I want everyone to read this book!
Natalie Bennett was previously Editor of the Guardian Weekly, the leader of the Green Party in England and Wales from 2012-16, and is now one of two Green Party members of the House of Lords.
Her writing covers the whole planet, and the details of what has happened in England is often a reflection of what has happened in Aotearoa. Every idea in this book has been road-tested in discussions and honed by interaction. The author’s aim is to set out a vision of hope. I long for the utopia she details, which is just, sustainable, and community-based. Many of her ideas sparked memories of similar concepts that were part of the Values Party philosophy in the 1970s, here brought totally up to date. Natalie writes practically and directly, giving familiar examples and fascinating anecdotes. She makes an excellent argument for a Universal Basic Income and the freedom this could bring. Those of us who receive NZ Super experience some of that freedom.
This is a comprehensive overview of what’s wrong with our world. I loved the way she refers to advertising as lying for profit, and was interested that she uses U3A as an example of alternative community education. As Natalie says, we get the politics a few pay for, rather than a genuine democratic system. I read her consideration that the U.K. needs a constitution at the same time that I was reading a novel about the Chartists. Her exposé of political corruption is depressing, especially as I’ve just watched the documentary about Mr Bates and the Post Office.
We are lucky in Aotearoa to have Proportional Representation and some acceptance of indigenous knowledge. This book mentions that Aotearoa has a Living Standards Framework which takes measures of human, natural, and economic wellbeing, and uses them to guide the spending decisions of the government. I’m not sure that this is still true under our current coalition government.
Natalie stresses the importance of community. Sadly our local Avon Loop community has diminished since the earthquakes, and the number of local residents who volunteer to support the community has also declined. We are lucky to still have our Community Cottage and easy access to the riverbank and red zone.
It’s suggested that the slogan of turning swords into ploughshares could be updated to turn weapons into wind turbines. Above all, Natalie stresses that politics can be what you do, not what is done to you, and everyone can make a difference. She gives practical suggestions as to how we can jointly choose a positive direction, rethink the ways our societies operate, restore that which has been frayed and worn down, and rebuild a sustainable, caring, joyful way of living.
The book is published by Unbound, the world’s first crowdfunding publisher, and at the back there is a long list of those who have financially supported the publication. I’ve requested that Christchurch City Libraries buy a copy. Please contact me if you’d like to borrow the copy I have.
It’s great to see ideas so Green
put out into the mainstream scene