It is always astonishing to see a behavior pattern playing out which shows a deep lack of knowledge within the cohort, working in the governance structures of our societies.
A good example here in the UK is the inability to think in intergenerational time scales. As this kind of thinking should be part of their job and one of the reasons we delegated that part of our governance needs to them, it is appalling to experience the utter absence of this so important prerequisite of a functioning society.
Take the “housing problem”, a condition which has its roots in the early enclosures from the 13th century onwards. Land, which needs to be shared within the group which is living in a given region, is privatised and their owners put undue pressure onto their fellow citizens.
Fast forward to the beginning of the so called neoliberal era, the political wish was to bring as much people onto a “housing ladder” so that the whole society would transcend towards a property owning democracy.
But here comes the problem of not thinking in intergenerational terms.
When you promise people of a certain generation a “housing ladder”, which only functions with steadily rising house prices which is the result of a naturally restricted land availability, then you should not wonder if the next generation is not able to afford any place to live without transferring a large part of their income towards the “housing scheme” promoted by these shortsighted governors.
The next generations pay then the price of the chimera created and the resulting confusion keeps the politicians busy but with a broader view their behavior is irrational to say the least.
So how to change this stupidity towards normal?
We have to take the land out of the equation, use the land privately but own it commonly again. When you want to use land you rent it from your community.
Land is too precious to be triturated between competing speculating interests. We urgently have to look after our land together – again.