Feed Item
Added a discussion 

Its tone is that of the hectoring schoolmaster who knows what’s best for the children, and tolerates no dissent. This is not a dialogue but a lecture we need to accept without question. Here they are: 

1. ‘You’ll own nothing and be happy’

We’ll rent everything we’ll need, and it will be delivered by drone. Does this mean we won’t even own our ability to sell our labour? If we’re renting this and everything else, who are we renting it from? Presumably from those who own everything, who doubtless will be much happier than we will be. And drone deliveries by 2030? It will take longer than that to get regulatory permission agreed, given how risk averse both industry and governments have become. 

2. The US won’t be the only world’s leading power

A handful of countries will dominate. This is a nice way of avoiding the obvious point that in a bipolar or multipolar world – the USA vs China vs the EU vs Russia – global decision-making is going to be even more elusive and tricky, not less. In the post-Covid world, autarkical tendencies, not cooperation, pose a threat to any notions of harmonious global governance, let alone coordination. That’s a point I’ll return to below. 

3. We won’t die waiting for an organ donor

Transplants will be a thing of the past. New organs will be printed instead. This is a lovely notion and would be very welcome. But there’s the pesky problem of a health system that can hardly cope with seasonal flu and has had to be protected from treating ill people by shutting down the entire economy. Solving this in 10 years will require the printing of more money (which we haven’t got), never mind organs. 

4. We’ll eat less meat

Meat will become an occasional treat, not a staple, and we’ll eat less of it because it's good for the environment and our health. This is like the ‘choice’ offered by state telecommunications monopolies: you can have any phone you like as long as it's black. Goodbye, freedom of choice. 

5. A billion people will be displaced by climate change

In 10 years, we’re going to have to do a better job at welcoming and integrating refugees. Do they mean we should be as welcoming as the EU, with its “Fortress Europe” approach? Or successive American governments’ benevolent border wall with Mexico? Perhaps they’re referring to the Prince of Wales opening up Buckingham Palace to refugees?  

6. Polluters will have to pay to emit CO2

The introduction of a global price on carbon with the aim of making fossil fuels history is the holy grail being held out here. Given the parlous state of all state coffers as a result of Covid-19, and the crisis of innovation, this idea is perhaps the most fanciful of all.  

7. You could be preparing to go to Mars

Scientists will have worked out how to keep us healthy in space, which will herald the start of a journey to find alien life. It might be a good idea to start by trying to keep us healthy on earth, especially dealing with all the post-Covid deaths, not from the virus, but from postponed treatments and operations. This is sheer fantasy. 

8. Western values will have been tested to breaking point

The checks and balances that underpin our democracies must not be forgotten. By this, they are surely not referring to the attempt to overthrow the Brexit vote or Trump’s election in 2016 by an elite who didn’t like these outcomes? They’re not suggesting that global unelected bodies such as the United Nations or the World Health Organization should take precedence over national democracies, even over decisions as important as climate change? Do they want checks and balances on national governments, which should accede to the ‘truths’ of unelected experts and technocrats, rather than relying on their own citizens to make decisions? Perish the thought.

This “Great Reset” is not that great after all. Nor is it offering anything new or, indeed, realisable. Instead, it’s a rehashing of a globalist project that seeks to use the Covid crisis to prioritise the concerns and fantasies of the elite, aiming to cement their positions of wealth and power and usher in a new era of top-down diktat. 

slavery

Source: RT.com

Comments
Info