First post since the OccupyLSX action, just been too involved with keeping track of what has been happening and making a couple of short videos inspired by events to put together a piece.
Anyway, what to say, a great deal has happened in a short time. First, I listened to the Bishop of London talk to the assembled protesters today, and it is good that a dialogue is continuing. However, what he said regarding the camp becoming a ‘distraction’ from the issues that have been raised, thus justifying their removal is disingenuous at best. On the contrary it is this peaceful presence on this ground halfway between the symbol of Mammon, the Stock Exchange, barred and guarded, and the symbol of God, the Christian St Paul’s Cathedral, which under a feeble excuse then shamefully shut its doors, that has created and focused attention on the issues and managed to create a real forum, a place where debate can take place outside of the narrow and self-interested parliamentary system. The issues ? Do they really need repeating ?
The necessity to radically reform the economic system and give voice to the disregarded, marginalised, discontented and increasingly large numbers of citizens that are simply no longer are willing to accept the hollow mantras of the anonymous ‘market’ dictating the terms of all debate and the implied impotence of politicians and our self-appointed religious elite.
A spotlight on the collusive even if unspoken nature of the financial machinations of the City, the puppet-like responses of our notionally free willed political representatives who, almost to a man and woman, put Party and power before principle and, the admittedly far less tainted but nevertheless somewhat vague and distant established Church has been illuminated by the good willed and simple action of occupying this space peacefully and with due consideration of the effects on others. There is absolutely no way the Anglican Church would be openly taking part in this debate outside of its Cathedral in the heart of the City nor would have stated so clearly that it had sympathy with these issues if this had not happened.
That these concerns are deeply connected to the essence of Christian values has been obscured and the connection that is being revealed is of profound importance. Whether one is a believer in Christianity or any other religion the fact is that the origins of most progressive social change in this country have come from applying a positive Christian perspective to the negative social consequences of the rise of capitalism. This predates Socialism and Communism. The established church in this country has been in a relatively weak position since it was incorporated into the state and has for far too long acted as if it operated as a mere adjunct to the dominant economic system, very much enmeshed into it and scarcely offering any critique despite the fact that as is becoming acutely clear it is failing both as an economic system and conflicting markedly with Christian principles.
It scarcely matters what one calls this dominant system, Capitalism, Corporatism, Crapitalism comes to mind, it is simply no longer remotely justified. That the Bank of England, effectively an arm of the Treasury, thus supposed to serve the people, can, at the press of a switch, create many millions of pounds and then give this money to banks, which the government also effectively controls, or could if it had the will, and then the Governor of this same agency says with no apparent sense of irony that this may not make any difference to the situation in the real world because they, these same banks that have just been gifted more millions, might choose not to lend it but rather use it for their own purposes i.e. speculative trading which they decide they can make more money from is both absurd and, in current circumstances, downright wicked.
Speculative trading with other people’s money, or money you have been gifted by government, is of no use to the 99% of people not in the employ of that financial operation. It could be stopped tomorrow if there was the will to do it. That money could be then directed to those activities and individuals that need it. It could even be lent without interest. These things are not impossible, usury was seen as an evil in Biblical times, it still is by the Koran, as I understand it. Yet interest rates seem to form the bedrock of all financial planning. I tried to find out how they are set and read the almost unbelievable facts about LIBOR, the London Inter Bank Overnight Rate, which is set by half a dozen guys who are paid to sit in an office in Canary Wharf and make them up on a daily basis. Of course no doubt they do some complicated fiddling with numbers but, at the end of this they simply take a view and set a rate for the next day. That’s it. On the basis of this millions are gambled over the international banking system over the next twenty four hours, then the whole process repeats. This is exactly like horse racing odds. A bookie at some point prior to a race has to make up some odds, it can be based on form, or anything he likes, the weather, but they are essentially a figment of his imagination, they have no reality until he writes them up on his board, then punters may place bets, and he adjust the odds accordingly. When the race is over it starts all over again, but if the bookmaker gets it wrong he goes bust. In the case of our banks that is what happened but they have been given shed-loads of money to start again, and to do exactly the same. But this is not a horse race, and at least that provides entertainment, what the hell does speculative financial trading provide ? Other than grotesque amounts of money for those that bet successfully ? Does any of the money that, say, Goldman Sachs make go anywhere other than into the partner’s accounts ? They may buy a mansion or two, obviously provide business to top dollar hotels and so on, but other than that ? The BBC with its deeply nauseating ’ Dragons Den ’ perpetuates the myth that there are all these wealthy ’entrepreneurs’ out there just waiting to give anyone with a clever idea some of their pile. Its facile, a complete travesty of what the BBC once stood for, it could be made by Conservative Central Office, or the Corporation of London conforming so closely to their dim ideas of the only way the world can work : some people get absurdly over-rewarded, they then might re-invest, for the sole reason of making more money, if you are prepared to ask them very nicely.
Have I gone off the subject ? Well maybe, but it permeates everywhere, this culture of justified greed, institutional connivance and the collusion of interests. I do try very hard to avoid conspiracy theories and this is not an attempt at one. Yet when the New Scientist publishes a thoroughly researched paper showing the close interrelatedness of the top few hundred multinational companies, the Economist concedes that it is essentially true that 1% have more than the remaining 99% it is scarcely a radical position to state that there is clearly something going on which is in need of exposure and re-evaluation.
These on-going protests are both necessary and justified and I sincerely hope bring about some serious changes, if they do not I fear the next wave will be less far less patient. There have been some signs of dialogue, yet disturbingly no senior politician from the UK government has made anything but dismissive comments about the legitimacy of protest. Only one MP that I am aware of have offered support, Caroline Lucas. Some senior clergy of the C of E are ‘listening’ others have resigned because of their withdrawal of unconditional support. The City is predictably silent other than to make it clear they will be taking legal action. Not very encouraging.
