How to fix the world and profit on it

George Monbiot in the Guardian yesterday was as thought-provoking as always. This is the Green Warrior who supports nuclear power, so he’s no mere twig on the green tree. In today’s column, he was making the point that everything we are doing to “save the planet” is just wrong.

Look, he says: just replacing all the plastic cups in the world with biodegradable versions, say corn-starch based material, will have major environmental consequences. Land used for food will be allocated to this (as happens with biofuels), maize growing causes erosion, uses loads of water and is ultimately an environmental disaster. This is also happening with maize-based sweeteners, which invade all kinds of food as a fat-substitute and can be indicted as a major cause of the obesity crisis.

Fix one thing, break another.

He also rants  about fishing and fisheries: so much of the plastics in the ocean come from discarded fishing nets and fishing equipment. Prawn-fishing causes major damage to other species. Fish farming destroys natural habitats.

I have been a pescatarian for nearly three years. My meat-eating days ceased on the 12th of February 2016 when I attended a Jain wedding in Mumbai and was brainwashed. But fish, I thought, that’s ok.

Fix one thing, break another.

So many other examples exist. So perhaps despair and surrender are now the only options. Party until the end of time. That certainly seems to be what’s happening. Despite all the warnings from science that unless we rein in our orgy of consumption, this planet will be made uninhabitable for our species within 50 years. Party party party. Use! Consume! Fuck!

What’s Monbiot’s solution? Well he says (and it’s in the very last paragraph, only 3 lines or so) we have to make radical changes to the way our economy is set up. We have to challenge the corporations and the profit motive. Go, George!

It’s deeper than that George. Our governments, our corporations, our major institutions are run by people who should be in institutions. Researchers have revealed that around 25% of people suffer from PPD, Psychopathic Personality Disorder. These are the people most likely to be running things. These and those suffering from NPD, Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Trump being the best-known example of this syndrome.

Sufferers from these conditions have no empathy, though they may fake it. No compassion, though they may fake it. And their only concerns are their own self-glorification (NPD) and the manipulation of people to serve their interests. As I’ve said before, based on their theory that the world is divided into Predator and Prey.

Look: ALL NPD and PPD sufferers are not in charge. Some are, fortunately, in prison through having murdered people.

I think there’s a spectrum in both cases, say 1-10. Trump would be a 10. Boris Johnson an 8. Gove a 7. And most people have a trace of NPD, it’s called self-confidence. It’s only when allied with a lack of empathy that it becomes pathological and dangerous. And ends up with the planet being unable to sustain human life.

A FASCIST SOLUTION

Arrest the bastards! Apparently we can tell those likely to be suffering from either syndrome by doing a brain scan, and measuring the amygdala. It seems that most psychopaths and narcissists have a deformed or shrunken amygdala. “It seems” – research required.

Fix one thing, break another.

Are people who don’t have an absence of empathy or the preparedness to put their own, or their company’s interests first, as capable of efficiently running these companies or governments as the nutters who are running them now?

Well it’s either that or give up.

ANOTHER IDEA

Surely, it is not ultimately in the interests of the NPDPPD to destroy the planet? But then, does the virus realise that by replicating itself it destroys its host? Surely in their absurd and insane pursuit of Profit above all other concerns they realise they are breaking the economy – because people are getting themselves into stonking levels of debt to buy the shit their profit madness is generating? And ultimately the debt house of cards has to collapse, as it did in 2007/8?

Are they completely incapable of understanding the consequences of their actions?

Apparently.

IF ONLY

If only corporations would consider their list of stakeholders! And change the order of the list. At the moment it goes like this, in most big corporations.

1.  SHAREHOLDERS: Because, when there’s profit the share values go up and therefore
2. CEO and the BOARD get higher salaries, bonuses and wealth and their own shareholdings go up. More yachts! Houses! Jewellery! Sex! Glory!
3. FINANCIERS: Banks etc who must be kept sweet and continue to provide oil for the machine, so that profit is up.
4. SUPPLIERS/CREDITORS: who must be screwed at every opportunity to get their prices down, service up, and payment period as long as possible. So that profit is up.
5. CUSTOMERS: who must be lied to, screwed, sold lots of dreams, short-changed and short-served. So that profit is up.
6. EMPLOYEES: who must be screwed lied to paid as little as possible and sold all sorts of dreams to keep loyalty.

And so PROFIT is actually numbers 1-6 inclusive.

The alternative, the dream. Listen, why not try this:

1. EMPLOYEES: Well-paid, well-motivated employees with a stake in the profits of the company (making them the major SHAREHOLDERS will work hard and want to provide the best quality and value for the CUSTOMERS: who, receiving good products at a fair price will give their loyalty to the company’s goods, leading to good profit. To ensure timely delivery and loyalty of the SUPPLIERS pay them a fair price for good service and quality. This will please FINANCIERS who realise that a company providing an honest product at a fair price will have great customer loyalty and will be likely to be in business for a long time.
2. Which leaves the CEO and the BOARD. Well, if they don’t take 117 times the average salary in the business (but are paid sufficiently highly to motivate them), if they are voted in by the Employees every say four years, there will be efficiency, loyalty and hard work.
3. And the final and probably most important stakeholder, the ENVIRONMENT should become the key issue, taken into account by every corporation, which, before making any decision whatsoever needs to ask, but how will this affect the environment.

So that ENVIRONMENT becomes numbers 1 – 100, inclusive.

No one listens to me….what the hell…morituri te salutamus! My generation fucked it up, and I am proposing a small part of the solution. Not just me, the Co-operative party (Hello Gorprit) says much the same.

Unfortunately, NPDPPD do not agree. And they run the place.

What about you?