On Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: we’re not talking about the biggest problem, our unstable and unsustainable economy.
17 April 2015
At hustings and in election debates the arguments rage around the NHS, education, tax dodging, austerity and many other vital matters. Yet one issue that is threatening us all is largely left out.
Whilst all the issues that feature in the popular debates are really important they are like re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic when we all need to be talking about changing the course of the ship. Unless we tackle the unsustainable economy global inequality together with climate change and many other environmental problems will overwhelm us. If we do nothing about this then we will never be able to get back to arranging deck chairs – the important work that makes a difference to the quality of people’s worldwide.
Current levels of consumption in the UK mean that we are living life as though we had the resources of three planet Earths. This will get worse as other countries catch up with our standard of living. Yet consumption and material possessions have not made us happier. They have made a few people very wealthy and created a world in which we are not living within our means. The environment is not just a nice view. It is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the source of the materials that produce our homes, goods and energy. It is vital that we take care of it for our own sake, our children’s sake and for the sake of all life on the planet. The Green Party argue that another way is possible that produces wealth sustainably, shares our wealth equitably, provides meaningful work for all, restores the environment and tackles the problems of inequality and environmental harm on our way to a different, more peaceful and just society. In my view the violence in the world is largely driven by inequality. This will be made worse by climate change as fights escalate over water, land and other resources. Equality must be our goal alongside sustainability if we are to realise a different and better future for all of us. The Green Party argue for a different economic model in which meeting the needs of people is put before the creation of wealth and which innovation and technological advance are driven by the importance of finding sustainable ways to provide equally for all.
http://www.green-alliance.org.uk/sustainableeconomy.php
