We can have a future if we put our minds to it. But it won’t be the politicians who make it happen.
At the first world food summit In 1974, Henry Kissinger famously said:
“We will end hunger within a decade.”
His statement seems pathetic now as we are close to 2 billion people facing hunger. And because of the impact from the COVID pandemic, we’re about to enter another hunger endemic due to the global recession and climate impact.
Doesn’t this say that on every level our economic system does not work? Decades of neoliberalism has taken us to the brink of disaster. It’s time to make changes – dramatic ones.
One thing that Jacinda Adern (N.Z. Prime Minister) got right is that she’s removed G.D.P. growth as an objective. We were the first to do this and quickly after both Scotland and Iceland followed suit. Costa Rica and Cuba are another two other countries primarily based around human well-being, social justice and solidarity. These are the areas that should be at the heart of any government.
[ss_click_to_tweet tweet=”All countries should focus on the well-being of their citizens and not make GDP the top priority. The old economic system has proven to be broken – let’s make a new one #economics #socialwellbeing” content=”” style=”default”]
Where the hope comes from is the grass-roots movements. Before COVID, we saw many massive protests going on around the world where people told their governments that they are over the selfish way, the failing economic systems and the inequalities. They want more done. Even last year, we saw many take to the streets crying out over the disparities in their lives. It is this swell of humans taking to the streets that make change happen. We’ve seen this in the U.S.A. with the new administration. It has listened to at least some of what the people want. The fact that they are going to invest two trillion in the environment is a great start. It will be interesting to see how much more will be achieved in the next four years.
We need to be able to describe the world we want, and in doing so, we will build the pressure and hold the feet of those in power in the fire, so they give us a different kind of community that works.
There is hope as more and more people worldwide are demanding a more inclusive system, a fairer justice and a cleaner world. And I see many within these movements as the movers and shakers who can lead us to a brighter future.
