Political action and the New Economy

Although i'd like to keep the focus of this blog as local as possible, it would be unrealistic to ignore the bigger picture which is the context of what's happening on Manitoulin. So the question arises of political action directed toward the provincial and federal levels of government: what can it contribute toward improving the conditions of life here? Regarding provincial politics: Here's a link to the NDP's new 5 point Economic Stimulus Plan. Linda Willson, who forwarded this link, comments as follows:

You can see that the NDP is coming up with solutions to the economic problems while the conservatives are tossing women out of caucus to make room for their leader, John Tory to capture a seat in Parliament and the Liberals continue to carry on with the same old same old habits of inaction.

I have reviewed the NDP newsletter that outlines the background and platform of those running for the leadership of the party – Howard Hampton and Shelly Martel will be sadly missed. Peter Tabuns is the only one talking about the environment and though Andrea Horwath is good, she does not have environment or rural issues on her radar.

If people want to take part in our democratic process, for a small sum (the cost of a magazine subscription) they can join a party and have a vote in the decision making.

For those who prefer to take part in the process without joining a political party, there are other means. For instance, i hear from the David Suzuki Foundation that:

Over the past few months, thousands of Ontarians like you have successfully helped to support a strong ban on these needless toxic chemicals. But now some industry lobby groups are trying to water down these rules.

This message came with a link that makes it easy to send a letter to your MPP (in our case, Mike Brown) urging him to resist the industry lobby's efforts. The Suzuki Foundation website also facilitates nonpartisan political action at the federal level. For instance, another message i received a few days ago reads:

Before the politicos decide what to do with your money on January 27 (budget day on Parliament Hill), tell them you want the emphasis on “eco” in Canada's economy. We've made it easy for you to write to Jim Flaherty – our federal Minister of Finance – and give him a piece of your mind.

Again, links on the website (and in e-mail messages to subscribers) make this very easy to do. It's easy to be cynical about the real effect of writing to politicians, but it's even easier to say that they will never change course until their constituents demand government support for something other than the corporate status quo. Personally, i have yet to see any political party or elected leader – including Barack Obama – propose a plan that really deals with the crisis (or engages with the opportunity) which humanity is now facing. The real challenge can be stated fairly simply. The entire global economy, with its insistent and totally unrealistic demand for constant ‘growth’, is fueled by cheap oil. Now the cheap oil is running out, and we have to use the little that is left to make the transition to other energy sources, and break our addiction to overproduction, overconsumption and ‘growth’. All the bailouts and ‘stimulus packages’ we have seen so far amount to expensive subsidies for the very habits we need to kick. Trying to restore economic growth is just a way of dragging our feet, because ‘growth’ is the problem, not the solution. For a much better (and only slightly longer) explanation of what a realistic solution would look like, check this excerpt from David Korten's new book, Agenda for a New Economy: From Phantom Wealth to Real Wealth . It's ‘the speech President Obama should deliver … but won't’. David Korten is also one of the people behind YES! Magazine.