Changes on the scale and complexity outlined in this book will require global coordination if they are to be effectively implemented. The power of vested interests within the financial system is so great that, were one or a small group of nations to attempt to implement such reforms, their economies would come under immediate attack from the financial markets.
A mechanism to inspire concerted global action is required so that the burgeoning democratic desire for change among people in all countries can be harnessed. It may to be too much to expect majorities for change to rise up in many countries at once, but coordinated minority pressure in many countries could have a considerable impact.
The commonality of method and goals apparent in the worldwide Occupy protests shows the impact small numbers of people can have. These protests may lack a formal agenda and have little strategy, but they demonstrate growing international solidarity in the face of a worldwide threat. Further progress demands a more formal political strategy that transcends both national boundaries and the established party political model.
However it happens, politicians must be pressured into cooperating on mutually beneficial solutions to common problems instead of endlessly playing the national interest card. While nation states are still the most viable basis for democratic government, the economic and environmental interests of all nations are now completely interlinked. If politicians don’t recognize this, ordinary people increasingly do. We have to change the mindsets of those we elect to govern us. The only way to do this is for electorates globally to bring pressure to bear on national governments.
Excerpt from Four Horsemen: The Survival Manual.
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