Rant: enough said
Mark Footer
"The decade between 2008 and 2018 was one of popular protests," writes environmentalist Jonathon Porritt, in (2013) - a book ostensibly written in 2050 that reflects on how mankind managed to survive the tumultuous first half of the 21st century.
In the chapter "Enough!", he continues: "Sometimes these were major tyrant toppling events … more often it was pretty low-key and haphazard, such as the Occupy anti-capitalism protests that kept exploding into life.
"All protests were shaped and amplified by the use of social media … The instantly networked truth of what was happening on the ground trumped all the spin, lies and propaganda of those seeking to maintain the status quo.
"Political leaders responded by summoning up apocalyptic images of what would happen if public order broke down further, relying on the mainstream media to back them up with the same exhausted cliches."
Does any of that sound familiar?
Porritt imagines that in 2018 "the World Bank published its report Wealth Distribution in the 21st Century … it turned out to be pure dynamite, demonstrating that, since 2008, the very rich had got even richer." The Enough! movement was born, calling for a version of capitalism that was fairer and didn't asset-strip the planet so swiftly.
Porritt is no clairvoyant, of course - he is just observant. Governments the world over must have advisers saying the same, so why aren't they tackling the issues before discontent boils over into angry protests (which may have democracy as their goal, because that is seen as leading to better leadership)? Vested interests?
Porritt is an optimist at heart. After detailing a few chaotic months of violence and rioting he ends on a note of hope: "Governments began responding to our demands, pledging to introduce radical reforms. Some meant it … most didn't - but it didn't matter. Too many young people had been mobilised to let things slide back."
