Message #3277

[Martin]

But that is a massive 'aim', Martin.  There is very little in the way of concrete policy and practice that they are suggesting.  There would need to be a huge mindset change - not merely on the behalf of politicians and bankers, but on the behalf of the ordinary citizen as well for this to happen.  In the West, we have become so accustomed to low prices of food and textiles, etc. and I can't see us willingly giving these up so that the world's economy can be better.  If you think about it, what we are now experiencing in the West is no different to what the developing nations have been experiencing at the hands of the West for the past century or more - the rich getting richer at the expense of the poor.

The abolition of tax havens, rules to prevent banks awarding bonuses for failure, a clawback from those who have benefited hugely from those bonuses which were wrongly awarded, a reduction in the size of banks so that they can no longer hold whole countries to ransom.   I expect all of these are concrete policies that the protesters would support.

I don't see how, a better regulated banking system and a redistribution of wealth from fat cat to ordinary working person will cause the problems you seem to think it will.  Let's face it, the problems we have got have been caused by the greed of the bankers operating in an system aof unregulated capitalism.  In such a system it is inevitable that the rich get richer and the poor poorer.  Though we vote for governments who promise a fairer deal for all, what we get are governments who are the servants of the rich and powerful. 

But I agree with you that the change required is a massive one, from the point of view of actually achieving it.  The protesters will protest, but my bet is that nothing will change.  It certainly won't while enough people like you keep insisting that there are no concrete proposals for change!