Category: Norms of the society

Finish off Brexit and stop embarrassing the Democracy

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Also published on Democracy Chronicles

It is 3 ½ years since Britons voted for an exit and still the British Parliament has not been able to deliver what the voters decided. It was not part of the vote to clarify HOW it would be done, if it would be a hard or soft Brexit, for example, only THAT it would, or would not, be done. It is the task of the political system to take care of HOW as well as THAT it happens, and it has failed at both.

The main reason for this, from what we hear in news broadcast after news broadcast from all over the world, is a boundlessly painful process where adults in the room behave like selfish kids. The members of the House of Commons, including the Speaker, have created something that can be likened to a parliamentary coup that gives them the opportunity, on a daily basis, to put forward new proposals and then vote them down. We see a parliament in which everyone is given the chance to set terms and block them at will, depending on their special interests. We see a government that is unable to rule, and an opposition that defies it at every turn. We see parliamentarians without any respect whatsoever for the voters’ decision and instead, many politicians and much of the media lay the blame for the Brexit mess on the electorate who, they say, voted the “wrong way” and created it.

Anti-Brexit supporters are seeking a new referendum, even though the problem is obviously down to Parliament and the politicians. What would a new referendum achieve besides a second chance for the Remainers and for the secret dream of the whole European establishment that, covertly, they may be able to get their way. Furthermore, seventy percent of the British public do not think a second referendum would be any help as the country is still as divided on the issue of leaving the EU as in 2016, although the marginal majority are now the Remainers. Everyone understands that a new referendum cannot be called every time there is a marginal change in public opinion.

All factions have agreed on a new general election, but only on their own terms. Currently scheduled for the 12th of December, if it gets off the ground, it is nothing but a cry for help and not a decision made out of consideration for the voters. The British Parliament has simply hacked its way out of the Brexit mess; a mess that may well continue forever after the election if the same parliamentarians reclaim their seats. 

In my most secret fantasies, I see an international political decontamination brigade that, out of nowhere, blasts a hole in the wall of the House of Commons, and flushes it clean with high-pressure washers. And afterwards, Democracy’s own security forces install a new parliament which acts on behalf of the voters, and the decision administrators, the MPs, are subordinate to the decisions and not the other way around.

Order! Order!

There are those alongside me who harbour dark thoughts, apparently. According to surveys conducted by Cardiff University and the University of Edinburgh, British voters, whether for or against Brexit, think that “the risk of MEPs being subjected to violence” is “a risk worth taking”.

 Great Britain, it’s time to let go of the EU now. In unbalanced relationships, you come to a point where it hurts more to stay put than to leave. It is better to release the tension, to part and from this find a new foundation from which to work. Right now, the whole of Europe is getting daily doses of learning that our democracy and parliamentary systems no longer deliver. The fact that extreme political alternatives are popping up in the wake of this is a consequence for which none of those who defend the development gutlessly should blame any other “extremist force”.

At the moment, British politicians are blocking the work of the EU and all of Europe. You actually have to get a move on!

At the same time, it is regrettable that the UK should leave the EU because I believe that all international forces, not least the UK, are needed to counter the greatest threats to humanity; the climate, the finance industry, right extremist forces and a diminished confidence in democracy. The latter keeps growing every hour that goes by. The political fatigue in the UK will, if it has not already done so, reach the same levels as, for example, in Greece after the 2015 election or as in today’s protesting Chile and other parts of South America. A new democratic regime and deeper involvement of voters, a bottom-up-democracy with a chance to have greater influence in politics and to participate in social and economic issues are the only things that can rebuild people’s respect for politics and parliamentarians. We would have needed Great Britain to push for this in the EU. Instead, they are becoming a cautionary example.

The Polarization lacks an ideological solution

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Also published on Open Democracy and  Democracy Chronicles

The increasing political polarization, a problem of the entire western world, is based on misconceptions to which today’s politicians find themselves without an ideological solution.

During the night of the midterm elections, I switched on CNN International for the first time in a year, but no longer found a newsroom but rather something that looked like a military headquarters. Us against the president – the president against us.

In Sweden, almost all parties, media and people in general, support the Democrats. Thus it took me almost a whole day to disentangle news reports and subjective analyses, romantic reviews of Barack Obama and, not least, Trump’s self-assured victory rhetoric, before I dared to form my own opinion of ​​how the election actually turned out. The polarization is not just political, it permeates the whole of society, and, just like in war, it’s soon hard to trust anyone.

The biggest winner in the election was the polarization or division of the United States; the dislike of “the others” and the desire to tell them how wrong they are. It’s an attitude that permeates both sides, but, as most people can figure out, is a deeply destructive development, not only occurring in the United States but in the whole western world.

Many point to Donald Trump when talking about polarization, but as it had already started in the 70’s, according to Nolan McArthy Professor of Politics, one has to look deeper. Also, it isn’t caused by social media. And when trying to understand who was supporting the right-wing radicalization, it turns out that the idea that it was the poor who supported Trump isn’t correct. In the Presidential election, Trump had more support from the wealthy than Clinton did. In addition, it wasn’t people suffering from the high unemployment who voted for Trump; they tended to vote for the Democrats.

But isn’t immigration, at least, a crucial and steady indicator of all the successes of right-wing radicals around the western world? No, not even that is correct. Right-wing nationalism also occurs in countries with almost no immigration at all!

The quest for a simple explanation, for absolute numbers, obscures the view of an explanation that is to be found on a somewhat more analytically demanding level. You have to ask at least two consecutive questions if you want to understand it – which many journalists lack both the time and unpolarized attitude to do. One is that few people ask themselves why immigrants are disliked. Also, could there be a common negative experience of society that includes an economic and cultural, as well as an emotional and social, explanation for the right-wing radical support? Some researchers have actually asked these questions and received answers but these haven’t been widely reported. A new perspective of why people vote right-wing radical is:

The experience of being marginalized, not being seen, losing one’s status and ending up an outsider.

For example, it is not immigration itself which is the problem but the fear of finding oneself outside a particular social group, thus losing one’s identity, which creates the resistance to immigration. And it’s not unemployment itself that generates the most dissatisfaction but the fear of being affected by it – rich or poor. Those who really suffer from unemployment tend to vote for left-leaning parties or democrats.

Instead, it’s both a cultural and a social concern to lose one’s dignity and status. New values, new cultures, rapid societal change and a general experience of becoming a loser in this turmoil erodes people’s trust in the entire establishment.

The longing for dignity, stability and equality is so great in the United States today that people who despise the establishment, in their desperation, still resort to one of its most dominant cornerstones and its leader, to capitalism and the capitalist Donald Trump. But the trend is the same in Europe; Sweden is today among the most unequal countries in Europe and the gap between rich and poor increases at the same rate as the number of right-wing voters. The “Yellow Jacket” movement and the recent dramatic protests all over France is another voice of the marginalized..

Decades of increasing political polarization should have given politicians plenty of time for reflection and solutions. But the political establishment in the western world is de facto those who created polarization and are as trustworthy as a runaway train!

The Left’s focus on economic justice can contribute to less dissatisfaction, but not to a different experience of the societal machinery as a whole. Their open approach to immigration, cultural integration and disregard to tradition will increase polarization. And Liberalism – favouring an independent market economy, privatization and a world where human value is measured in consumer spending with no concern for the increasing gap between the poor and the wealthy – has no hope. Furthermore, with global players beyond democratic control, mistrust grows. And this climate of fear and anxiety turns people towards conservatism.

Another democratic and ideological new order is required and a wave of social/humanistic unrest is already noticeable, but we need the courage to ask the questions that actually reveal the social and cultural background to what the media reduce to “violence and protests”.

Circus Trump – A Dream come True for the Establishment

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Also published on Democracy Chronicles

Are you tired of the worldwide media plague of the past few years, Donald Trump? One might think that such attention serves critical examination and sensible values. However, the secondary effect is that the debate leads people back to the old and familiar, thus blocking a critique of the current political system.

A few days ago we had a children’s party at our house. While sitting around the kitchen table, the subject of ghost stories came up and one of the nine-year-olds exclaimed: “What if Trump popped up at the window!”

The other day I was sitting on the train reading one of my favorite North American magazines which has undercurrents of anarchy, anti-consumerism and is full of great writing. But before I actually started to browse through it I thought to myself: ”Wonder how many pages before I see him”. One, two, three, four … there he was – complete with grotesque scowl. Yet another one, to add to the many thousands already published in the ordinary media. With a sigh I put the issue back in my rucksack.

And when I attempt to gauge the temperature of the political debate, visiting traditional as well as alternative and progressive news sites regardless of whether in my own country or the United States; there he is. Day after day, same old thing.

Even when I’m sitting in the audience among progressive activists, within less than a few minutes his name is whispered.

How long is this going to last? This is one of the worst political psychosis I’ve experienced; a political traffic jam that just won’t clear.

And everyone is contributing: politicians, film directors, activists, intellectuals and, not least, the news media. According to surveys, he is the president who, during his first year, has had by far the most attention. And, also according to surveys, he is the president most disliked by the media for 25 years. Moreover, there is an unusually large amount of focus directed on him as a person. He has transformed news media into something that more resembles celebrity gossip. They point their fingers, their jaws drop in shocked amazement, they speculate as well as persistently cite facts that will support their self-image as innocent victims of this monster. He shouts back, they respond and boo. This hate-love drama becomes apparent to those who stand outside the ring and see the two opponents, each wearing a clown’s red nose, chasing each other round and round in their media/political circus act.

Some people probably think that this is some kind of speech in defense of Trump. But in this report, I have no wish particularly to condone Trump and his policies – I will neither support nor despise them. Here he is neutral, if anyone still remembers what political objectivity is. Yes, I understand the outrage; his contempt for women, disdain of ethnic groups, climate denial, opportunism, rudeness, the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – but nevertheless: there are more important things in the world than his views on these issues.

For example, that the western world is experiencing social decline, or the increase in public apathy and indifference to today’s democracy. You who still choose not to prioritize subjects such as the decay of civilizations in favor of the man with the blonde forelock, just consider that Trump would never have been elected if people hadn’t been so indifferent to the old society.

Are you also aware that in your Trump-mania, you are now standing side by side with the most destructive forces? Those who also do not want him as he creates imbalance in their conservative “ecosystem”, a growing western caste system, where ever fewer people are being given ever more. Those who neglect human dignity and democratic participation. When you look contemptuously at those who voted for the monster and vilify them with rhetorical conservative catchwords as ‘populists’, you are supporting not only political technocrats and corporate capitalists but also lobbyists and globalists. They stand right behind, thanking you for your attention or, more accurately, lack of attention.

Thriving in this political darkness are weeds such as, for example, David Letterman’s interview with Barack Obama after his departure; a self- righteous, democratic feel-good interview that came across as passé as Hollywood’s touched up presidential portraits. Or the well-meaning Morgan Freeman in his series “The story of us”, where he admiringly interviews Bill Clinton about the excellence with which democracy is pursued in the “free world”. I mean, exactly who is free here? You can’t move a metre without being beholden to someone else. You are an economic piece of Lego in a model that you never asked for or had any influence over.

Do you protest against Trump because you want to turn the clock back or because you want to create something new?

The point is that it is not the political figureheads who determine the system in the United States or anywhere else but an unwritten agreement between economic, political and media interests; a culture maintained by an establishment. The president or government are appointed by the system, they don’t change the system. They can create political and economic turbulence around the world, but they never change the status quo, they act within the framework that loses credibility day by day. Meanwhile, the progressive social innovators, system critics and social pioneers have been at the circus. They have been there for a few years now, watching the same performance over and over again: “Trump the Chump”. Enclosed in a political tent without oxygen – yet another silly political pantomime at which we are expected to boo or applaud. A dream that has come true for The Establishment.

They say: There is no alternative

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Also published on Dissident Voice and Swedish Fria tidningen

We are living in times of increased global economic injustice, suspicion against the establishment and a political terrain that is being redrawn to such an extent that few analysts really understand what is happening. Rarely have we seen such political mobility and possibility for change. But the ruling political consensus in Europe and the western world seems unyielding: “There is no alternative”.

The political and economic framework tells us that it is hard work, credits and consumption that the citizen must relate to. And when this machinery does not deliver, it is the citizen who takes responsibility. A time of considerable levels of unemployment and social exclusion is the most common medicine. The underlying message is that a continued development of democracy is not possible; which is why another society, characterized by participation, tolerance, security and quality of life cannot be realized either. Why do politicians’ ability to deliver stop at everyday politics, blocking strategies and just fishing for votes, and why is it no longer possible to discuss visions and a further development of our society? What is it that caused everything to be locked in a vice?

Sometime in the 80s, the free market had to be given even freer rein as it surely “knew what was best for everyone”. Politics was to be detached from the economy while banks were given wider freedom to act as creditors in order to be able to boost consumption and growth. Politicians and economists agreed: “There is no alternative”.

The increased lending led to debt crises in the 80s and 90s; the old, familiar story about money and credits lacking coverage until they are forced to be repaid, thus revealing the con. We know it in everyday vocabulary as a “real estate bubble”, “finance bubble” etc.

With globalization, capitalism grew out of its national costume. The boundless financial industry set the new world culture. Everything had to move faster, be easier, be temporary and follow the rapid twists and turns of the financial markets. “If there are no jobs in your area, uproot your family and move somewhere else.” The connection to political parties and unions dwindled; the old society was perceived as rigid, slow and unworkable.

In this new era of financing, people were urged to go beyond their own capacity to pay by consuming with their future income. Another way to circumvent the natural laws was the new consumerism. The simple principle that demand creates supply had expired. Instead, supply was first created, after which, with the help of marketing, demand as well as the necessary consumption culture was introduced, as illusory as tobacco advertising and bank credits. There are hundreds of bread brands in your supermarket, but not quite the one you want, right?

The new society characterized by individualization, efficiency, strategic thinking and less cohesion slowly emerged from the 90s and into the 21st century. The ideological breadth of politics in the 70s had shrunk to a red-green-blue alloy; a unanimous work- and consumption ideal; a culture originally created with a liberal intent now became a period of political narrow-mindedness.

Then came the 2008 financial crisis; the 150th since the late 19th century. The same repetitive process of interest rate cuts, increased lending and bursting bubbles. Millions of people were hit by unemployment, lost their homes and were forced to pay for the financial feast when countries had to skimp on health care in order to pay interest rates. Politicians and economists in the western world nevertheless agreed: “There is no alternative”.

The politicians’ democratic contracts with the citizens were no longer possible to maintain. The old principle of letting politics control the worst inventions of capitalism had, in a few decades, been transformed into allowing them instead to protect the financial world from too much democratic invention. Politicians’ solidarity with the finance industry became stronger than that with the citizens. A new caste of those in power emerged, a layer, a hybrid of politicians, economists and technocrats, an ever-deeper establishment.

Above this layer, a clique of powerful oligarchs, especially in the financial industry, has strengthened its position. They act beyond national borders and regardless of countries’ state budgets, unemployment, material and social misery; unquestioned and protected in the name of globalization.

Over the years and strangely enough to the astonishment of many, populism and the criticism of those in power has increased. The Occupy movement after 2010 should have been an alarm call. The prolonged breach of contract between the rulers and the masses has created a protectionist prairie fire all over the western world on the theme “We’ve had enough!”.

The threat of the European Central Bank and EU politicians in 2015 to close Greece’s banks and openly reject a democratic referendum was an assault; they might as well have rolled in with tanks, but that would have even more blatantly dented the illusion that the EU stands for peace. When democracy in Greece was put out of action, Europe’s deep establishment stood silently watching. They probably thought: “There is no alternative”.

Destructive extremism, antagonism and resignation over the way society evolves is not created by undemocratic forces or political loonies, it is created and maintained by all our common politicians, by EU technocrats, lobbyists and other influential people in our society. They argue that people’s dissatisfaction threatens “the democracy” but their democracy is merely a mantra, a washed-out club badge, pie-in-the-sky with populistic connotations to make people swallow a societal structure which passed its sell by date long ago. This cannot be diverted simply as a matter of correct or incorrect facts; it is a question of a proper social culture or not.

The options consist of a long-term shift in the view of democracy. Politicians must return to their employers, the voters, and guarantee the most basic economic conditions. Health care must be released from economic frenzy and all the ill-health and pessimism it creates. It is time to delouse society of wrong thinking, such as that there are insufficient financial resources while at the same time a small percentage of the population possesses enormous wealth. Also, politics must not be a choice between an economic autocracy or a state autocracy.

Politicians need your help; they need to hear the voice and clear message of the people. They must be directed to completely different politics and to a developed democracy that dares to remake and make right. They will not like it, they will bark, growl and threaten – but there is no alternative.

The social body and the threatening infection

.Reading time 7 minutes.

It is a common view that 2017 is a politically unpredictable year and unpredictability is anything but what our Western society wants.

On the wish list are: Stable economic growth; political stability; a reliable government; a steady cycle of work and consumption and, not least, a reliable information system – a news media which reflects and analyzes what is happening as the “voice of society”. All of these are interdependent in the “social body”.

Many scoff at this kind of holistic approach. They believe that, on the contrary, society is made up of different stakeholders such as rival companies, the news media and a variety of political currents, preferring to stress that it is these differences that have created our eminent society and provided its diversity, dynamism and vitality.

Nevertheless, everything is dependent on a common system of norms. Without its common standards, the social body would quickly disintegrate. Principles and ideals such as representative democracy, liberalism, capitalism, competition, individualism, hierarchical arrangements, materialism, the human being seen as primarily an economic creature, and so on are ways of thinking that we never question but take for granted. Why would we not? Every conceivable alternative would be worse anyway, isn’t that right? For most people the machinery is, in short, just “our civilization”. Everything west of the United States and east of the EU is generally seen as less civilized.

One might think that it would be the most learned, the most successful people who had the ability to look further and avoid this sectarian, societal self-image. But much of what happens is the opposite of that: The most successful and prominent people are those who have dug deepest into the current system. They are the ones who have been most richly awarded in our society by being the most diligent in following standards and adapting to them. They will not betray “their law”. No, it is not intellectualism and in-depth knowledge that give people wider perspectives. On the contrary, it’s the ability to deprogram from the existing order which provides that liberating sense of clarity and insight. But the most profound insights are often left unacknowledged because they rarely serve the governing system. This applies in all social orders of the world and for all its dissidents.

Brexit, the US presidential election and the inauguration day have unveiled and exposed the social body for those who might have believed that society consisted solely of independent competing forces. Throughout the Western world, a wave of condemnation is currently emanating from the influential people in society towards all those who don’t support the status quo, whether it’s to do with Hillary Clinton, the European Union or trade agreements. Suddenly liberal, conservative and socialist seem to have merged into one and the same political force. Throughout the entire Western world, news media convey similar analyzes and the same conclusions. Banks in France unanimously refuse to lend money to the “wrong” presidential candidate and their campaign. The social body that never was now emerges into its complete form. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump both attacked the prevailing system. One had more success than the other but in both cases their rhetoric was grounded in the only currency that ultimately counts; people. Real people who think, feel and make definite choices. And more and more people seem to be veering away from society’s accepted standards.

A rot is spreading rapidly in the West.

The social body is infected, it has a fever and is feeling desperately ill. Millions of people are increasingly rejecting their own civilization. The Western social body’s defense system has no remedy against this epic threat; it trembles and cringes in pain, anger and fear. Its mouth – our old media – sometimes judges, sometimes threatens the citizens to quickly return to the “right thoughts”, because everything is a misunderstanding. Mostly it’s Fake news, the Russians are to blame or Nazis are hiding around the next street corner. During the Christmas holidays Barack Obama signed the ”National Defense Authorization Act” (NDAA), thus also legalizing the “Global Engagement Center”, the propaganda center that will fight ”false information” as well as allow non-governmental organizations the right to gather information and contribute towards counteracting false information about the US and its allies; the new Riders who will carry forward the “good” eye of Sauron. The rot must be combated; Western ideals must prevail.

Society’s foundation and source of energy is the citizens themselves and when only a quarter of the US population support the old ideals and, furthermore, lose or when the European population reject the EU, the bedrock of Western culture has eroded significantly.

The Panama documents revealed economic crime and corruption endorsed by Prime ministers and thousands of economic stake holders. The societal body is already full of rot and on the ropes; everyone knows that. It is in a state of denial, like an old dictator who, before his fall, threatens with even more control, censorship and external menaces.

All the while, people look around and let the old decompose.

Are we doomed or do we hear the sound of new activists marching?

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Partly published in Adbusters Magazine 129

In countries without any form of democracy the walls are visible and let the citizens know they are trapped. The walls in this world are towering everywhere, which makes them so difficult to discern. Most people still have jobs to go to. We have the “free” news media. We have our democratic elections and our supermarkets are well stocked. Everything seems to be normal and yet something is wrong. The new alloy of power: our banks, corporations, state authorities, media etc rules from an untouchable globalized layer of power. A new world culture settles like a light snowfall. Quiet and peaceful, it stealthily fills our everyday lives. A blanket named globalization and human disconnection is thrown on us. A death by suffocating seems to be the only path ahead for our souls.

This monumental and invisible culture shift is a fact but at the same time there seem to be a major change in people’s consciousness going on. A new kind of activist has multiplied. But before discussing the new activist let’s have a general look at the development of resistance.

It’s a documented fact that the number of protests and demonstrations increases year after year, not only in North America and Europe but all over the globe. There seem to be a global turmoil that nobody dares or manage to explain. On the establishment’s defense-radar the number of new echoes,  the populist blips has grown. They reveal a breach of contract between the people and the system. The “enemies” are now inside the gates. They’re in the parliaments and maybe in the White house. But are fascists the kind of resistance that we’ve been waiting for?  No, but what’s interesting is people’s mistrust and a growing feeling of “I have had enough” which necessarily don’t have to be mixed with how it’s manifested.

We live in a circular flow of labor and consumption that is invented and driven by capitalists, upheld and protected by politicians, normalized by the news media, energized by the masses that are supervised and controlled by state-authorities. Masses are running for consumption when they in fact are the ones being consumed. Can we expect a general mistrust being expressed in terms of political philosophy rather than a burned car? People are fucked up by a system that’s getting more and more uniformed, distanced and less caring. They’re looking for revenge and someone to accuse for their miserable struggle for money, respect and dignity in this western soap-opera.

But the growing resistance is also coming from what I call the new activist.

The new activist has stopped dreaming the impossible dreams. The old activist, the old revolutionary chooses between individualism OR collectivism while the new one can see the spirit of free will and individual expression grow together with solidarity in a society not based on fear and competition. The old revolutionary gladly accept politics that bunch infants together in day care centers clearing the way for adults and their careers in the treadmill. They ignore the social engineering of defenseless babies, young kids and their need for love, trust and their parents. The new activist see parents and children together and parents developing themselves in a society with another economic model.

The new activist can see all implications and is, unlike the old activist, not blinded by party issues, politically biased thinking, media campaigns, blinkered opinions or other binding associations.

He or she prefers to search for the truth rather than for opinions or judgments. A prerequisite for the creation of peace is that truth comes before identity.

The new activist is a truth seeker; someone who has left the introvert schisms of the old world behind. The new activist is not just the one leading the struggle for the poor against social injustice, even though that kind of activist also changes things. The revolution will be played out as much within the middle class as any other part of society. The conservatives, autocrats, hawks and patriarchs exist in all camps. The new activist is like a sniffer dog detecting power strategies and corruption and then exposes it without hesitation as he/she has no “club” to protect.

The new activist is an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary. He or she sees “the whole picture”. When that happens, one no longer holds prejudices and is less likely to envisage potential enemies and short-term goals. 

The good news is, those new activists are spreading like a prairie fire, creating confusion and fear among main stream media editors, old world politicians and political analyzers as the old world framework seems to crack everywhere.

The new activist, just like the masses of people that have had enough will never start a movement. They are the backlash brought about the new world culture. They are everywhere and maybe for the first time in history a leaderless evolution can take place instead of repetitive revolutions driven by control-freaks doing careers.