Before anything else, you need to hear this clearly: you are not imagining a problem. Things are not working as they should – government, the public sector, politics, public services, utilities, money – and the list goes on. Nothing feels right because it isn’t right. And you are not going mad.
You feel uncertain, and you may even be questioning your own thoughts, because what you’ve learned to expect from “the system” and what you’re actually experiencing are now two very different things. More importantly, there’s no clear explanation coming from anywhere that makes sense. Instead, there are lots of loud voices blaming someone or something – usually the current government – as if that explains everything.
It doesn’t.
We tend to think of politicians and government as being in charge of all this. But they aren’t – even though they insist they are, and continue to behave as if they are. The truth is that their thinking is aligned with the system itself. They see the world through the same lens the system was built on, and that lens shapes every decision they make.
The system is complicated. Too complicated to cram into one message when you’re looking for quick answers that at least help you make sense of what’s happening and decide where you want to look next.
But here’s what you need to know right now:
The system we live in has been in place for a very long time – longer than most of us have been alive. It has been shaped and managed by governments of every political colour. It is built on money and economics, and that’s why every solution you hear from politicians or the media almost always comes back to “growth.” Growth of GDP. Growth of spending. Growth of the economy. Because that’s the only measure they’ve been taught to use to decide whether everything will continue to be “okay.”
If you stop and think about it, you’ll see that money affects almost every decision you make in your relationship with the outside world. It shapes what you can do, what you can’t do, and how you feel about your future. We’ve come to believe this is normal – but it isn’t. And everyone making decisions today thinks the same way too. Money has become the only real benchmark for everything.
Once you see that, the next part may give you an “aha” moment:
People are no longer the priority of government or business. Money – and economics – are.
There’s far too much to cover here, but I can provide links that explain what’s happening and how it affects the decisions that shape every part of life.
For now, the most important thing to understand is this:
The system we have can only keep working by taking more and more from most of us, so that those at the centre can take more money, power, and influence. A system like this cannot keep taking without reaching a point where people no longer have enough – and begin to get hurt. This has been happening for a long time, but only recently have enough of us been pushed to the edges, or over them, for it to become clear that we are reaching a place called stop.
The difficulty is that money – appearing to be as important as we’ve been taught to believe – is intoxicating. It drives everything until the moment we are excluded from the way the system works, and begin to understand what it’s like to not have enough, or to spend every spare moment worrying about where more money will come from.
Putting people first – contributing, taking part, and being involved in how everything works – is the only way we can solve the problems society now has. There are no quick fixes. Anyone who suggests that there are, or who promises that “we can go back to how things were if you just follow me,” is offering a trapdoor back to more pain.
I can provide links that explain how the system works and what it has been doing. But more importantly, I can share ideas and solutions that show what we can all do, the contribution each of us can make, and how we can work together to create a world that is balanced and fair for everyone – not just for the privileged few.
Adam Tugwell 