Stimulating the Economy

[Big Al]

Have you seen Rainman Al?

Nope, come on what have I done wrong??

[oldjerry]

I couldn't disagree with Graham's analysis.The present 'recession' only serves to make obvious the inherent widening of the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest.The power that goes with the wealth,and more importantly the powerlessnesss that accompanies the poverty makes a mockery of the myth of 'representative democracy'.
What I find the most difficult is the seeming acceptance from both left and right that economic growth(ie. more of the same) will eventually lead to some improvement in the living standards of anyone outside of the'chosen few'.
It seems that what the system finds most threatening,individual self-reliance,it seeks to incorporate rather than oppose.So recycling becomes a huge fossil fuel driven industry,where using less packaging(a non-profit making exercise wuld do the same),wind generation becomes a massive industry instead of something you mess about with in your own back yard.

They need your dependance.

[grahamhobbs]

Nicely put Oldjerry

[The Riff-Raff Element]

They need your dependance.

Well, yes. Just think: GPS replacing maps, downloads replacing books, cars than can park themselves, cars that are more computer than car, pre-prepared meals, gadgets of all hues that are cheaper to replace than to repair, clothes that cost less to buy than the fabric they are made of.... all this is a steady, pernicious, de-skilling of the populace at large and a diminishing of what could be called "intellectual heritige". I don't believe that all of it is done with that intent, but that is the outcome.

[oldjerry]

That wasn't necessarily the way my mind was going,but nevertheless it's probably an extension of the same process and a really important point:this de-skilling seems to serve two purposes.Firstly it widens the market in consumables,secondly,in making some of the products so easily useable,they make their repair\servicing impossible for joe\jane public and so increase dependancy.
My original thoughts were bumbling around the enclosures and the creation of the industrial revolution,whereby ordinary people were persuaded \ forced to leave a normal 'green ' way of life ,and begin along the road we seem to be coming to the end of.This isn't simple Utopianism,and despite my current dealings with the NHS,I would accede that in some ways the human condition has improved(although Vaccination,sanitation,and a few discoveries aside sometimes I wonder if human health has advanced as far in the past 2 centuries as the medical industry would claim) but theroad is a cul-de-sac ,we can argue about timespans but resources ARE finite.
More than this,in the same way Christians would see some spark of good in everyone,I see a similar quality of (for want of a better term,feel free to suggest) self-reliance in everyone.It's the buzz you get when you knit a scarf,alter a pair of trousers,stick a Gro-bag on your balcony and plant some Toms.........in short,it's being human.