When I put this book on my wish list just prior to Christmas, I actually thought it was about feminism, which goes to show how readily we sometimes judge a book by its cover and project whatever expectations we have onto them. I think I actually read this in about a week. It is less than 300 pages long, so that's not exactly a brag, but it does belie how well this book flows, and leads you from one chapter into another with ease.
Saying 'no' is something people do in politics a lot. And I include myself into that. Guilty as charged. At all levels, it is easy to harness opposition and negativity to motivate people to rally against things. The problem with this, is that it's a very gut feeling, reflex sort of reaction. It leaves no room for nuance and reflection, it just instantly offers a position that actually doesn't do anything constructive, it simply safeguards the status quo, in some ways. We won't have 'this', but we'd quite like to keep things the way they are. That sort of thing.
It also sort of absolves people of the responsibility for how we get into situations where we find ourselves feeling the inclination to say 'no'. As the book details, many people's visceral reaction to Trump and pretty much anything he says or does is 'no', but we have all been part of a system that has allowed and even encouraged people like him to feel like the world is their playground to which they are entitled to play in. And so far, the alternatives people have been presented with have been too much like the past, which is what got us where we are in the first place.
This book was published in 2017, so not long after Trump was elected, and way before the multiple global crises that came since, thick and fast, one after the other. Klein talks about how we need to be ready for the next 'shock' which people like Trump, and those before him, have capitalised on to further their agendas, make huge amounts of money from, and further divide society in the process.
The reality is, we've experienced so many shocks since 2017, some to do with Trump, but others not, that we've barely had the energy, space or time to recoup before the next crisis hits us. So all the crises roll into one, and in our current systems where silo working is king, and issues are pitted against each other, we don't have the capacity or the tools to be able to know how to tackle problems that intertwine and demand systemic change.
It's almost as if the old concept of the shock doctrine has now gone into overdrive, with crises not happening in a spaced out fashion, but on top of each other, leaving many of us feeling demoralised, demotivated and overwhelmed with the magnitude of it all. Therefore the threats that she warns about are actually that much more dangerous and require that much more nerve and resolve to be savvy to them.
The conclusion Klein comes to is that we need to come together collectively to come to solutions that people can fight for and say 'yes' to. A manifestation of this is the Leap Manifesto, But collective action only takes you so far when you have to enact change from within a system that is so opposed to it and is inherently unfair. However, without simply tearing things down and starting all over again (a notion I have a lot of sympathy for but which isn't unfortunately in the popular imagination) there is no viable alternative to the systems we have.
I got involved in politics to try and create space for discussion wherein we could find our 'yes', but admittedly I spend an awful lot of time being dragged back to saying 'no'. Perhaps the key is in not allowing the narrative to be driven by those who want to keep us distracted from building the world we all deserve to live in. Which isn't to say we should ignore injustice, or corruption, or ineptitude, or ignorance, or neglect, but instead we acknowledge it and then spend a bigger proportion of our effort and time discussing, building and organising for a better future, rather than spiralling into a never ending feedback loop of outrage. Feel the anger, feel the fury, but don't let it burn out when the news cycle has had its fill.
Of course, this is easier said than done, and there will be knock backs. Case in point, me twice attempting to get a Citizens Assembly in Cardiff off the ground, and both times having the opportunity to debate this idea denied. But maybe 3 time's a charm? Here's to hoping.
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