The governing of societies is increasingly centralized, power is concentrated, there is little room for diversity of solutions, small communities no longer count, there is heavy lobbying of many kinds, there is even talk of a global government.
There is an enormous politicizing of all activity in society. The forces of power that are built are strong, and they act against the individual who will have less and less – soon nothing – to say if developments continue.
Democracy is in danger of collapsing – or has it already collapsed – and we are ruled by the professionals, the investors, the unions, the lobbyists – all the entrenched forces.
So if you have dreams of a society that is tolerant, hassle-free, moves with the times, genuinely participatory …. . Are there people you can talk to about this, is there anybody who cares what you think, what you would like to see happen? Do you feel you have a say?
The state is big and getting bigger, the companies are big and getting bigger, all activity is for profit only, the ruling vision of our society in one called tunnel vision where all you can see is business and profit. This activity is now proceeding largely unchecked. This is not beneficial to humankind, me, you, our small communities, our daily life – outside forces rule us to an alarming extent.
But symbolic participation in the system, acceptance of ever increasing rules, laws, enforcements is becoming obligatory. You start in obligatory kindergarten when you are one year old, through education, work, pension until you die. There are obligations all the way and you must do what society wants you to do. The central element is paying taxes, and when taxes are high – say over 50 % you effectively work for the state – they employ you. The big company you work for is your other employer making a profit from what you do. The lock-in is complete.
To change this into a functioning democracy we must allow all voices to be heard, and the powers that be must be dispersed. We must start to talk about system changes, to adress collective issues, to rebuild our individual independence and participation, to have our community have a say, to make your country truly independent.
The basic technique is to engage in debate, to have forums where it is possible to talk freely, to see to it that ideas are shared, that action taken benefits all. There are many ways to do this – engage adversaries, stakeholders, groups of many kinds, citizens.
We elect politicians, we build elephantine bureaucracies, lobbyists of all kind are allowed to roam, we build a web of laws and rules and regulations and the rest of us are effectively silenced.
What is the true voice of the people – can we find it again? The talking – freely – must start again.
