Disarming wealth
The phrase ‘Putin is a butcher’ in ‘Whodunnit?’ (Keynote, NI 541) is far from objective. Putin is just the product of the global power system in which the West had up to now had a primary role. He is a dictator for sure, but perhaps not even the worst. With the world ruled by the politics of power (directed mainly by profit interests) there will always arise new dictators and new wars. The climate crisis will make it even worse.
In the section on alternatives there was no mention of tackling cuts in the tremendous military spending all over the world which could be invested towards solving many of the problems mentioned.
So, to answer the question about the world would I like to live in (Letters): in a world without the arms industry and commerce. If humanity could disarm, it would likely be able to achieve taxes on wealth, expanding public services, restrictions on commodity speculation, debt cancellation... Because it would be the sign that humanity has become responsible and capable of acting in favour of everyone.
Headhunters
No, austerity isn’t the solution to Zambia’s woes (‘Structural adjustment 2.0’, NI 541)! It’s the same age-old programme they [institutions like the IMF] have used to subjugate, cheat and impoverish Africa from the 1980s onwards – or have you forgotten? The dollar, euro and sterling is just paper but what they get in return is worth a thousand times per ounce. Seek real and fair payment and they will take your head!
Helen Wyn Thomas
Re: ‘Hear us roar!’ (The Long Read, NI 540) on the women of Greenham Common. I was struck by the fact that Helen Wyn Thomas, who died after being hit by a police vehicle, came from Newcastle Emlyn in Wales, as I have relatives who moved to a hamlet near there a few years ago.
They looked up information about Helen and found that there is apparently a memorial garden to her, and that their farmer-neighbour had contributed one of his quartz stones to her memorial.
They also said that there is a memorial bench by the clocktower in Newcastle Emlyn and there was a Welsh language folk song dedicated to her by the singer Dafydd Iwan called ‘Cân i Helen’. She was also one of five women to be nominated in 2019 for the first-ever named Welsh statue.
Seeking balance
I found ‘Hear us roar!’ (NI 540) inspirational and motivational. However, politics is not where life happens. With that said, in the practice of permaculture or community-oriented proactive sustainable land rehabilitation, I become empowered to manifest balance in the world without subjugating my truth to a disadvantaged position of being counter-cultural in the futilitarian condition of global capitalism. It is better to cultivate a community orientation and live a sustainable life. Sustainable culture in new localism (worldwide) manifests post-capitalism. This type of co-operative and collaborative ‘systems thinking’ (for social and ecological environmental change) is what can establish bioregionalism.
From the archive
Going through old NIs, I found a reader’s letter entitled ‘Military madness’ in NI 233 (July 1992). It stated: ‘Your issue entitled Green justice (NI 230) somehow ignored the single largest cause of environmental injustice on the planet – militarism...’ And so it continues. Why do you not have an edition about this?
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Why I...
...work to reduce my carbon footprint.
Conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote: ‘Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left’. This holds true for our relationship with the planet.
I have calculated my environmental footprint using an online calculator and it’s estimated to be 8.8 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, compared to a world average of 6.3 tonnes. I now eat less meat, avoid air travel and have signed up to a 100 per cent renewable energy tariff. I believe we can collectively make a difference, combined with international efforts by governments and industry.
