OLD ECONOMICS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED BY STONE SOUP

 

What year do you want to go back to Phil? That is the question you get when you try and explain that the current global financial system framework is fractured and about to break. That level of cognitive dissonance is a hard to overcome, it truly grinds at me.

How can so many fight so hard believing things are good when clearly they are not? How can so many still be viewing the world through a panglossian set of spectacles or contact lenses?

That question really intrigues me but more importantly it bothers and saddens me. It was the catalyst that pushed me to take time out of an impossible schedule to write this blog. This is a social justice piece of writing that will be my personal flipside reaction to those that have the rosy view. I hope to describe my own version of cognitive dissonance, the type that is conjured up when I am attacked for thinking there actually was a better time to live on this planet than now.

To the people that have called me every name from Mr Downer to Doomsday Prepper. Read this.

To those that have questioned my sanity for making the suggestion that perhaps there was a better time to be living on this planet. Read this.

To the people that are distracted by the mindless dribble of the media and the Kardashians, the news and the NFL, the fear and the football…Please Read this and at the end ask yourself truly how you feel about my thoughts and feelings.

Perhaps I am crazy? Maybe I am not? If you could find time at the end please comment, share your thoughts because as I said earlier I am truly bothered and saddened by the direction of humanity and the apathy and acceptance of the status quo.

Here is my own version of cognitive dissonance – It comes from those that think they cannot make a difference, to those that allow themselves to become slaves to a system that is rigged against them.

I am not a capitalist turned communist, nor am I chasing a time machine so that I can go back to 1991 when Michael Jackson and a band of elite performers released “heal the world”. My answer isn’t that we need to go back in time, nor abandon capitalism for communism but humanity needs an awakening and awareness. It’s not a month or a year but a mindset, it’s not just about economics and finance, it’s about social justice and capturing the spirit of what it is to be warm and caring again.

We now live in a world that celebrates extreme greed. Hollywood even glorifies it by pushing films out like “The wolf of Wall St”. The media and advertising companies promote consumerism at the same time that big multinational manufacturers exploit planned obsolescence. We are a throw- away society, we have our minds focused on today where selfishness is now the norm and not the exception to the rule.

It seems the world is devoid of true leaders, the type that hold a true moral compass and possess a voice that can set the masses back on a more sustainable and healthy path. As I cast my mind over world leaders I struggled to think of a political leader in the world that I feel is truly looking to leave the world in a better place than it was when they found it.

It is truly disturbing when you really think about it. I don’t see any leadership coming from anyone outside of religious leaders such as Pope Francis and The Dalai Lama. Setting those aside I ask myself, where is the Martin Luther King “I Have a dream” or the JFK “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”.

Where is the next Nelson Mandela? Or the Mother Theresa?

Don’t you dare bring up Bono, or the Nobel Peace Prize winner President “I Killed Osama Bin Laden” Obama who also was elected to end wars rather than start them. It is truly puke worthy watching the celebrities of today producing acts of disingenuous “giving” looking for praise just for helping the very people that support them and their careers.

The celebrity disconnect soared to new levels of ridiculousness recently when  a group of leftover B grade musicians were rustled up to form a band to raise money to aid the fight against the ebola outbreak and the scourge of poverty that exists in many African nations.

The usual hypocritical martyr types were involved again and with Sir Bobby Geldof heading up the army of “look at me helping the poor, where is the media” charity types and of course there was the rusted on Bono sun glasses on, changing the world. What could possibly go wrong? Ok so the name of the group “Band-Aid” is a little, could we say, ermmm.. cringe worthy?

Ok OK I know Bono and Geldof have been accused of tax minimisation, but what does that matter given the fact that they are taking a few hours out of a day to help record a song for charity? Can we not get over that and focus on their righteous and selfless act of giving, we are approaching Christmas in case you have forgotten… or maybe you didn’t know.. or don’t know..

Moving on we have the governments focusing on dealing with poverty the only way they know how, REGULATIONS AND LAWS. In the USA they have threatened a 90 year old man with a jail sentence for feeding the homeless and hungry, the poorest of the poor. If only Bono was there things would have been different…

WAKE UP PEOPLE – IF YOU WANT CHANGE YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE CHANGE.

I say we should all start by tossing out economics, slashing the financial sector and replace it with a real spirit and determination to make a difference. The winds of change are gathering momentum, the protest movement is becoming a world-wide phenomenon.

 

People are angry, but they cannot put their  finger on why. A stolen car space triggers a “red mist” road rage incident, the black Friday store sales looked more like a rugby union maul coupled with a UFC grudge fight. Punch ups, wrestling matches, arguments and black eyes are par for the course in the quest for a cheap TV. It is a sign of the times, the worst traits of humanity laid bare for all to see.

The economic and political system is slowly turning human beings away from compassion and into pack animals. This has me wondering whether we need to relearn compassion and sharing first, then build an economic and political system around those new values second.

We need to all learn the recipe for stone soup before we can move on to thinking of becoming Iron Chefs in economics or master chefs of politics. I have added the recipe taken from Wikipedia that comes in the form of a fable or story. I am hoping that when you have read it you will agree with me that it has the ingredients needed for the framework for building a better system and a better society. If you agree, make a contribution yourself to the change and toss in some carrots, or celery… you will understand what I mean!

The story of Stone Soup described by (Wikipedia):

 “Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.”

Please share your thoughts – this is a vital ingredient for the soup and if you enjoyed this piece, share it. If you wish to read more you can follow me @carneycapital on twitter.