Much has been discussed and written about why there is widespread denial of what is really happening. The UK is falling to pieces, but why?
I wrote a piece in the Radix Think Tank in 2019.
The UK and further afield are in denial – about everything which effects our lives, now and in the future.
Politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists, financiers, NGO employees, teachers and everyone in jobs and paid retirement they see to be safe, have a vested interest in things remaining unchanged.
This overwhelming denial is a symptom of fundamental change. Our culture is changing. It is an ongoing process. Not a transition, which implies we know where we are going. It is a change to we know not what – a fundamental change, which is denied. A change which is too uncomfortable to accept.
The list of individual denials is wide-ranging. Together they add up, to an extraordinary and difficult to grasp, change. In the cultural, economic, environmental and physical nature of our future being. Here is a short list.
I listed 14 denials, including:
DENIAL #1: That the economy is energy based
DENIAL #4: That climate change cannot be stopped
DENIAL #5: That economic growth is no longer possible
DENIAL #6: That prosperity is declining
DENIAL #11: The blindness of the establishment of the emerging “big picture” of change.
….. so much is denied. What is going on? Is denial a characteristic of the end of an era? Is a paradigm change taking place? Albeit not recognised or admitted. We are now in a “Change Culture”.
There now seems to be widespread agreement that things are so bad that change is unavoidable. But these five denials above still hold.
Why?
I have just spent a few days with an old friend. We started at Grammer School together in 1948 and our birthdays are a day apart. We agreed on the dire state of the economy, but I didn’t mention the denials.
He has sons and grandchildren. Is that the root of all the denials?
If I had progenies, would I be prepared to think about their futures knowing what I now know? Or would I put it out of my mind? I want to do the best for my sons, daughters, and grandchildren.
Is this the reason for the widespread denial of the realities of the economic situation?
If cross-examined by their sons and daughters about their beliefs, those who understand the reality could not give reasoned arguments for their bleak views of the future. Moreover, it would be difficult to suggest that they give up their aspirations for a professional life and learn and practice growing and processing their food.
In due course, the reality of what is happening will become evident to most people. Then, they must learn to look after their family’s daily wants. And the powers that be will change course to reflect the new awareness.
In the meantime, those of us who understand must get used to hiding our frustration at the Government wasting time and money doing the opposite of what is needed.
