It is clear, and not just to me, that our leaders are failing us. The world is changing fast and many are still fighting the last war. Our political systems no longer seem relevant to people’s lives, and leaders are perceived to concentrate on issues that are unimportant to their populations. Many leaders are understood to be open to corruption and influence. Very few have visions of what a better world could look like, or what we need to do to achieve a world that works for all of us.
According to an article by GSPC (the Geneva Centre for Security Policy) “we are witnessing a crisis of trust from the voters in their elected officials and ultimately an erosion of belief in democracy itself. The rise of abstention and populist parties in recent years are telling symptoms of this crisis.”
This situation cannot continue
The world needs to change if humanity is to survive in any meaningful way. So if our leaders won’t change, then we need to find a way to make them act differently. For many of us it is difficult to know what to do. We are clear that a different lifestyle is required, and that we will have to fight for it. This is scary for many of us.
What can we as individuals do? What are we aiming for? The “big boys” out there are very powerful, and besides, other people are just quietly getting on with their lives. Why should we bother?
Doing nothing will no longer work. To be fair, it has not worked for a very long time, and we are now sinking under the weight of the Earth’s problems and our neglect of them. We need to find our courage.
Our past is catching up with us, and to quote Seneca (a Roman Stoic philosopher):
“It’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.”
The time has come for each of us to do the difficult things. If we want to create a future that works better than the present then we need to wake up and act. We need to find the courage to live differently.
Is This Possible?
What are the challenges we face?
- Capitalism – our economic system
This is based on mass production of goods, bringing profit to individual owners or production companies. The marketing of these goods is designed to make us dissatisfied with what we have so that we buy endless new possessions. The theory is, of course, that the purchasing of new things will make us happy.
The major issue here is that we are depleting the Earth’s resources with all this manufacturing, creating massive amounts of pollution, Climate Change and never-ending waste.
An article in Economics has said that the downside of Capitalism is causing “inequality, market failure, damage to the environment, short-termism, excess materialism and boom and bust economic cycles.” All of these bring on their own problems.
- Our relationship with the living world
Humanity is bit by bit destroying the Nature we depend on for fresh air, water and most of the food we eat. The beauty and peace we gain from being in the living world seems something separate from us, something we can destroy with equanimity.
Industrial Farming
- Agriculture and Feeding the World
There are many challenges related to the production of our food, and they are threatening our food supply. Among others we have Climate Change, degradation of the soil, loss of biodiversity, pollution of our water supplies, production of methane (a potent Greenhouse Gas), threats to our health from pesticides, and overuse of antibiotics in animals.
- Inequality
The United Nations when talking about its sustainability goals mentions inequality and says “Inequality threatens long-term social and economic development, harms poverty reduction and destroys people’s sense of fulfilment and self-worth.” They also say, “we cannot achieve sustainable development and make the planet better for all if people are excluded from the chance for a better life.”
These are only some of the many issues that prevent us making a better future for our families.
How Can We Change?
As I have said many times before, we are changing. There is considerable evidence that we are trying to make a different and more productive life. We are just not doing it fast enough, which is where you come in. We need everybody. That means everybody needs not just to find the courage to speak up about how we are choosing to live, but also we need people to find the courage to live differently.
Living in Community
What Would Living Differently Look Like?
There are scientists, academics, specialists, experts and ordinary people thinking about this, talking about it and trying it out. They would love our help.
Our Capitalist Society
Economists have been talking about the dangers of our economic system for many years. There are however different ideas that have emerged over time. They include socialism, communism, anarchism, doughnut economics, degrowth and the Economy for Life.
Have a look at this article on the Economy for Life. It is really interesting and makes a lot of sense. This is an idea that really values life which, of course is what we need for the future. It may also look a bit like an airy fairy dream, but already people are making choices that chip away at the present choice of Capitalism.
Degrowth has also become a “thing” whose ideas are becoming increasingly popular. According to this article, “degrowth critiques the global capitalist system which pursues economic growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction.” If you listen to the news or read a newspaper you will see that politicians and economists talk eternally of economic growth. It doesn’t seem to have dawned on them that one cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. We are already seeing supply problems with oil and the resources needed for renewable energy.
If you are interested in life after growth try the book by Tim Jackson called Post Growth: Life After Capitalism. It makes a lot of sense.
Gaya Herrington, an economist and environmentalist, has also given an interesting TED Talk called “Will the End of Economic Growth Come by Design – or Disaster?” You might find it useful.
Of course developing countries will need some type of growth to enable them to deal with poverty and development. The rest of us have had our share!
The Well-Being Economy
This is an idea that has been around for a good number of years now. This article from the Well-Being Economy Alliance says that “A Wellbeing Economy is an economy designed to serve people and the planet, not the other way around. Rather than treating economic growth as an end in and of itself and pursuing it at all costs, a Wellbeing Economy puts our human and planetary needs at the centre of its activities, ensuring that these needs are all equally met.”
This report from WHO shows some examples of such an economy.
Regenerative Agriculture
Information from WWF talks about an agricultural style that cares for nature and feeds and repairs the soil. Obviously, this is a much kinder style of farming and numerous examples throughout the world have proven that yields can be excellent and can restore distressed land. See my previous blog Food for us, Succour for the Planet.
These are only a few examples but there are many more that show we can live a different life. We don’t need all the stuff that we have, and we can live happily with much less. What we do need is equality for everybody, a life in community where we are not alone but have a sense of purpose. It will be important to care for Nature and enjoy being a part of it. We need healthy food and exercise, useful education for our children, and to celebrate values like kindness, empathy, caring for others and settling for what we have.
We will need to fight for that, those searching for huge profits will not give up easily. But if we find our courage we can live differently and better.
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Photos by Jason Hogan, James Baltz and Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash