Traumatised Society

From P2P Foundation
Jump to navigation Jump to search

* Book: The Traumatised Society. How to Outlaw Cheating and Save our Civilisation. Fred Harrison.


Review

"Attributing the present crisis to a social process of cheating, he develops a synthesis of the social and natural sciences to show how the market system can be reformed. He introduces the concept of organic finance, which prescribes reforms capable of delivering both sustainable growth, with a more equitable distribution of wealth, and respect for other life forms.

To explain the persistent failure to resolve protracted social and environmental crises, the author introduces a theory of social trauma. Populations have been destabilised by the coercive loss of land to the point where they have lost their traditional reference points. No longer able to live by the laws of nature, they are forced to conform to laws that consolidate the privileges of those who had cheated them of their birthright: access to nature’s resources. Many pathological consequences flow from this tearing of people from their social and ecological habitats. To recover from this state of trauma, the author argues, people need to use the new tools of communication, such as social media, to regain control over their future destiny through a kind of collective psychosocial therapy.

The author challenges the view that the West can climb out of depression by applying the financial measures known as “austerity”. He outlines a new strategy that would restore full employment and reverse the decline in middle class living standards in Europe and North America.

Fred Harrison is Research Director of Land Research Trust. After a career as a Fleet Street investigative journalist, he was a consultant to a number of Russian academic and political bodies in their efforts to implement a more equitable transition to a market economy. Subsequently he turned his attention to the failure of economic analysis and public policies in the market economies." (http://www.globalvision2000.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=973&pid=3058#pid3058)


More Information

For more detail, see http://www.fredharrison.com