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Imagine how they conceived
the idea of ‘sponsoring’ a climate summit, quite clearly an attempt to normalize
consumerism and work it within the ambit of ‘problem solvers’. And who is better
to help us solve problems than Coca-Cola! They teach it as marketing strategy
to younger herd as they are coopted into system as ‘success stories’ of money
and intelligence. In primitive societies these are referred to as case of untold
blessing as they easily move around pirouetting skills, charming people, influencing
decisions, and generally agreed upon as refreshing ‘positive energy’ (there is
a word in malayalam which was constantly used, and pushed on to ambivalent failures, ‘nokipadikada #@&#’ meaning ‘see
and learn #@&#’). For marketeers this is -in their success churning lingo, a
marketing coup. Most ‘leaders’ in flawed democracies across the world are
presented to herd through these miracles of market. The ‘leaders’ are then
elected to sustain corporate needs through euphemism of growth and development.
Coca-Cola has this to say on its latest transgression on humanity “Coca-Cola’s
firm belief that working together through meaningful partnerships will create
shared opportunities for communities and people around the world and in Egypt.”
When words are assigned narrow meanings devoid of contexts or evolving
realities then it is an attempt at controlling narration.
There is no need to keep elaborating worst of corporates like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Apart from largest polluters on planet it has played havoc on health, particularly of younger generation, all across the world by increasing obesity, diabetes so on at an alarming rate. Taking the specific case of Egypt which has the highest obesity rate in the African continent. ‘Between 2015 and 2019, the carbonated soft drinks market in Egypt grew by 27%, and from 2020, has been increasing annually by 19. By 2025, the market is estimated to be worth $4.08 billion’. There are other significant issues, that is also undermined by mainstream market media, of groundwater exploitation -natural resource depletion, and prioritizing electricity and resources to these exploitative corporates over needs of local population. This blogger had covered it in India almost two decades back https://depalan.blogspot.com/2011/03/anecdotal-study-on-nature-of-mncs.html. Not that it has changed anything but I can only do what is within my limit, as each one of us as conscientious objectors. We do our do. There are powerful forces who sideline, undermine and eventually block or tarnish, meanwhile they will ofcourse pose as benevolent force, as helping saviors, through opportunist celebrities and pliable influencers. Just that they will usurp all the power and money, and then ‘trickle down’ to keep the exploitative feudal system stable. It is how market spreads positive energy crap of ‘development and growth’. Unfortunately, they have reached a dead end. Neoliberal growth cannot work on limited and precious planet resources. Nice advertisement and meaningless words cannot stop climate calamities. West is facing the other end of neoliberalism what poorer societies have been facing all along. There is reason why west is suddenly facing ‘third world problems’. As they say, chicken is coming home to roost. Earth’s system cannot sustain unending demands of neoliberal gluttony. Quite clearly COP27 is turning out to be jamboree for leaders of flawed democracies, dictators, sponsors of greed, polluters and their lobbyists
