Why Do We Need a Political Revolution Now?
Series Introduction
Welcome to the Political Revolution Now series, where our goal is show why and how we must come together to make politics better before it istoo late.
On this epic journey we will touch on power, war, religion, nations & tribes, thinking patterns, feelings, systems of government, and much more.
Specifically, we will ask and answer the following three principal questions:
1. What is wrong with politics at a deep systemic level?
2. What is wrong with political thinking and feeling as we do it today?
3. How can think, feel, and do politics better?
Before we get to these main questions, however, there is an even fundamental one we need to start answering:
Why do we need a political revolution now?
Indulge me for a moment in a little exercise. Close your eyes and empty your mind. Ready? Now write down (or simply form in your mind), three things that come to mind when you see the following questions.
What iswrong with the world today? What are the issues that threaten the well-being and, potentially, the survival of mankind?
**************************************************************************
Now that you have done your part, here’s my list put together based on an extensive Google search, a conversation with ChatGPT, the UN’s main website, and my own experience. I venture to guess that most of your ideas fit in the categories below.
- Violence: war, terrorism, crime, the threat of nuclear confrontation
- Climate change and its downstream derivatives: flooding, extreme weather events, deforestation, etc.
- Economics
- Poverty
- Economic inequality
- Exploitation of the underprivileged (e.g. child labor, human trafficking)
- Economic crises & inflation - Health
- Global pandemics
- Access to food & water
- Healthcare access
- Obesity
- Pollution
- Aging
- Substance abuse - Technology: AI, genetic engineering, the dangers of social media & misinformation
- Culture
- Racism
- Oppression of minorities (including migrants) and women
Now where am I going with all this? Is it plain old-fashioned fearmongering? Am I belaboring the oft-lamented point that the world is going to hell and everything is headed in the wrong direction?
Absolutely not. Based on the high-quality empirical evidence presented in Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now, the book that fundamentally changed my thinking on the subject, I am compelled to accept that the world is, in fact, better today than it ever has been.
And yet, the above listed existential threats are very real and continue to persist. War is more multifaceted than ever before and now includes ground, naval, aerial and informational components. AI has replaced many jobs, started to fundamentally alter numerous parts of our lives, and threatens to place increasingly more power in the hands of big corporations. Climate change is already putting the lives and wellbeing of hundreds of millions in jeopardy, and the window to counteract its effects is rapidly closing. Hunger and poverty have been reduced but, partially as a result of the above factors, could very well make an unfortunate comeback. Moreover, as Harari pointed out, by gaining the ability to influence the genetic makeup of our children, humankind has crossed a barrier that may lead to unprecedented inequality, among other downstream risks.
So no, the world is not going to s***. But it is becoming exponentially more complex at a rapidly accelerating rate. And we are not only facing challenges. We are facing challenges that are novel, global in scale, and threaten the survival of our species.
On the bright side, however, we have a secret weapon to combat these forces: politics.
What do most of the problems listed above have in common? They affect large groups of humans. Therefore, large groups of us must come together to solve them. In other words, they are collective action problems. And what is the forum of collective action? Politics.
Take hunger and war, for example. Neither needs a magical solution. Nobody has to invent any new technology to eliminate them. We could solve hunger today if we redirected our food waste to redistribute food where it is needed, along with changing some of our eating habits to force the food industry to ensure sustainable practices. We could stop war if all soldiers stopped fighting and people ceased hating each other.
Not that simple? I know. My point is not that these are easy problems to solve. My point is that what we need is social innovation and a major change in how we make individual and collective decisions.
We, humans, are social and therefore political animals. As individuals, we may seem week and powerless. As part of collectives, however … we have enormous power. It is up to us to channel and use that power, and the path to that tremendous yet necessary and beautiful effort leads through the jungle politics.
How exactly will a better politics lead to a better world? To find out, first we need to observe what politics is, what it isn’t, and why should you care. Which is what we will do in Part 1. Then we will explore what is wrong with politics as done today in Part 2, and political thinking and feeling in Part 3. In Part 4, we will use all that criticism as ammunition to take the first steps toward constructing a better politics in our polities and insider our minds. Sprinkled in the main storyline, I will also answer questions like ‘who am I to talk about revolution and why should you listen to me?’, and ‘exactly what kind of a revolution are we talking about in this series?’
So this is the journey I’m inviting you on. Now, of course, I can’t do this alone. Nor do I intend to. An undertaking of this scope is quite obviously beyond the capabilities of any single individual.
What can you do to participate? As our first goal is to clarify and elucidate the core ideas, you can start by commenting, posting, or publishing your own related thoughts on Medium, Youtube, and other forums. Refute, criticize, and find the holes in my story so I can discard weak and/or bad ideas. Add your points so that they can become part of the canvas of what we’re trying to build here, a better politics that benefits everyone.
Ideas CAN change the world. They have changed the world in innumerable ways. If there is one thing past revolutions have taught us, it is that a few people fighting for a common goal can move walls and accomplish unthinkable feats.
I do believe that, together, we can start revolutionizing politics in no more than a single year. So let us begin.
