According to George Monbiot A world-changing experiment in London’s poorest borough shows how to break out of our disastrous spiral of alienation.
If there is hope, it lies here, in the most deprived borough in London. Barking and Dagenham has shocking levels of unemployment, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, domestic violence and early death. Until 2010, it was the main stronghold of the British National Party. Its population turns over at astonishing speed: every year, about 8% of residents move out. But over the past year it has started to become known for something else: as a global leader in taking back control.
Since the Second World War, councils and national governments have sought to change people’s lives from the top down. Their efforts, during the first 30 years of this period at least, were highly effective, creating public services, public housing and a social safety net that radically improved people’s lives.
But they had the unintended consequence of reducing our sense of agency, our social skills and mutual aid. Now, in the age of austerity, state support has been withdrawn, leaving many people with the worst of both worlds: neither the top-down protection of government nor the bottom-up resilience of the community it replaced. I believe we still need strong state support and well-financed public services. But this is not enough. The best antidote to the rising tide of demagoguery and reaction is a politics of belonging, based on strong and confident local communities.
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1, Compulsory voting.
ReplyDelete2, A Living Wage
3, A Maximum Wage for CEO's
4, No Corporations allowed to donate to Political Parties.
5, A Fair and Just Welfare System properly funded for citizens.
Barking and Dagenham is a good example , I agree with most of your points Steve however the education system and N.H.S is in such a bad state because years of neglect and minimal investment have left them that way , day to day life reflects the society we live in and that part of East London /Essex is an absolute dump , the crime rate is sky high , drug abuse is rife , most kids don't even know their father , THIS IS ENGLAND.....
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