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Beware of easy answers. “Economic redistribution with cultural conservatism” is going to get a lot of traction in the media in coming days because it sidesteps, obscures and even compounds the real problem, the total reliance of capitalism on global exploitation.
It’s the fundamental problem everyone needs to face up to, including the Labour left.
Yes, there is a large constituency for “social democracy in one country”, sustained by exploitation of the global south, backed up by imperial power.
Yes, there is a large constituency for “social democracy in one country”, sustained by exploitation of the global south, backed up by imperial power.
And there is immense pushback on anything that even mildly threatens “the global order” as ordinary people in the current and former imperial powers experience it. Remember how Corbyn got heckled when he talked about climate disaster affecting the poor abroad first?
This thread absolutely nails it as to why some of the smears of Corbyn stuck while others didn’t. No body cared about the Czech spy stuff, but “terrorist sympathiser” stuck. https://twitter.com/lukepagarani/status/1205488470472441858">https://twitter.com/lukepagar...
The life long record of anti-imperialist politics was Corbyn’s biggest weakness electorally, but the courage it took to be an anti-imperialist politician in Britain was also his biggest strength that earned him the respect and admiration of activists.
Hot take: if John McDonnell had been the leader, Labour would have had a better chance.
Anyway, here’s the depressing part. No one is ready to face up to the reality that to save the planet, we need to change how we do everything. We need to kick our reliance on cheap labour abroad and militarised borders protecting profits subsiding our lifestyles.
No one is ready to vote for it, and you can’t sneak a programme of global redistribution through a manifesto however much you sugarcoat it. When people were asking “who’s going to pay for it?” they were also asking, “what do I have to give up?”
Because they know there is a price. They’re just trying to avoid paying it for as long as possible.
So what do we do? Nationalism is not the answer. You can’t ringfence the air your nation breathes and try and keep it breathable.
And nationalism isn’t real. It’s an illusion that takes a whole industry of creating and adapting narratives to maintain. It’s a mug’s game.
And nationalism isn’t real. It’s an illusion that takes a whole industry of creating and adapting narratives to maintain. It’s a mug’s game.
I know, because I grew up in India, where within living memory an India was invented and reinvented, and is now again being reinvented, in the image of whoever is in power.
The exact same people have been told very different stories about “who we are as a people”. But nothing changed for them, the poor remained poor. The powerless remained powerless.
Many of the people derided as “cosmopolitan elites” know this too, the children of immigrants, the ethnic minorities, the people whose gender, sexuality, bodily abilities, those that are in any way different know that it’s just about creating in groups and out groups.
Endless documentaries about the Second World War will keep many fooled for some time. But see how far nationalism will go when people are starving, homeless, ill or deprived and there are no more “Others” to blame for the the depredations of capitalism.
The only way out is to face up to reality. Understand that global redistribution is not just good, but essential for the human race to survive. It’s an electoral non-starter, and will be for many years, but avoiding the discussion only pushes the problem out of sight.
And there isn’t much time. We have to change the way we live if we want to save the many. And you should want to save everyone. The people offering you a place at the edge of the lifeboat will not hesitate to push you out if you stop being useful to them. https://onezero.medium.com/survival-of-the-richest-9ef6cddd0cc1">https://onezero.medium.com/survival-...
It will not be painless, some of us, at least, will have to give some things up, but we can try and do it so that the most vulnerable pay the least, and private sufficiency is supplemented by public luxury.
I have to believe it can be done, I have to keep trying, because otherwise what’s the point.
I’ve lost track of what I wanted to say, but hopefully I’ve said it.
I’ve lost track of what I wanted to say, but hopefully I’ve said it.
To summarise, we have to walk away from Omelas, and convince as many as we can to come with us. There is no other way.
