‽istis reclaims leadership and manifesto consequences (weekending 9th October 2021)
This week, perhaps well in to political party conference season ‽istis, gazing out through Overton's window, starts to daydream...
‽ a leader arriving to the music of Sara Tavares, or Duncan Chisholm, or Aretha, or Nitin Sahwney, or Natalia Lafourcade, or The Unthanks, or Susana Baca, or Blick Bassy, or Dolly, or Max Richter, or The Buena Vista Social Club, or Show of Hands, or Raquel Tavares, or Bellowhead, or Joan Baez, or Mike Vass, or Susheela Raman, or the AKA Trio, should any give permission, or the sound of silence... what might your entrance music be?
‽ speaking in words poetic and prophetic; humble; qualificautionary; nothing promised in hope of a vote, in vain or in vanity; discussion invited; comments heard and heeded... what might your tone be?
‽ rolling headlines - not necessarily in chronological or progressive order – to perhaps, possibly, maybe include something like this:
● Nothing about you, without you – nothing about us, without us
● Rights: hierarchical, universal, all living things, recognising duty-bearers and mutual responsibility
● Defined: individual, family, parish, district, county, national responsibilities, duties and powers
● Health and social care: not for profit, needs-led not means-led
● Honours: nothing bestowed in the name of Empire or at the behest of outgoing leaders or not-so reigning monarchs; titles no longer
● Second chamber: non-hereditary, non-clerical; representative; checking and balancing
● Education and training: lifelong; schools - local, non-selective by means or ability, public where public means not-private.
● Recognising that maybe Kermit was perhaps more spot on than some may think (i); that Planet A is wondrous and enough but midnight seems fast-approaching
● Business: sustainable, just, socially responsible - people and corporations; more co-operative than competitive; profit invested not divested in to private hands
● Income: universal for all citizens; remuneration recognising interlinked systemic and structural necessities, essential work and workers throughout; CEO, senior managers, directors - salaries linked to an assessment of inter-/co-dependence across the whole company of employees, differentially capped; living wage for all, not gross (or net) excess for some
● People and groups: processes of minoritising, prejudice, discrimination, abuse and the exercise of many and various sources of power - understood, mitigated, counteracted, recompensed, repented
● Arms: not made, not sold; nuclear disarmament - unilateral
● Tax: at point and place of profit; redistributive; to each according to need, from each according to ability
● Misogyny: understood; a hate crime
● Anti- discrimination
● Justice system: recognising social, familial and psychological factors that may affect capacity and culpability; a penal system - restorative, rehabilitative
● Nation-alism, subsumed - a vision of 'us' all, connected, more the same than different (flags in offices and the corner of video calls from those working from home - only in sandcastles and no bigger than 7cm by 5cm, printed on paper and mounted on a stick!)
● Needs before wants, for all
● Anglican Church: disestablished and with buildings given - converted through local co-operatives and partnerships of apprentices, trades and crafts people, education and training organisations; fair rent, social housing, community meeting and wellbeing spaces included
● Foreign aid: recognising past exploitation, appropriation, development and under-development; reparative, recompensing; repentance
● Evidence-based policy-making
● 50%+ 1: a limited mandate - only ever 'some of the people’s parliament'
● What might your manifesto be?
And then ‽istis woke realising that far more work was needed, in theory and in practice; but also wondering what perhaps, possibly, may happen: 10 minutes after; 10 hours after; 10 days after; 10 weeks after; 10 months after; 10 years later...
Just imagine‽
© Pistis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders.
‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
i) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51BQfPeSK8k
