On the subject of "Votes vs Voices", although you use this phrase to point to possibilities for improving on representative democracy as a way of giving people more say in government, it can also be used to create a safe space in which we can give ourselves permission to imagine that the 21st Century does not need to improve on voting in Government so much as it needs us to use our voices in Finance more effectively.
There is a Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St. Andrews. They are planning a Conference in June 2023 on Financing Our Future.
In their Call for Abstracts, they give us this assessment of the situation:
"Finance shapes our lives in profound ways and is fundamentally entwined with visions of, and expectations for, the future. It can fuel the future-gazing aspirations of entrepreneurs, feelings of hope, desires for innovation, and shared moral horizons. At the same time, it can create relations of obligation and indebtedness, deepen historical patterns of inequality and exclusion, and power feelings of despondency and despair. At a time of growing energy demand and rapid climate change, we ask: How will we finance the future?"
What are the options?
There are six:
1. Patronage by Family & Friends
2. Grants from Church & Philanthropies
3. Subsidies from Taxing & Spending (Government)
4. Credit from Banking & Lending
5. Securitization for Share Price Trading over the Exchanges
6. Negotiation for Fiduciary Minimums with Pensions & Endowments
In which of these do we, as people self-selected from the general population of everyday people living our everyday lives as caring enough to speak up, have a voice?
Really. Only #6.
Let's talk about how we are not using that voice now, but can and should be.
On the subject of "Votes vs Voices", although you use this phrase to point to possibilities for improving on representative democracy as a way of giving people more say in government, it can also be used to create a safe space in which we can give ourselves permission to imagine that the 21st Century does not need to improve on voting in Government so much as it needs us to use our voices in Finance more effectively.
There is a Centre for Energy Ethics at the University of St. Andrews. They are planning a Conference in June 2023 on Financing Our Future.
In their Call for Abstracts, they give us this assessment of the situation:
"Finance shapes our lives in profound ways and is fundamentally entwined with visions of, and expectations for, the future. It can fuel the future-gazing aspirations of entrepreneurs, feelings of hope, desires for innovation, and shared moral horizons. At the same time, it can create relations of obligation and indebtedness, deepen historical patterns of inequality and exclusion, and power feelings of despondency and despair. At a time of growing energy demand and rapid climate change, we ask: How will we finance the future?"
What are the options?
There are six:
1. Patronage by Family & Friends
2. Grants from Church & Philanthropies
3. Subsidies from Taxing & Spending (Government)
4. Credit from Banking & Lending
5. Securitization for Share Price Trading over the Exchanges
6. Negotiation for Fiduciary Minimums with Pensions & Endowments
In which of these do we, as people self-selected from the general population of everyday people living our everyday lives as caring enough to speak up, have a voice?
Really. Only #6.
Let's talk about how we are not using that voice now, but can and should be.