Bruno Colmant (bank Degroof) - in an earlier Linkedin talk about verbal and other violence sees no real alternative to Trumpism in this world. He looks at respect as a solution, respect to one another, without elaborating on it extensively however.
As a counter-poison, it makes me think of the analysis of my Christmas reading of Naomi Klein in her recent book, 'no is not enough: resisting Trump's shock politics'.
Naomis explanation in the book is a real daring and interesting one, well documented as well. In former times I would have said 'hats off'.
The book goes as follows:
- shock: the strategy of Trump its advisors (mostly coming from investment bank Goldman Sachs) and industrial backing (the security and defense industry) aims to put pressure on all fronts instead of going in a sequential manner; this makes that normal people start to be confused, come into a fear and primitive reaction mode, and at a certain point will want a strong leader, because they do not see much options left.
- depletion and exhaustion
The Trump strategy continues to be the own enrichment, and 'winner takes all' strategy for a 5% happy few, without a sustainable view for earth or the population. Trump in itself is a the result of decades of single narrative (note: one can recall Francis Fukuyamas book The end of history in 1989) where he mentions that capitalism survives as the only model)
It could also be understood as a pyromaniac strategy and pushed even a little further: not only do we provide the matches to the pyromaniac to light a fire, he will be the one that has sold the fire extinguishing equipment as well.
This is than applied to the environment, seen as a resource that can be depleted of its fossil energies and transformed into dollars.
The Government system is being depleted as well, taken apart for the enrichment of a happy few.(housing, education, jails)
The example of the aftermath of the hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, next to the one like Canadian post, highlights violence towards humans due to depletion of government system:
- quick public procurement brought money onto private intermediaries, where money vanished, and was not being used for the reconstruction itself of the houses;
- existing housing (even on higher grounds that were not prone to flood) were being torn down, to make place for middle class buildings, where original inhabitants no longer had a place;
- public high schools were privatized, where people received a voucher to be allowed in this privately run school;
- the inhabitants that were trying to survive in new Orleans (and indeed they were looting therefore as only solution), were seen as criminals, and instead of providing help and assistance, the police and army forces were used against them;
- some of these inhabitants than got into jail, most probably in privately owned jails, owned by the defense industry.
Making poorer populations (and also refugees) look as criminals creates a winner takes all strategy for jail owners that can remove the population that is residing on interesting property ground, and this being replaced by fancy property investment.
So, till here the negative analysis; Now Naomi Klein in her book goes further than an analysis grid. She states that the solution against this marshland of negativism is to create an overall and horizontal strong narrative; this narrative forges its strength in humanity, and respect of the earth. The way the counter narrative needs to be used is to bring different forces together, so this means intermingling different causes like environment or refugee assistance, as a strong counter narrative.
The Leap manifesto is a statement document that can be underwritten, with the aim to 'care for the earth and for one another'. Naomi Klein explains that the way that this manifesto has been initiated is a source of inspiration for other local initiatives.
The manifesto brought together inter alias environmental activists, indigenous habitants fearing for their land, human rights people. The manifesto provides hope for local community actions; it than specifically for Canada wants to move away from a fossil based environment to a human and low carbon one; this can go through the increase of low carbon services in health care, better housing; reskilling of workers to a low carbon energy market, public transit, local economies, protection of all workers, teaching, social work, arts,... It puts forward that the crisis of depletion of public sector is one created and benefits a few ones:
"public scarcity in times of unprecedented private wealth is a manufactured crisis, designed to extinguish our dreams before they have a chance to be born."
Naomi Klein ends with a call for action and responsibility to start caring for the earth and one another; move away from an exhaustion and winner takes all strategy that has created the roots for Trumpism.
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