The Bigger Issue
A crisis in capitalism h With anti-capitalist protests sweeping the country, does Britain need a new ideolo
Many of the arrangements that underpin our society - economic, political and social - are now finding their legitimacy under serious question from large swathes of the population. Economically, the vast transfer of public wealth to private
hands that was required to shore up the banking system from catastrophic collapse three years ago has left profound resentment. The fact that Britain, with one of the largest concentrations of private wealth in the world, will see now 600,000 more children fall into absolute poverty over the coming years, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, provokes the response, “This is not good enough!” But the crisis is as much political as economic. There is a
sense that democratic popular sovereign must take a backseat to the whims of markets and wealth. In Italy and Greece the people have had their leaders replaced by unelected technocrats pushing through austerity measures with no popular mandate. In Britain the perception that the integrity of our political system
is severely compromised is widespread, from the expenses scandal to the heightened visibility of the widespread lobbying of politicians by industry groups. Much of this resentment is cross- party. This is not restricted to a few camping protesters. In a recent
poll by the ICM, when asked: “You may have seen or heard that there are currently protests against capitalism and the financial system around the world, which one of the following statements do you most agree with?” 51% of the population agreed with the statement: “These protesters are right to call time on a system that puts profit before people.” Personally, I am one of them. All this has precipitated a social crisis: sliding living standards
and rising levels of depression and anxiety, global waves of protests, the biggest riots to rock Britain in decades, a rise in coercive policing to contain the discontents of the population. Ideology is our frame for understanding and interacting
with the world. Changing conditions necessitate a change in ideology. But it must be a change in all these spheres – political and social as well as economic - or we will never truly move beyond this crisis.
Gabriel Balfe, activist,
OccupyLSX
The Occupy London tent cities are springing up all over Britain but the one in Finsbury Square in London is right on our doorstep.
Signs bearing the slogans “Capitalism has failed: find another way” are there to greet us every morning. There is a lot of social unrest at the moment and it’s hardly surprising. Unemployment is soaring and with a million or more young people out of work it’s understandable that people are feeling disillusioned with the status quo. It’s not just people in the tent cities protesting against a capitalist regime, there are students across the entire country who feel they’re being slapped with the bill for the misdemeanours of bankers in another generation. It is their view that their education that will suffer as a result of the higher university fees needed because the government can no longer afford to subsidise students.
The younger generation particularly is being accosted on all sides: higher education fees have jumped, rents are still on an inimitable upward trajectory and the idea that they might be able to save a deposit large enough to one day manage get a foot on the property ladder may feel like a pipe dream. While I understand the disquiet among people living through the worst economic trough of our generation there is little in the way of an alternative being proposed. I would suggest that those protesting against capitalism take another look at financial services in the UK. We already have an alternative to capitalism – it’s called mutuality. The building societies in this country have done a lot to support their members in the past four years and the amount of money flowing into them is testament to that. They also offer some of the most competitive mortgage deals on the market and are often more prepared to look at individual customers’ circumstances than the big banks. In my opinion the question is not whether we need an alternative ideology but whether people understand there is already choice in the market place. Are they taking advantage of it?
Simon Embley, chief executive, LSL Property Services
Our experts have had their say, now it’s your turn to have yours. Visit
www.mortgageintroducer.com and vote for the expert you think makes most 24 mortgAge introdUcer DECEMBER 2011
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