In Australia, we have all the ingredients for a society that allows all its citizens to flourish in a healthy, safe environment but the powerful refuse to follow the recipe.
Our politicians refuse to co-operate because they want their party to be in power. Achieving bipartisan support has become almost impossible, regardless of how good an idea is.
Our companies refuse to pay the taxation that facilitates the provision of the human capital and infrastructure they need to operate because they want to maximise profit.
Domestic abuse and violence is at epidemic levels. There are many contributing factors to this but underlying it is dominance and power.
Religions, despite all espousing some version of do unto others, fight for supremacy, wishing to push their particular beliefs and chosen way of life on everyone.
The media, rather than informing the public, exercises great power in choosing how and what they report. Scandal, gotcha moments and reality tv are preferred to factual information.
Despite the shamefully high level of poverty, the wealthy demand tax cuts, the CEOs defend their obscene salaries, the politicians assure us their entitlements are within the rules, while all baying for welfare to be cut. The power of the wealthy is built on the backs of the poor.
Imagine if, instead of this never-ending power struggle, we realised and used the strength of partnership.
Imagine if, instead of the secrecy, our government allowed us to know what was going on with the NBN, the free trade agreements, the offshore processing centres, emissions reductions, defence contracts, infrastructure projects, and so many other things which, in a democracy, we are entitled to know.
We have world-renowned experts who could help politicians make the best decisions but getting them to listen, let alone agree, is impossible under our current system of government (or perhaps with our current crop of MPs).
Imagine if our big companies accepted the long term benefits to them of having a well-educated, skilled, healthy workforce and customers who had more disposable income. Rather than sending profits offshore, they should be reinvesting in the society that earned them those profits.
Imagine the power of men and women fighting together against domestic abuse, fighting together for more refuges, better mental health services, accessible legal aid, affordable housing, available counselling and community support programs. Some would seek to capitalise on the trauma of family breakdown instead of helping to heal or to prevent the harm.
Religion’s continued denial of human sexuality has and is causing untold harm. Look at the sexual abuse of children carried out by clergy. Look at the murder and suicide of so many LGBTIQ people. Look at the murders at abortion clinics. Look at the frenzied attacks from religious people on the idea that children should be taught to be tolerant and empathetic and that love does not have to be gender based. Look at the opposition to contraception in an overpopulated world.
Imagine if our media felt the responsibility to lead informed debate and to encourage best practice, to fight against discrimination and to give voice to minorities, to be an agent of cohesion rather than division, and to expose greed and corruption.
Every individual, every business, organisation and group in our society, should feel an obligation to fulfil to the best of their ability their part of the social contract that makes up a democracy, none moreso than government.
They should be transparent and accountable because the consequences of their decisions can be far reaching and, when wrong, catastrophic.
They should be the role model for, and protector of, equality and freedom and our associated human rights. They should set an ethical standard for the people to emulate.
The government must defend us from the negative consequences of free markets, protecting us from unscrupulous merchants and employers, and the extreme class structure that results from their exploitation.
The government should be involved in the construction of society’s infrastructure, including transport, posts and telecommunications, and water, sewage and energy utilities. Giving government charge over these utilities guarantees that they remain in public hands, and solely dedicated to the common good. If such services are privatized, the owners are motivated by profit, which could negatively affect the quality of the services.
Such common assets should be owned by and shared between the members of the current population, and preserved for future generations.
Health, education and the preservation of a clean environment should be regarded as investments, not costs.
Governments argue that people need to be assisted with the economic competition that now dominates the world. But the real intent of this position is to justify helping corporate interests, siding against local workers, consumers and the environment.
Our greatest need for protection is from other institutions and from the abuses of government itself, particularly its collusion with these other institutions.
To create social change we need honesty and respect. The power of partnership is far greater than power that seeks to control.
