‘The context for a World Without Poverty’ is a paper that is part of a series for a project that the Webb Memorial Trust (WMT) and Compass conduct together to develop a Theory and Practice of Change for a World Without Poverty. The aim of this project is to look at how poverty can be prevented as well as getting support and backing for policies and to create strategies that could make a world without poverty possible. With this project, the WMT and Compass hope to make transformative changes happen in a society where politics and democracy no longer function as it used to. The strategies, tactics and policies need to be adjusted and operate in the context of our increasingly complex society. And that is exactly what is central to this paper, the context in which we end poverty may be the one we live in right now. In an era partly defined by our broken democracy, environment and economy, we have the opportunity to make those changes if we act in ways that are conducive to a new and better society. Complex power relations also define the context in which we live in, and with massive technological advances, we are witnessing the rise of energy and ideas from below, movements that are fed up with the current political system and hungry for reform. The meeting point between these emerging horizontal movements and more established vertical forces, what Compass calls 45 Degree Politics will resolve whether we put an end to poverty. This will not happen from top-down and elitist means; rather it is a process that must involve the poor, being agents of change. With the technological means, we can be networked citizens. Able to connect, collaborate, and create and thus open up new possibilities for change. From the egalitarian post-war era to the neoliberalist hegemony in the 1970s and onwards, Neal Lawson, head of Compass maps out the historical context in which significant social and economic shifts have been made. A world without poverty can be made a reality if we are, as Neal points out ‘understanding the context, how deep the hole is and therefore what intellectual and organisational resources are needed to fill it’.
You can read the paper here
To combat poverty we need to get the money people on-side or at least neutralized. To get them on-side the lessons of The Spirit Level must be argued, even if focus groups think some aspects of it are currently unpopular. The argument should not be allowed to go by default. Everyone, including the money people are happier in a more equal society.
To neutralize the influence of the money people it is essential that political parties are funded solely by their members. Remember that he who pays the piper plays the tune.
Neal has laid out both the historical context and the present situation straightforwardly, so the paper is a pleasure to read. As I become daily more down-hearted about the state of the world I am glad that Compass has embraced the idea of a Basic Income (which I’ve heard today that Canada is going to adopt.) This, plus social housing and the NHS/Social Care are the 3 major areas in which a sense of well-being could help restore enough energy to form a coherent movement.
An extremely apposite and valuable essay. It is vitally important that we combine our attempts to relieve poverty with an awareness that climate change is becoming out of control, and it is now seriously possible that, unless human beings alter their life-style, the human race will become extinct before the end of this century.
May I recommend two books: Martin Rees, Our Final Century (Heinemann 2003)
and James Martin, The Meaning of the 21st Century (Transworld 2006)
Both books set out the dangers and the challenges facing us now.
There is one obvious thing we can do; work for an alliance between Labour, Corbyn’s Labour,and the Green Party. Yes we need, for example, to build social housing. But outside the cities, it must not be on greenfield, it must not destroy bio-diversity and farmland. There is enough brownfield in Britain to build two million houses on.
Neal Lawson also refers throughout to a “new world”. It is as well to remember that though there is poverty in Britain, there are billions of people in the Third World who would regard British poverty as untold wealth. I was born in KwaZulu, South Africa, and go back there from time to time. There is one region there where I visited AIDS victims, and was told that about 90% of the people in that area had AIDS. “Child-headed families” is a common phrase to hear; the breadwinner is an orphan child of nine, and the only money is a grant allocated to AIDS orphans, but money which does not necessarily arrive. May I recommend a speech in Parliament proposing a Vote of No Confidence in President Zuma by the leader of the opposition Mmusi Maimane, who calls on the people to put their country before the political party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRkniFiht54
It has many lessons for us. Sadly, corruption conquered, and the Vote of No Confidence was rejected.
Hi, great essay that briefly summarises where we are and why we are here. There are a few points I would like to add. Resources across the immediate post-war period were incredibly short and economies geared up for war not the production of consumers goods; so it’s surprising what can be done when all society’s resources are directed toward a particular task. One point on the individualism, and it’s one that has been missed by those of us who believe in societies and communities. The Osborne/Cameron mantra ‘that we’re all in it together’, that appeared after the 2008 crash, represented, in my opinion, a real desire amongst the British population to pull together and act as a nation to sort its problems. It’s what underlies the public’s belief in the NHS. Now that hopeful will / desire was tragically abused and misled – Brexit, being just one of its negative aspects and petty nationalism a second. I’m fairly sure that for all those right-wing media barons who see poppy day celebrations as a means to their ends, it does in, to the contrary, feed into our nations’ social togetherness. The issue is how to make use of that spirit of a shared culture and community, while not having mass readerships. Nonetheless, it is there, deep rooted and for the taking.
Next the international nature of corporate power and the inability of nation states to combat their apparent supremacy is not quite the ‘given’ we all have operate within that the essay states. Though, to my way of thinking Brexit could make European nation states less able to combat corporations; perhaps that’s what lay behind the vehement propaganda pushed out by England’s newsprint media. And this remains so. However, the power of nation states, when they can be got to act in unison is greatly enhanced by our technological ability to collect and analyse data. The Snowden leaks make that point very forcibility. Lastly, I’m not sure how well leaving the corporates to act in the overarching sphere of finance, while localities do their thing, can be a meaningful solution. It would be like being able to play in a game where players have free-will and complete independence over everything but the rules of the game and resources available. In short these megaliths must be brought to the negotiating table. Ultimately, ‘the locals’ are their employees and, more importantly their customers too. Impoverishment can only reduce the size of their market.
Getting corporate CEO’s to act with environmental responsibility does not have that clarity; especially, if they can get on a Vurgen Media space bus for another planet:-)
Once again thanks for all your hard work
shaunt
I Can not see how we can even think about the poverty issue while we have such a weak leader of our great party. In view of the Government Intransigence over the Brexit issue and there being no effective opposition hanks to Mr Corbyn we will never defeat the Tory Party without any effective opposition in Westminster. We need another STRONG leader of the calibre of Tony Blair or David Miliband to get the Labour Party back on track and with a credible chance to win the next election. Or Maybe the moderate faction of Labour should join forces to join the Lib Dems and form a new Social Democratic Party.
I Can not see how we can even think about the poverty issue while we have such a weak leader of our great party. In view of the Government Intransigence over the Brexit issue and there being no effective opposition hanks to Mr Corbyn we will never defeat the Tory Party without any effective opposition in Westminster. We need another STRONG leader of the calibre of Tony Blair or David Miliband to get the Labour Party back on track and with a credible chance to win the next election. Or Maybe the moderate faction of Labour should join forces to join the Lib Dems and form a new Social Democratic Party.
Dear Compass,
I am afraid that you have things totally upside down because what we actually need is a world without wealth. Poverty has never been the problem; it has always been wealth as it is wealth that creates poverty. Neal Lawson’s essay will not be read by the poor, despite your apparent concern for the poor. Your politics, am afraid, are still top down. Unfortunately people do not even know what questions we need to ask in order to create a new world, political parties only seem able to operate at the level of policies which continues short-termism.
progressively yours,
Peter Logan
We forget that the human race is an integral part of nature. We should look to successful enduring natural patterns for our salvation.
Look at the human body to reflect how all parts are nourished. The blood circulates, returns to the heart and is recirculated once more – continually. If, because of a disorder, one part receives too much blood or not enough, illness occurs – sometimes fatally.
Currency is the lifeblood of the economy and should circulate endlessly. No inordinate accumulations or deficiencies anywhere.
How the flora and fauna of this world disregard mankind’s boundaries. They are dependent on the earth for their support and so are we. Each takes according to its needs without transgression.
History records the biggest privatisation of them all – the land. The land is our common provision from generation to generation.
The bees and ants co-operate to build and sustain a successful community. They know no competition, only mutual endeavour.
Past political events have forced people to compete. It is not natural. Robbed of the land, they are forced to compete for employment to provide the basics of survival: shelter, warmth and food. Much employment is occupied in the manufacture of non-essential goods or worse: items that are detrimental to the individual or society. Only through massive advertising are these items made desirable to the consumer. So much wasted activity and resources for no benefit, just fleeting satisfaction.
The efficacious, universal patterns are there. We should look to them.
The Idea of a World without Poverty is excellent. Of course it is possible. But the analysis is badly wanting. While the opening assumptions which are well laid out are correct, Missing is the basic relationship between rich and poor parts of the world, which is the the key for making a world without poverty. There is not room here to elaborate. But, unless there is a full understanding how the rich world connects to the poor every thing else is mere words. I am happy to do this if requested.