In
case you hadn’t noticed, there is a growing discontent concerning the gap between
rich and poor. The average person’s pay decreases in real terms. Hard working
people are struggling to make ends meet. Thousands – proabably millions – have
to live beyond their means to survive. The super-rich get super-richer. Government
debt sets the example for others on debt. The banks aren’t likely to change overnight,
because they thrive on the debt of the people. The flood of debt gets deeper
for many in the middle classes. But the spring tide is coming in and we can’t
keep making our stilts longer forever.
Knowing
what to do about it is difficult. There are no easy answers. Nobody is prepared
to write off the debts of millions of people. Changing the heart of a society
is called revolution, and nobody really has a viable alternative at the moment:
The 1980s showed us that Socialism doesn’t work (it breeds selfishness); the
new news is that capitalism isn’t doing too well either (it promotes greed).
There
are snippets of sunlight. Take a hard sober look at Scandinavian countries,
which have the lowest disparity between rich and poor (aided by their tax
system as well as their culture), and they also have lower rates of clinical
depression than most other developed nations (according to Dr James’ book “Affluenza”).
What is it about their cultures that works? Norwegian companies tend to be
quite family friendly, and they work. Denmark has given us Lego. “Sweden-upon-Thames” (Ikea)
is highly succesful.
But
this isn’t the full solution. It is not the nature of our political system, or
the policy of the banks, that needs to change. A deeper, more profound change
needs to happen. The business opportunities available in the free market are a
good thing. But it is how we approach them that requires careful consideration.
The problem isn’t just in the boardroom or Whitehall. It needs to be addressed
at all levels: government, CEO, middle management, the workface, schools,
families, social groups, you and me. Selfish
ambition is the work ethic of our society, which has created the situation we
are in today. Selfish ambition has to change to an ethic that favours society
over self. Not socialism – for we have seen that socialism promotes selfish
greed – but a return to respect for our peers, looking out for those around us,
honouring our parents. You can be a capitalist and still have a heart for those
around you.
History
shows us that there is a power for change that can transform our society. It is
the power on which our nation’s greatness was built, the power that drove the Great
age of Queen Victoria. The solution won’t be easy, and it might not be popular.
And it won’t work if those preaching it aren’t prepared to sign up to it. The
problem is that, basically, we are all selfish, and without superhuman help we
can’t get away from that fact. The solution, fortunately, is that superhuman - divine
- help has come. God dealt with the problem of our selfishness. The answer,
curiously, is in the book of the land on which the London protest camp is
situated, and the book which this year celebrates 400 years of publication in
the language of the people of London – namely the Book that tells the story of
Jesus. Jesus’ controversial, counter-cultural message is simple: “I have come
to give you life in all its fullness, Just let me be the boss of your life. Oh
and by the way, I love you to bits”.
The
message is contained in our traditional teaching. Columnists after the summer riots
called for a return to the stuff they teach in Sunday School. The ten
commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus’s sermon on the mount. Pray every day.
Do good deeds. Give 10% of your income away. If there is any hope for our
society, you have to start to transform yourself first, and lead by example. You
don’t have to read King James English, and you don’t need to wait for someone
else to teach you this stuff: translations in modern English (e.g. “New Living
Translation”, “The Message”) are available in bookshops and to download onto
your phone.
No
government can legislate the depth of change that we need in our country. It
has to start with the individual – and that means me and you. We need to return
to those traditional values on which Great Victorian Britain was built; values that
have a historical track-record of building a strong society. It won’t be easy,
it might not be popular, but the solution is within the hands of the people. If
the 99% aren’t prepared to start making this change, are the 1% really going to
follow?
Does
it work? The history of Britain, the history of the USA, the history of other
nations shows that it does. When the people turned to God, their nation
prospered. When they turned away from God, it failed. No matter how
uncomfortable we are with the concept of God, this is evidence that cannot be
ignored, especially at a crucial time like today.
