THE FUTURE

Looking back it’s hard to imagine people didn’t think an end to capitalism would come. As I prepare to join today’s Circle I find it hard to believe people endured the egregious effects of capitalism for as many centuries as they did. I remember how even back then we could rationalize why we needed a new society, but our disconnectedness from heart and spirit kept our efforts in a mind space- always lacking. It has been two years since the fall of capitalism and all other systems of oppression.

It wasn’t until a majority of the people learned to listen to their hearts and align their spirit with their practice that we started interrupting all instances of violence regularly. Police officers were some of the first to leave their posts, refusing to harass communities of color. Prisons, jails, immigration detention centers began to close as a result. Without the surveillance and state violence more people were able to thrive and connect with their higher selves. We saw a decrease in intra-community violence and soon every teacher, professor, and preacher was spreading the seeds of resistance.

People demanded a redistribution of wealth, stopping business as usual, striking and boycotting- urban community gardens blossomed once people remembered their connection with the Earth. People stopped going homeless and hungry because everyday people would not allow it. If you walked down the street and saw a homeless person you would invite them into your home. Construction workers would volunteer their time to put up and tear down walls to create more space. Single-family homes became a thing of the past, as did the private ownership of cars and even clothing. Soon, we as a people couldn’t conceive of private wealth, we organized collective actions against all the banks and together with professional hackers did away with accumulation of wealth by redistributing equitably.

Under our new constitution, all areas of work that get compensated from collective funds must be discussed as a community. Technology allows for conversations to be joined by millions, and the information flow is beyond what we thought possible back in the day. We are connected by mind, body, and spirit- reaching heart consensus can happen in seconds if people are ready to replace old truths. Today we join a Circle to reach a consensus about a body of work that has been controversial since The New Beginning. Circles get convened when organized groups of people who experience collective harm decide to put forth a solution. Sex work is not currently an approved area of work and Chiki, a fellow community member, is presenting a proposal to change that. Sexual liberation was a big component of The New Beginning, as people became attuned to their bodily needs and sex playhouses emerged in every neighborhood. Many of us mistakenly thought this signaled the end of sex work.

We close our eyes, attune to our bodies, and hear Chiki’s voice inside our head: “Over the past two years sex workers have gone underground to continue our trade. Because we cannot claim our sex work hours as collective labor, many of us take on paid work that is not our Calling and do sex work outside of these hours for trade. The labor that sex workers do is essential sexual education and emotional labor that should be compensated with our collective resources and not on individual bases like other luxury work. Giving sex workers the compensation we deserve is another step in valuing formerly invisibilized labor that shapes the consciousness and erotic power of the community as a whole.”

Chiki looks confident. We can all feel the thousands of voices that came together to put this proposal together.  I sense Reyna’s discomfort. She is one of the elders in the community who has been a strong opponent of The Proposal and her voice reaches us because her opinion summarizes the feelings of many: “I remember driving in the streets of my hometown before The New Beginning, watching the half-naked, sometimes naked, women- high on drugs, fearful of their pimps, young, too young, pretty, too pretty- we all wanted to end prostitution then. We all understood the underpinnings, the economic devastation that lead women to ‘choose’ the industry or the prevalent sex trafficking that permeated the global market- those poor women! And now here we are, a sexually liberated community, contemplating making prostitution one of our collectivized labor tracks.”

Chiki asks for the floor and we consent. I feel more people tune in- we are now millions in the Circle. She speaks in an unwavering voice. “I am not here to speak for the women from the past. I am here to speak for the thousands of sex workers today who are exhausted of working double shifts to pursue our Calling. Of having our work devalued. As a society we shouldn’t delegate people’s exploration of their kinks and desires to the fringes. It should be front and center and accessible to all. Sex workers are here to stay and we deserve equal pay.”

We continue this way, transported to the deepest, darkest desires of the sex workers’ clients and the ecstasy of their pleasure, and the raw memories of people who witnessed family members consumed by addiction. Seconds pass and no consensus is reached.

We make decisions with our hearts because that is the truest representation of our values. But our relationship with our hearts is still young, and I can feel people struggling to get out of their headspace. As I sit struggling to reach my own conclusion, sifting through the fear of reverting to old ways and feeling like I am not being open enough, I feel Chiki’s vibration land on me. For the first time we are in each other’s full presence and I feel small. When I return to my body I hear my own voice channeled to the millions of people in the Circle…