Americans have been watching protests against oppressive regimes that concentrate massive wealth in the hands of an elite few. Yet in our own democracy, 1 percent of the people take nearly a quarter of the nation’s income—an inequality even the wealthy will come to regret.
– Of the 1%, for the 1%, by the 1%, Vanity Fair
The same is happening globally where there is a great gap between the few wealthy and the many poor (80% of the world’s population live on less than $10 a day, and 50% lives on less than $2.50), and the policies are created by and for the few wealthy (international trade agreements, austerity measures).
Corporations, media and politicians – with some important exceptions – tend to work within the smaller picture in terms of reach and time scales. It’s the job of corporations to maximize profit, it’s the job of the media to sell their news/entertainment, and it’s the job of politicians to get re-elected. The UN is the one large organization that stays with and acts on the big picture.
This is a good hint that what’s needed is restructuring at many levels. A restructuring where what’s easy and attractive is also beneficial for the wider world and over generations, where we do what’s beneficial for ourselves and the larger whole without even thinking about it. This may sound like wishful thinking and utopia, yet it’s very much possible, there are working and successful examples in the world already (The Natural Step, Rocky Mountain Institute, shifting taxes from work to pollution, waste and use of natural resources), and it’s essential for our long term survival.