Themes
The future belongs to all of us, though precious few of us get to really imagine it for ourselves. Not millions, but billions of us are left out of the global equation, relegated to the tattered edges of the universal dream.
Destitution, malnutrition, starvation, insecurity, foreclosure, wage slavery, militarism, fractured landscapes, futures-on-hold – these are not accidents. They’re conditions of a game that wasn’t designed by the majority, but for which the majority has nonetheless been scripted a devastating part.
Inequity is a product of extreme corporate capitalism and inherited privilege. And it’s all held together by a set of rules designed by, and for, a tiny elite. By controlling money systems, spreading false ideas, grabbing common resources and relentlessly centralising wealth and power, this tiny elite are impoverishing billions and destroying the planet.
It’s not some far-out conspiracy hatched in the secret corridors of a dark mountaintop castle; it is the rational outcome of a system built over centuries to serve self-interest and an insatiable need for more profit and economic growth.
But at its heart, the power of this system is an illusion, and it depends on all of us acting out our parts in a story that’s we’ve all internalised over time. It goes something like this: humans are self-centered, selfish, and individualistic. They don’t need help from anyone, they’re all out to get one another, and when catastrophe threatens, the market saves the day. Most importantly, the winners are justified in their gains, and the losers deserve the worst this world has to offer. Yet unlike how we like to think this story ends – riches and paradise – the vast majority of us are the losers. And what’s worse, we tacitly agree to it. Or at least that’s what we’re led to believe. But hold on a second … did we really agree to this? Who does this story benefit?
We have the power to change the rules.
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