Surprisingly, the obsession with consumption is now so ingrained that — instead of agitating for change — many of those with the lowest disposable incomes and those struggling at the bottom of the economy are completely tethered.
They refuse to admit that the system has failed them, instead insisting on being a part of it, and are often the most vehemently opposed to any alternative, more progressive way of life.
capitalist
Instead, their hopes and aspirations are centered on a lucky break, perhaps a lottery win, that will give them the cash they need to make a greater contribution to a consumerist society and join those greasy poles.
The truth is, we are all competing fiercely. A race in which we scramble; a race to subordinate the greater good to the wealth and comfort of a few; a battle of few winners and many losers.
But it doesn’t have to be like this. It is by no means inevitable that capitalism will become the dominant system by which our lives function.
Altruism is at least as important in the development of society as individualism and competition, and it is indeed essential to the development of human civilization.
However, over the past few centuries it has become increasingly marginalized until it is fully the prerogative of the so-called “doers of good” derided by those at the top of the capitalist food chain.
finance
Those people, usually people who don’t have much of their own, really care about others. But a world centered on altruism is by no means impossible.
It is certainly infinitely preferable to the extant system based on devil take last, which fails the vast majority and at the same time – destroys the earth.
Instead, imagine a world where nothing is monetized and where human ingenuity and creativity are not for profit, but for the well-being of individuals and societies and the sustainability of the greater good; no billionaires, not even millionaires ; houses are for living in, not cash cows; and businesses big and small are partnerships and cooperatives, working together rather than competing.
No shareholder can siphon off large amounts of cash, reinvest excess capital, distribute it among employees or donate it to worthy projects and initiatives.
Spain’s Mondragon Corporation provides some insight into how this might work. This huge federation of workers’ cooperatives has been around for almost 70 years and now employs more than 80,000 people in retail, financial, industrial and knowledge sectors.
venture capital
In such a world, greed has no chance to flourish. Everyone has enough money to live comfortably, and obscene inequalities have been eliminated.
Contrast this with our situation today. Britain’s 171 billionaires are worth a staggering $597 billion in 2021, adding more than $106 billion over the past 12 months, as millions struggled to keep going during the worst of the pandemic.
During the same period, shareholder dividends were £94.1 billion. You may have seen the argument that such dividends are crucial because they feed back into our pension pots, but that’s just a myth.
In fact, a TUC study showed that UK pension funds directly or indirectly hold less than 6% of UK shares.
These are huge sums of money, and in fact all of them — in the context of benefiting society as a whole rather than a few individuals, venture capitalists, and hedge funds — are “dead” money.
common
Imagine how much can be done by directing such huge sums of money to where it will benefit the most people.
For example, the NHS could be funded entirely from annual growth in billionaire wealth and from annual shareholder dividends.
The so-called “austerity” scheme, which has seen local services hollowed out over the past 17 years, could have been avoided by spending the equivalent of a British billionaire’s change.
So what would it be like to live in our beautiful new world? As growth for growth’s sake is abandoned, and GDP is thrown into the trash as a measure of progress, there is no reason to work until we abandon it.
Universal income will ensure that food and heating are affordable for everyone, so individuals can choose how many hours they work.
cooperate
Some may prefer a nine to five, weekly fix, others may mix work with something that makes them feel good; community service or continuing education, assignments or exercise. The work itself will be – as far as possible – at home or in small local centres.
In fact, localism and community would underpin such a society, reducing the need for stressful and wasteful travel.
Such a society, with everyone’s well-being and concern for the environment at its core, would provide a better quality of life across the board, and the savings would be enormous, resulting in vastly improved mental health and revitalizing nature.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s going to be a burlap-and-sandal-like society. Technology is critical to its functioning, but technology focuses on what is appropriate and sustainable on a small planet with limited resources.
All the goods we are familiar with are still there, but are durable, easy to repair and as recyclable as possible.
Because competition is subordinate to collaboration, you can’t buy a new phone or a new car every year anyway, because the company doesn’t feel the need to keep rolling out new variants to stay ahead of the curve.
change
For the same reason, the ads that are constantly hanging over us now will largely dry up. Imagine watching TV or listening to your favorite radio show without constantly interrupting vulgar phone calls, let’s keep consuming.
Incomparable happiness!
A beneficial side effect is rearranging a large marketing budget to accomplish something useful.
We’re not talking here about a world where everyone is equally wealthy, but rather there will be an income ceiling – say six times the average income – so that extravagant wealth cannot be accumulated.
Many of you may think this is all just pie from the sky. Some of you might say I’m a dreamer – as the Liverpool man once said – but I’m not the only one.
Thinkers and doers around the world have come to the same conclusion. Things have to change – and soon. Of course, there is no doubt that if we want to solve the climate emergency before it is too late, capitalism has to go.
The key question is, can the transition to a kinder, more egalitarian world happen fast enough? In fact – given the enormous power and influence of those at the top of their monetary wealth – will this happen?
Looking around today, it’s hard to imagine that such a transformation could happen so effortlessly. But if this is needed, so be it.
this author
Bill McGuire He is Emeritus Professor of Geophysics and Climate Hazards at UCL and a contributing author of the IPCC SREX report on climate change and extreme events. His latest book, Skyseed, is an ecological thriller about climate engineering going wrong. Bill is the COP26 representative for WordForest.Org.
