struggle for a postcapitalist future.
• Capitalist Assemblage: DisCOs challenge the dominance of capitalist logic by creating alternative economic models, promoting cooperation over competition, and redefining value beyond the narrow confines of profit maximization.
• Nomadic Assemblage: DisCOs like TAZEBAEZ and Spaces of Urgency embrace the fluidity and interconnectedness of the digital age, building transnational networks and fostering global collaborations. They see the world not as a collection of isolated nation-states, but as a complex and interconnected web of flows and relationships.
• Postcapitalist Assemblage: DisCOs are actively building a postcapitalist future by experimenting with new forms of organization, production, and exchange. They are creating a new economic reality based on the principles of the commons, cooperation, and ecological sustainability.

From Debt Machine to Abundance Engine

The DisCO revolution is about more than just resisting the extractive logic of finance. It is about building a new economic reality, a world where abundance, not scarcity, is the guiding principle. Imagine a world where work is fulfilling and meaningful, where resources are shared and managed for the common good, and where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. This is the future that DisCOs are striving to create.

By hacking the debt machine, rewiring its circuits, and transforming it into an engine of abundance, DisCOs offer a glimpse of a future beyond the limitations of capitalism. They show us that a different kind of economy is possible, an economy that serves the needs of people and the planet, not the dictates of a faceless financial system. It’s a future worth fighting for, a future that starts with us, with the choices we make, the communities we build, and the ways we choose to relate to each other and the world around us.

Join the DisCO revolution. The dance floor is open, and the music is just getting started.