Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com A better world is possible What needs to be done and how we can make it happen Copyright ©Bruce Nixon 2010 All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. Please acknowledge when using it and contact the author before using for other purposes. www.brucenixon.com 1 Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Chapter Titles Page Introduction 3 Part One: – Making sense of the situation we are in – how, we, 6bn people are robbed and our futures are endangered by a few 1. A time of system breakdown - but also one of hope 8 2. Understanding the financial crisis 15 3. We, 6.7bn people, need to feel our fear and anger - That can provide the energy for fundamental change – we need to transform democracy 29 4. We face the biggest crisis in human history - growth is not working 36 Introduction a. Climate change 38 b. Peak oil and its impact on our lives 56 c. Destruction of the ecosystem on which all life depends 60 d. Poverty and economic justice 69 e. Violence, war and the threat of nuclear annihilation 77 Conclusions 84 5. About the corporation and other things you need to know 85 6. Seeing the underlying system clearly 96 7. Gandhi’s thinking provides inspiration for the 21st century 101 Part Two: – A vision for a better world – possibilities for a better future - what needs to be done 8. Greening the world - What needs to be done about climate change, peak oil and ecological destruction – greening the north, paradigm change, green transport, green heat and power, good models 109 9. Transforming the system to create a sustainable and just global economy - A Steady-State Economy; A Green New Deal; Contraction and Convergence, Cap and Share, Fee and Dividend, Global governance: global institutions and fair global trade 121 10. New money - Money, debt, taxation, the commons, land value tax and citizens’ income 134 11. Unlocking democracy - Giving power to communities and people, providing real choice, government that serves citizens 150 12. Feeding the world - A real green revolution, food sovereignty and security, agriculture vs. agribusiness, bioregionalism and localisation vs. globalisation, sustainable distribution 163 13. Creating sustainable cities, towns and communities - Local vs. globalisation, hi tech vs. low tech, positive models – many good things are happening 181 14. The possibility of peace - Ending war, violence and the threat of nuclear annihilation 193 15. After Copenhagen - What happened, what progress was made, what went wrong and ways forward 201 16. What we need to do - How we can make it happen, what you can do, resources 210 References 218 2 Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Introduction Another world is possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing. Arundhati Roy A period of extraordinary change I began writing this book eighteen months ago. It has been a period of extraordinary change. George Bush Jnr. has gone, replaced by Barack Obama. The global economy collapsed. Warnings about climate change and the threats to all life on the planet have grown louder. Public awareness has grown, though not enough. Politicians, or most of them, still fail to take the necessary actions to avoid global environmental catastrophe. So do most of us ordinary citizens. And now, in the UK, citizens voted for a hung parliament, New Labour has gone and we have a Lib Dem Conservative coalition government promising new politics and fresh ideas. Many people in UK and the rest of the world are angry about what has happened to them as a result of the financial crisis – recession, poorer chances of employment , lost livelihoods and homes, diminished savings and pensions, indebtedness and the constant feelings of insecurity. This is alongside the trillions given to banks by taxpayers, the blatant greed that caused the crisis and continuing excessive pay and bonuses. Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, injustice and inequality continue, whilst pledges given by rich nations remain unfulfilled. What has been happening over past decades is an outrage. We need to feel it. Yet we have allowed it. Change does not come about from within a system – it comes from outside, namely us. The two key arguments of this book are: The whole global system has to be transformed to serve ordinary people everywhere. We, ordinary people, need to turn our anger into effective action to bring about positive change. I shall set out clearly how the system works, what the key issues are, what needs to be done and what ordinary people can do to bring about this transformation. It is clear that we could be at the dawn of an exciting New Green Industrial Revolution – if enough of us take the necessary steps. It could bring enormous benefits, if we grasp the possibilities. We face the greatest threat to human life in known history. We’ll look back on the past century and wonder how we could have been so stupid. We could be at the beginning of a new age in which we cherish the earth’s resources and diversity, an age of sustainability, fairness, economic justice and peace - an age of less greed, selfishness and more wellbeing. An age in which nations and their leaders, instead of grabbing the Earth’s resources, threatening each other, and murdering each other’s and their own citizens, respect their differences, focus on common ground, common values, collaborate, live in peace and work together to save the human species and all life. 3 Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com We could be on the threshold of time when, at last, we realise that we are all inter-dependent and part of a miraculous, beautiful and interconnected web of life. In that way, we’ll save ourselves, just in time, from the potential disasters of climate change and nuclear obliteration. It is our choice. It won’t just happen. Some things do just happen but not this. We certainly cannot leave it to politicians. It depends on what we all do, not waiting for some great leader of fantasy land, but every one of us, 6.7bn people, using our power to create a far better world. We cannot afford to indulge in despair or cynicism and pretend we are powerless. We are not. We have a unique opportunity to transform our world for the better, in a way in which everyone can participate. Everyone is needed to play their unique part. The purpose of the book is to help create the mass movement needed to prevent catastrophic climate change, save our planet earth, create a sustainable and just global economic system and put an end to war. This book is about how we can do use our “people power” to change things for the better. But if we want to save ourselves and future generations from disaster, and put effective pressure on government, we need to see the system clearly and target total system change. That is the message of this book. To be able to use your people power, you need to be well-informed. This book is full of information – you may need to choose from the contents what you most need or want to read. Part One – Making sense of the situation we are in. If we want to change things for the better, we first need to understand the underlying system. We shall not succeed in bringing about transformation if we are system blind. The starting point is accepting what is. In this part, I hope to open eyes to the situation we face and describe the system that has failed to resolve our biggest problems and has created a crisis. I aim to help you make sense of the system, how it works, its consequences – good and bad - and the underlying issues. I express my views; I know there are many others. I hope this will help you form yours. It is a convenient myth that the issues are too complicated for the average person to understand. It is vitally necessary to understand this increasingly complex, interconnected living system which is constantly changing. Our understanding of the miracle of life will always be incomplete. There will be fresh insights every day. There can be no certainties. Out of control politicians with big ideas are dangerous. Margaret Thatcher’s “There is no alternative” (TINA) is a dangerous argument. Apparent solutions will bring unexpected consequences as they always have - hence, the importance of applying the precautionary principle, risk assessment and due diligence. It is essential to involve all stakeholders and a wide diversity of people to reach wise decisions. Part Two – A vision for a better world – possibilities for a better future - what needs to be done. In the second part, I put forward practical ideas that could make a difference. I describe constructive ways forward, key proposals and good models that already exist. Above all, we need to focus on Creating Possibilities. Many people I meet are experts on why we cannot change things for the better; maybe they tried and are weary and discouraged. But we need leaders, like you, who have hope and are focused on how we can, not why we can’t.