There are rare moments when I think everything must change.
Sometimes, these have been personal.
Other times, I have realised that organisations I have been involved in need to change.
But this morning, I have a very real sense that the need for everything to change is very much bigger. I am increasingly thinking that society is becoming unsustainable. The political decisions of the past are coming home to roost. The current political narrative is not working and cannot ever work again. The risk of serious breakdown is very high.
The evidence is all around us, and I offer it in no particular order.
The COP28 has seen bizarre claims that we must burn carbon to save the planet. The scientific evidence is unequivocal that we must stop doing so. Our failure to do just that is very rapidly leading us to climate tipping points.
The war in Gaza is going to rewrite the politics of the Middle East, which have been so significant throughout my life. Israel's actions will change its standing in the world, whatever Hamas totally unjustifiably did.
Sellafield is leaking, and there is no answer to the questions about nuclear waste after a lifetime of it accumulating. The pretence that nuclear is the energy answer has to be over.
Fascism is on the rise. We have seen it in the Netherlands, but it is as apparent here. The Tories are discussing the suspension of human rights so that they can pursue a policy on extraditing immigrants to Rwanda that can do absolutely nothing to solve the migration issue because of the tiny numbers that will ever be involved.
In fairness to the Tories, it looks quite likely that they will split over this issue. The possibility that the supposed most effective electoral machine in democratic history might collapse under the weight of its own in-fighting looks to be very real. It could happen soon. The likelihood that the date of the next election is not Sunak's to choose is growing as he begins to lose his party's support in the Commons.
Labour has moved into Tory space to take on the centre-right role.
There is no leading left-of-centre political party in the UK in a two-party system now: the essential element of first-past-the-post, that it offers the electorate choice, even if it is only a limited one, has gone. As a result, we no longer have anything approaching a functioning democracy.
Nor, with Labour dedicated to austerity and cuts, will we have anything approaching acceptable public services left in the UK. The next round of doctors' strikes is evidence that this is unacceptable.
The migration issue is not going away: without inward migration, we cannot survive. Without it, there will be no provision for an ageing population in the UK that long ago ceased to replace itself. The self-destruct button is being pushed on this issue.
And the same is true of economics. The failure to recover from the 2008 crash is not by chance: it is because that crash was caused by the failure of neoliberalism and yet we are still trying to treat that failure with more neoliberalism, which clearly cannot work. But our politicians, civil service and the so-called economists who feed them the nonsense that informs what is supposedly called evidence-based policy cannot see this obvious fact, so blinded are they by ideology.
All of this, and more, suggests that the system we have cannot survive. It is literally, and very obviously, dying all around us.
We could do things so very differently.
We could care.
We could prioritise meeting the needs of all and not delivering the wants of a few.
We could plan for our children's and grandchildren's survival.
We could make financial services a servant and not a master.
We could fund strong public services.
We could take action to stop the massively destructive excess consumption of some that is destroying this planet for everyone else, which is also utterly distorting our economies.
We could have a functioning democracy.
If we did, we could stop fascism.
We could do all this.
But will we?
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I’m so scared that we won’t.
We could do all this, and more; but how do we change the views of our elected representatives – and the candidates for the next election – in the short amount of time available?
I have changed my own views and understanding through a combination of life-experience and curiosity; but to persuade others to do the same in a few months..? Stephanie Kelton, in “The Deficit Myth”, describes the experience of seeing Warren Mosler explaining how things could be made to work better to a congressman; the politician hears, understands & accepts the arguments, only to admit that “I can’t say that”, because his career is more important to him than is the well-being of his country. How do we change the mindset of such people for the benefit of the rest? Should we write to them and speak to them, only to be ignored? Should we join a political group or party, and try to make change from the inside, even though the timescale would be years or decades? Do we talk with neighbours and family, hoping to persuade them with our arguments?
We need to change course now; but those who hold the reins seem determined to plod along the same worn out road to oblivion…
We each need to find our own role, I suggest
They will differ
At the risk of starting the obvious, here’s what we who care must all do.
Find a political party, pressure group, or other organisation whose goals you can broadly support, and either give them funding, or volunteer your time to help them.
Talk to all your family, friends and colleagues to make it clear to them that you are very serious about this.
If you’re able, get out on the streets, hand out leaflets, knock on doors, do whatever you can to spread the word.
We cannot rely on the traditional media to tell the truth.
Something I learned from the govt’s relentless attacks on the disabled (and via us on society itself) decades ago, is that everybody fights their own war. Different folk fight in different ways. You’ll have to figure out what works for you & then fight your corner.
There is a thoughtful piece in the Guardian this morning from Rafael Behr dealing with similar issues.
In his conception he thinks that being a Remainer or Leaver is about a much more fundamental and persistent divide than Brexit.
I agree with him but think it is much better put as a battle between those that still uphold the world created by the Enlightenment and those who have gone back to the darker world that came before.
The battle between reason and belief.
The battle between those who think that the discovery of truth comes via the scientific/academic process and those who believe that truth lies in the Supernatural/their feelings/their ideology.
Those who believe in the concept of objective truth and those who believe that truth is a social construct based on who has power.
Those that believe intelligent regulation and justice produce a dynamic country capable of intelligent change and those that pretend to believe that leaving it all to the “Market” is the best way to a successful society.
Currently, across the world, the Enlightenment is in retreat and the mess that this country is in demonstrates the effect that has on how we live.
I just finished reading “The Lion and The Unicorn” by George Orwell, and I’m amazed at how relevant the book remains even after 83 years. It’s disheartening to see that certain things haven’t changed much since then. In Orwell’s time, society was threatened by the rise of fascism in Germany and Italy, along with significant inequality. Today, we confront the additional dangers of ecosystem collapse due to global warming, as well as the resurgence of fascism and inequality.
Unfortunately, it seems that most people’s attitudes haven’t changed much. It seems that, like in the past we won’t acknowledge the approaching threats until the very last moment, because we can afford to ignore the evidence and pretend that everything is normal.
If the situation reaches a point where it is no longer feasible, perhaps the general public will unite and demand change.
Everything must change, and we can argue that it will be for the better.
But the one thing most people disklike is change.
As Mark Twain said “it’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled”
Even with all its faults the world is still a better place than it was from my observations as a child 60 yrs ago and comparing it to the abysmal health living and social conditions for ordinary folk in past history.
Ordinary people and their ongoing plugging away at creating a more equitable sustainable world in their own spheres of influence while encouraging others to do so as well seems to be what works well even if it can be frustratingly slow.
This blog of yours is a good successful example of just that.
60 years ago we had a decent health service. Look at it now. It’s in ruins and being sold off to US health insurance companies. How is that better?
Not even Starmer wants to reinstate it.
https://weownit.org.uk/act-now/starmer-reinstate-the-nhs-fully-public-service
My neighbour hasn’t been able to get the statins she is told she needs for four weeks. She says she may as well have another stroke, and then she will get them.
I agree, Ben, but not about it being a better world than 60 years ago. We had the odd soup kitchen 60, 70 years ago , but not more foodbanks than cafes.
We had better politicians that long ago, too. They weren’t all liars and charlatans then.
There are a few I can think of now who are principled, and believe it or not, most of them are independents.
Today I had about 30 emails asking me for money to help various groups. It’s impossible to do everything you want to do. I felt like crying after I’d read all of them.
However, there are people on here who know about different areas that need improving, such as housing, the economy, the NHS, water and energy industries, welfare and the environment.
How about everyone on here choosing their own area and joining as many groups as they can in that sphere. Badger the government as much as you can, sign all the petitions going, and don’t give up your vote next year. If you can’t vote for tory or labour, vote green.
I prefer doing something positive rather than just complain on Facebook, etc., like some people do.
I know I keep going on about weownit, but today there were two very good ideas.
At lunchtime we were told about an online rally in February.
They have a five point plan to save the NHS. They are going to ask every candidate in every constituency to pledge to sign up to that 5 point plan. If they don’t, we know who not to vote for.
They have quite a few celebrities lined up for it already.
Tonight they had a youtube with someone from WASP, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, talking about sewage, and how we can deal with Thames Water to start off with.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMKhHS-4EbE&pp=ygUHd2Vvd25pdA%3D%3D
Well worth watching.
Of course, I realise now that I’ve gone against what I said above and gone into two areas.