An inaugural post – A call to action for a fairer future
Posted on September 15, 2024 in Economics, Philosophy and Rights, Politics by Peter Ellis
Reform leading to a fairer society begins with a choice. One we must all make. Accept the inheritance of ideas which tether us to the past or challenge them to build a different future. It is too easy to accept that all ideas have been tried before, will not work or exist through current forms and structures already, when this is not so.
It is little wonder that without Rights of Society, people across our planet are vulnerable to the imposition of outcomes which offend their best interests. Those with power too often ignore the well-being of the societies they govern. Or, of those whose governments they wish to challenge. We see this every day when states are in conflict and general populations on both sides suffer. Too often the pursuit of national self-interest overrides our human right, to live safely and secure, free from harm and the threat of it.
We exist as part of the communities we inhabit, our society, and have universal needs. Governance by the State gives form and structure to society. However, we experience life not as a state but as part of the communities we live in, family, local and national. In matters of global significance, including the environment, international human rights and equality between nations we are part of a global society.
We are all the building blocks upon which our society is built and on which the economy prospers. We are consumers, employees, family members and part of a wider community. Most do not own significant business capital. But, private sector, personal self-interest dominates, so those with pre-existing wealth directly benefit from the profits and activity in the economy in ways the general population cannot. What is missing is any notion of universal societal economic rights, personal and collective ones, leading to an economy operating for consumers best-interest and through purpose, that of the societies of which they are a part.
Acknowledging societal rights and instituting systems which serve the well-being of the general population are essential to build a fairer society. Economic need requires greater economic democracy. Consumer and producer interest and purpose can be unified. This is about real-world issues, of an affordable cost-of-living, food, energy, and the ethics which underpin decision making affecting us.
A general population disempowered by the denial of universal economic rights, will be one where discrimination by gender, race, age and social class persists, so the cause of societal reform is also that of social justice.
We have a right to live safe and secure in the provision of the essential elements of our lives, economic, human and environmental.
Please do join our call for change and use your skills and influence to help us make it happen.
There is an interconnected triptych, of philosophy, economics and politics which determines our well-being and lived experience. Plato, spoke the truth when he observed how we adhere to fixed systems and resist change necessary to bring about greater equality. We adhere to existing frameworks, even though they fails us in too many ways. As Thomas Kuhn identified, existing paradigms have a hold over us, they can limit our conception of what is possible. This poses a contemporary question – why have our politics and economics not adapted as society has evolved, to meet our modern needs and expectations?
The legacy of the past determines our will to change, affecting our future. The tectonic plates of capitalism and socialism collided in a battle for resources and power over peoples, societies worldwide. Both rely on producer control and ownership. The market economy was vested in the private sector, counter-balanced by intervention, and redistribution through taxation and spending by the State. Polarities once established have become embedded. This is not how it should, or can be. We can build a values-driven economy.
We need to imagine – if we can conceive of market capitalism, rewarding those who own, why not then, of market societism. Embedding permanent rights through the way the economy functions, of those who ARE , defined by our common humanity, that we exist.
What fills the void between the polarities of the private sector and the state. The former was never designed to meet social need. The latter struggles to meet that need through its conventional levers of tax, spend and debt. We are a plural society yet our economy is not, but should be.
Markets are simply the tracks along which our economy travels. Outcomes are determined by the ethics and purposes of those serving markets. The private sector contributes to our national income, is ingenious and delivers growth. However, it is the foundational driver of unfairness in society. Producers and consumers self-interest diverges, of those seeking to maximise profit and those seeking affordable prices and well-being outcomes respectively. The monopoly the private sector enjoys over the market economy distorts the values which are imbued into our political system and society. The bonds that tie us together as a healthy society and a strong democracy are too easily fractured.
Neo-liberalists seek freer private sector markets to maximise profit. This misdirects our attention away from the foundational issue. That, more systemic competition is necessary, to liberate markets for our common good.
The vacuum which squeezes out the oxygen of reform needs to be filled by a sector and philosophy which names its unique characteristics and claims its rights! It is the Societal Sector. Societism, a philosophy promoting our collective well-being, without sacrificing the significance of the individual, embraces both our right to personal freedoms and the importance of our collectivist heritage.
A purpose-led sector exists, including steward-owned, non-shareholder companies operating ethically, generating purposeful activity enhancing our collective well-being. Providing goods and services at the lowest sustainable price so hard-pressed households have a better standard of living. Using profit to meet social need. Adopting ethical practices to protect people and planet.
We have the collective financial capital to finance an ethically driven, entrepreneurial sector. At the moment society underwrites the debt governments use to finance spending and finances the state through taxation. This is one reason for demanding concomitant societal rights over the economy. In its absence society suffers unmet need. We can use social, impact assessed and commercial funding, government sponsoring investment and our collective wealth to improve lives. Pension fund investment in a purpose-driven sector can improve members general living standards.
A societal sector unifies producer and consumer interest and purpose. We cannot nationalise the market economy. But, we can respond to today’s needs and societise it, attaching wider values, society and stakeholder interest to it.
The reformist movement, of those seeking a fairer, more equal future, needs to coalesce around a call for systemic reform. Able to weave our individual policies and aspirations into a system reflecting our values, and nurturing our advocacies and programmes.
There is one group who hold all the keys to power and reform. They can influence who ‘owns’ the economy and for whose benefit it operates. That group is society itself, the collective voice that we have together, individuals demanding rights for unified purpose. That individual is you.
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