From phantom wealth to real wealth

Anyone who's aware of what's behind the current financial ‘meltdown’, as explained for instance in Chris Martenson's Crash Course, knows that all the government bailouts and ‘stimulus packages’ can only make it worse in the long run, by trying to preserve the status quo (i.e. the bad habits which got our society into this mess in the first place). So what can be done to actually improve the situation? This blog is all about what we can do at the local level, but eventually even national governments will have to get with the program, if they're going to survive at all. David Korten's new book, Agenda for a New Economy, explains how the U.S. and other governments could actually do something useful to turn the situation around. Back in January i posted about the release of Korten's book, with a link to the excerpt on the Yes Magazine website. Now that i've read the whole thing, i think it's a welcome addition to our resource library, especially as a follow-up to Korten's earlier book, The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community (2006). Korten frames the crucial economic conflict of our time in terms of phantom wealth vs. real wealth, symbolized by Wall Street and Main Street respectively. Wall Street represents the most extreme and toxic development of ‘Empire’, the organized crime syndicate of predatory greed which has dominated civilization for five thousand years. Both of Korten's books bring a global perspective to the transition which is now under way. In another post i mentioned the Transition Culture website. I should have also given a link to The Transition Handbook, by Rob Hopkins, which shows how the move ‘from oil dependency to local resilience’ can be accomplished by rebuilding local community. Hopkins is among the leaders of this kind of transition as it's unfolding in the UK. Heather and Paul at Loonsong have copies of this book for the use of those active in making the transition here on Manitoulin. This book offers a handle on the localization movement which is complementary – and necessary – to the shift ‘from phantom wealth to real wealth’ of which David Korten writes.

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.