Monday, October 19, 2015

One Third Solution not strong enough

The strongest restraint on serious movement to end climate change is the fact that 1% of the population, in every nation, controls the vast majority of the dynamic investment capital and hence controls the economy and restrains any bold government action.

Now I recognize that the mass of more ordinary people collectively have vast investments in their homes and in their group pensions and mutual funds.

But these investments are not fluid (homes) or are not controlled hands-on by their owners (mutuals, pensions) and in any case are not individually big enough to enable their owner to casually open or shut a factory.

Nor is the 1% without restraints - collectively we consumers can make their investments bloom or fade.

And governments - particularly national governments - can and do restraint their behavior, a little, every once in a while.

Green minded national parliaments are a big key if we are to defeat the global warming crisis.

PR vs FPTP voting systems and global warming


Even governments with powerful directly elected executives (presidents) have a powerful parliamentary system (Congress in US-speak).

It is important for green-minded people to 'woman and man up' and admit that the countries whose parliament is elected by FPTP , First Past The Post voting systems, are the ones most resistant to seriously dealing with our global environmental crisis.

In turn their non-action restrains the pro-climate activities of the parliaments of countries with PR (Proportional Representation voting systems).

PR parliaments have plenty of loud-voiced green-minded MPs constantly reminded the non-green-minded majority to honor their vague election promises 'to do something good for the environment'.

39% of the vote : 'False Majority'


In most FPTP countries (the USA is the big exception) there is a competitive multi party system in which the party that gets all the power on election day usually only wins about 1/3 of the 2/3 voters who bother to turn out.

(It is worth noting that the parties that win nearly every time in FPTP systems are usually disproportionally funded by the well-to-do, the 1% and their fellow travellers.)

I have earlier said we can't lick the global environmental crisis by just relying on the weak 1% solutions proposed by The One Percent (more of the same, full speed ahead !)

Nor can we rely on the weak 1/3 solutions proposed by unrepresentative parliaments elected by the 1/3 of the 2/3 of the voters with funds from the 1%.

The Two Thirds Want In !


Put simply, the only way all of humanity can be protected from our environmental disaster is if we are all part of the solution - we need full strength 100% solutions.

We need parliaments with representation from all the voters , a ministry of all the talents in society, whether they sit on government benches doing something or whether they sit on opposition benches keeping the government's feet in the fire.

PR voting, coupled with further reductions on the amounts of money parties can raise and spend, will ensure a seat in parliament assured for any party or individual who gains as little as one percent of the national vote.

This would bring out many more voters who now stay home convinced that their vote doesn't count.

And it will bring all of us in to collectively share the failures as well as the successes of each parliament ---- turn the one half of us who never vote but who always take anything the government has to offer into givers as well as just takers.

Above all it will ensure that the voices of the huge number of silenced people who tell pollsters they want action on the climate will finally be converted into seats in an representative parliament...

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