Simon Mitchell - Live 8 - will it work?

Live Aid was one of the most important events in my life. Millions of people came together from all over the planet to put an end to poverty in Africa. It was one of the most positive, life affirming actions ever created by people of my generation. It
created hope. It opened my heart.
But now, twenty years on we realise it was slightly naive, with much of the money donated by genuine and well-meaning people ‘disappearing’ before it reached the people in need. Live 8 takes a very different track to raise awareness of poverty – but can we rely on governments behind the G8 to actually make that much difference?

How can we Make Poverty History when the forces causing economic devastation in our world are the same forces that provide our governments with their funding? As long as GDP (GNP in US) is deemed as the most valuable measure of our national ‘worth’ we are tied to money and its unfair systems – these will always cause poverty in places that don’t have resources to exploit and even some that do.

There is enough to go round on this earth – enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed as the saying goes. Does the political will exist to make changes so the system is fair for all? It doesn’t seem so. The global financial system and our method of deriving wealth by exploiting our capital assets (the earth’s resources) will never be equitable. Consumer capitalism relies on poverty as a major motivator. In order to ‘have’ we need ‘have-nots’.

But already the pressure of Live 8 has caused a shift in the agenda of major governments – with both Blair and Bush suddenly keen to do more than just wear the band. But how much can they realistically give away to third world debt? It certainly won’t be enough to actually solve the root causes of poverty experienced in many corners of the world. It certainly won’t change the system that results in these economic disadvantages.

But this exciting event of Live 8 will be a paradigm shifter for many people who will look at the deeper causes of poverty for themselves, maybe for the first time. People will realise that there are important alternatives to economic globalisation, GDP slavery and ‘celebrity’ consumer capitalism. Even that many peoples we view as 'economically poor' may lead happy and fulfilled lives.

People will see for themselves how to shift their energy away from earth exploiting activities into more wholesome and fairer ones. This is where the real power to change the situation lies, not only in donating our 'ill-gotten gains' to the poor, or even just in heckling governments to ‘do something about it’, but also in the choices we make every day as individuals. There are multiple solutions that need to be applied at the same time.

Choices about how we earn and spend our money, our time, our energy, our resources. Choices about where we go, how we get there, what we look at, how we cope with change. Choices about how we invest in a sustainable future for our finite planet. At present we are using up the resources of this world at an alarming rate, leaving our ancestors-to-come with serious problems. At the moment our investment policies are based on stealing the future from our children.

By divesting ‘the GDP economy’ of our energy and putting it into non-exploitative practises we tackle the root causes of poverty. By increasing local self-reliance and enhancing ‘community’ there is much we can do to secure a future where we work for, rather than in competition with each other - and with nature. Investing our energy in making self-reliant communities for the future may yet turn out to be a better bet than any amount of pension planning.

There are many alternatives to our present economic system. Different systems of shopping – where the people who do the actual work get rewarded, such as Fair Trade, local farmers’ markets, vegetable box schemes and local trade systems.

There are different ways of working, earning and saving that do not invest in earth exploitation – such as LETS (Local Economic Trading System), co-operatives, ethical banking, credit unions and other group activity.

There are different value systems that value the hand-made craft item over the industrial, the mended over the built-in obsolescence, the home-made or found over the purchased, the grown over the bought.

There are ways of thinking that generate creative new solutions to old problems, helping us all to do more with less. There are improvements in technology and communications that help us all with making these changes.

We can reclaim our power from the forces that create poverty with the choices we make every day.
Respect to Sir Geldof and all who are focusing attention on the problems of poverty in Africa. Bringing pressure to bear on the G8 for a fairer world is a grand move – but there is only so much that governments can and will do - the rest is up to us.