Composting Capitalism
Introduction by Paul Feldman
- "Composting Capitalism" - unfortunately not a laughing matter.
- Humanity is caught up in profound and rapid changes.
- There is a sense that we are living through an historical turning point.
- There is a real urgency about finding solutions to climate change, global inequality, corporate power, instability, authoritarian rule, migration and other challenges.
- The evidence is mounting that solutions require a fundamental, revolutionary shift in the direction of social evolution.
- This shift is going to have to involve the mass of people determining the course of events in their own interests.
- Rather than participating in events which ruling elites then direct for their own interests.
- Why do we say this? Why won’t pressure and protest by themselves do the job?
- Because the existed political order is wedded to the status quo. We cannot expect those who defend, advocate for and generally sustain the rule of global corporate power to do otherwise.
- There is fresh evidence this week to back up this point of view. The G8 summit, for example, inevitably passed the parcel on the question of climate change and the drastic cuts in carbon emissions that are absolutely necessary.
- No one was prepared to permit the disruption to the global economy this would bring.
- The G8 also decided to do nothing on global poverty. They haven’t even kept their promises from Gleneagles. The figure of an extra $60 billion turned out to be total spin.
- So much that Bono denounced the G8 and Bob Geldof said of the G8: “This wasn’t serious, it was a total farce.” Well Bob, sorry to say this, but we could have told you so.
- In Britain, New Labour produced yet another anti-terror bill which is aimed at revoking basic democratic rights. The new laws will drive people into a corner and add to the threat from terrorism.
- And the police are now the government’s enforcers. Yesterday a report from the Council of Europe confirmed that British airports were used by the CIA to take people to torture camps in Europe. Today, senior police officers said there was no evidence about this. Are they our government now?
- In the face of the linked crises we have described, world and national leaders either do nothing or take actions that make matters worse.
- So the workshops have to find the answers! Only joking. But it would be good if they directed their discussion to three key questions:
a) how do we strengthen the case for the changes that humanity needs
b) how can these changes be achieved in practice
c) what kind of organisational forms do we need to develop to articulate and inspire the leap into the future
Workshops:
