A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only.
www.brucenixon.com
Introduction
Another world is possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
Arundhati Roy
A period of extraordinary change I began writing this book eighteen months ago. It has been a period of
extraordinary change. George Bush Jnr. has gone, replaced by Barack Obama. The global economy collapsed.
Warnings about climate change and the threats to all life on the planet have grown louder. Public awareness
has grown, though not enough. Politicians, or most of them, still fail to take the necessary actions to avoid
global environmental catastrophe. So do most of us ordinary citizens. And now, in the UK, citizens voted for
a hung parliament, New Labour has gone and we have a Lib Dem Conservative coalition government
promising new politics and fresh ideas.
Many people in UK and the rest of the world are angry about what has happened to them as a result of the
financial crisis – recession, poorer chances of employment , lost livelihoods and homes, diminished savings
and pensions, indebtedness and the constant feelings of insecurity. This is alongside the trillions given to
banks by taxpayers, the blatant greed that caused the crisis and continuing excessive pay and bonuses.
Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, injustice and inequality continue, whilst pledges given by rich nations
remain unfulfilled.
What has been happening over past decades is an outrage. We need to feel it. Yet we have allowed it.
Change does not come about from within a system – it comes from outside, namely us.
The two key arguments of this book are:
The whole global system has to be transformed to serve ordinary people everywhere.
We, ordinary people, need to turn our anger into effective action to bring about positive change.
I shall set out clearly how the system works, what the key issues are, what needs to be done and what
ordinary people can do to bring about this transformation.
It is clear that we could be at the dawn of an exciting New Green Industrial Revolution – if enough of us take
the necessary steps. It could bring enormous benefits, if we grasp the possibilities.
We face the greatest threat to human life in known history. We’ll look back on the past century and wonder
how we could have been so stupid. We could be at the beginning of a new age in which we cherish the
earth’s resources and diversity, an age of sustainability, fairness, economic justice and peace - an age of less
greed, selfishness and more wellbeing. An age in which nations and their leaders, instead of grabbing the
Earth’s resources, threatening each other, and murdering each other’s and their own citizens, respect their
differences, focus on common ground, common values, collaborate, live in peace and work together to save
the human species and all life.
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