A global political movement
There are countless individuals and organisations around the world fighting tirelessly for social and environmental justice and the transformational policies that would give everyone the chance to have a decent life. However, there is insufficient coordination or unity for this fight to have the necessary political impact. There are various reasons for this including
- a lack of agreement and clarity regarding common goals
- disagreements about how one might achieve common goals
- the absence of a unifying symbol or message capable of representing a united global movement for positive change
Whilst this situation persists those who are fighting for social justice and the future of the planet will most likely fail. They will never get enough public support to bring about the political changes that are needed.
- A global political movement needs to be easily recognisable by the general public – it should ideally have a name and a symbol
- It should have a simple and clearly defined set of goals that enjoy wide appeal, such as the 10 basic rights outlined on this website
- Some basic principles concerning how these goals should or should not be pursued also need to be spelled out clearly – principles such as non-violence, democratic participation, freedom of speech, and environmental sustainability, for example
The world is in urgent need of a powerful political movement for progressive change – a force that acts on behalf of the people and to which people can feel they proudly belong.
A healthy distribution of power and wealth
This is also missing. Extremely unequal distribution of power and wealth is harmful to society and harmful to the planet. As far as society is concerned……
- It creates enormous resentment amongst an increasingly large sector of the population who are reminded daily of what their lives are lacking compared to the better-off.
- Resentment fuels the need to blame someone, whether it be the government, bankers, conservatives, lefties, liberals, immigrants or other minority groups.
Amplified by social media, this blame-game creates ever increasing social division and mistrust, as people take sides against each other in increasingly angry confrontations.
- The extraordinary financial resources commanded by those at the top is used to strengthen media narratives that shift blame away from the real culprit, which is the unfair accumulation of power and wealth by the economic elite.
- This successful diversion tactic is why in so many countries blaming immigrants and cultural minorities has become such a powerful political force.
- It is why any challenge to the existing distribution of power and wealth is cast as ‘radical loony left’ rather than a common-sense approach to creating a healthy society.
Only once the economic power of the elite is greatly reduced can we begin to redirect the world’s resources towards the real needs of our respective countries. Only in this way can we begin to heal our damaged societies.
This process is also essential for defending our planet…
- Much of the power and wealth of the elite is fueled by businesses that are profitable for their owners but bad for the planet.
- In the media, luxury consumption is cast as the emblem of personal success, fueling our material aspirations, nurturing envy, and promoting a false belief that prosperity should be pursued by trying to imitate the environmentally catastrophic lifestyles of the rich.
The excessive ability of the rich to influence our culture, beliefs and tastes has to be curtailed before we can hope to stem the decay that is afflicting our planet and the societies we live in. This will only be possible once we have governments that are firmly and visibly committed to reducing the hugely unequal concentrations of wealth that plague the world we live in.
A sustainable economic system
The economic elite support and protect an economic system that is unsustainable. It directs labour and resources towards activities that are socially, politically and environmentally harmful. What we need is a system capable of mobilising far more labour and resources towards
- activities that contribute towards achieving the 10 basic rights, and
- activities that combat climate change and environmental degradation
The existing system is driven by a mixture of markets and government policy, both of which are disproportionately controlled by an economic elite who place their own interests ahead of those of the wider public. What is missing is an economic system in which…
- the rules that govern markets are designed to benefit the majority rather than a small increasingly powerful minority
- the public sector allocates resources directly towards achieving the 10 basic rights when the private sector proves uncapable of doing so
- the financial system is an efficient means of facilitating economic transactions, investments, and savings, rather than a costly money-making machine for the rich
For such an economy to emerge it needs to be placed under democratic control. Without this the urgent social, political and environmental crises confronting countries around the world will not be solved. Genuine democratic control is incompatible with current levels of economic inequality.