Jeremy Bell

 And it came to pass in the second year when Cameron and Clegg were rulers of Britain and Barry Ben Parsons was Governor of Torridge that the people groaned and e-wailed under the burdens that the usurers and tax collectors had laid upon them.

 And they murmured amongst themselves saying

‘Our rulers have privatised the granary and are rigging the price of corn, and have stolen even that which we have saved up for our old age.

Yeah, our land is being stolen from us by mamaunders who destroy our fields and orchards and pull down our cottages so that they might build palaces for strangers who know not the way of our fathers.’

And the people said unto themselves ‘Why are we taxed so harshly?  Where are these taxes going but to fill the pockets of the King’s officers and usurers?’

Now the word of the Lord was scarce in those days, and the people did not cry out unto Him, for everyone did what was right in their own eyes and went a-whoring after the gods of celebrity and strictly come money-making.

And likewise the priests followed not the Lord’s command to chide the people and the rulers of the land for their worship of mammon.  Nay, but they raged amongst themselves saying

‘Shall a woman have equal authority with a man?  If we are to be holy should we not first have a right understanding of what men do with their dangly bits?’

And there was much confusion and gnashing of teeth.

And there was at that time an Irsharite dwelling in thelandofNortham, a scribe given to strange outbursts and dreaming.

And behold, he looketh out of his chamber and saw the desolation of the land, how the trees had been cut down and the fields abandoned such that many villas could be built upon them, yeah, even unto the edges of the seashore.

Yeah, and how the poor could not even buy a small hovel wherein to lay their heads, but were forced to toil unceasingly to pay rent to rich landlords while many great villas lay empty.

And the word of the Lord came to this man whose name was Jeremiah and sayeth unto him

‘gird up thy loins and get thee unto the wilderness that lieth beyond Skern, and stand though upon the great ridge that overlooketh theSevernSea.’

And Jeremiah did as the Lord commanded him, and went forth in his transit into the wilderness and stood upon the great ridge.

Then the Lord sayeth unto him ‘Lift up thine eyes and look unto the West; what seest  thou?’

And Jeremiah replied ‘ I see great towers Lord, like that ofBabelproudly reaching forth to heaven, and no wildlife remaineth there.’

Then the Lord sayeth unto him ‘Thou seest rightly.  They are an abomination unto me and unto the spirit of my servant Kipling.  They and their ilk are an offence to all who love justice and the beauty of my biosphere. 

Therefore get thee to that place and say unto the builders thereof, ‘behold, thus sayeth the Lord; I am bringing a great wind from the North and a great tempest of seas to destroy these abominations that thou has set up.  And there shall not be one stone left upon another.’

And the Lord said ‘Yeah, even this ridge upon which thou standeth shall be swept away.  Yeah, the waters shall cover even this wilderness, and they that strike their balls over it shall do so no more.  Verily verily I say unto thee, ships shall once more lay anchor beneath the shadow of Boot Hill.  Let he who has ears to hear let him hear.’

And Jeremiah fell on his knees and rent his anorak, and cried out with a loud voice saying

‘Lord, what of the righteous; wilt thine anger be kindled against them also?  What of the Irsharites and Richmondites, the Insodomites, Weird-giffodites and those that live nigh upon the way that leadeth by the house of Knapp and Hubberstone, who abhor mightily those who obey not the covenant of their ancestors, but go a-whoring after mammon.  Wilt thou destroy them also?’

And the Lord took Jeremiah up in vision and showed him the world that he had made.

And Jeremiah beheld the burning forests and dying seas, and the concrete that covered the earth that men had laid down over it, and the pollution that obscured the heavens and the abominations that maketh desolation.

And Jeremiah was struck dumb and laid himself down prostrate on the pebbles and wept.

Then the Lord spake unto him again after this manner

‘ If they repent and turn away from their greed, and honour truth and justice in their scales and in their council chambers, and look everyone to their neighbour and the stranger that is within their gates, and turn once again to the land that I have given them to care for it, then will I begin to open up the fist of my wrath and lay my open hand of healing upon them.’

Then Jeremiah rose up and mounted his transit, and made haste back to his chamber and wrote down all that the Lord had told unto him to say unto the rulers of the land in which he dwelt.

But they harkened not unto him.

As we mark 150 years of the founding of the Co-operative movement and the work of the Rochdale Pioneers, I find myself comparing the practical dynamics and motivation of their business model with that of the Co-operative Group and the other remaining Societies.

How can a business, originally designed to help and empower the poor, fulfil these original aims now that it has amalgamated and merged into a multi- billion pound combine directed and controlled from the centre?  To put it more brutally, has the Co-operative Group wandered so far away from first principles, that it has become just another Tesco or Asda, albeit with a broader range of Values and Principles and small divi?  Certainly the Co-operative Group, like its competitors, thinks globally, but does it act locally – apart from the Community Fund, which itself is mirrored by the other big four supermarkets with their funding of local community initiatives and annual support for a national charity?  Is the Co-operative Group that different?

Is it a contradiction in spirit and practice to try and be a Co-operative, corporate conglomerate as well as being a truly democratic Co-operative based around trading outlets? However much the Co-operative Group proclaims that it is owned by its members, the only power the ordinary member has is to elect their Area Committee Members, of whom I am one.  However, like many other elected members, I know that I have little power to influence the decisions and directives of the Main Board, its officers and CEO.

Given what it happening in the ‘Global Village’, and in our small part of it, I believe we need a rapid re-assessment of our role in our contemporary, atomised and debt ridden society. Consider the following.

A few weeks ago the Governor of The Bank of England said that he believed that the financial crisis gripping the western world could be the worst ever – worse than the Great Crash of 1929 where there was often a butcher and baker at the end of each street supplied by local farmers etc.  Today, everything is centralised.  Computerised, Distribution Centres send out trucks to deliver to food stores all over theU.K., and this transport, like so many other things, is totally reliant on oil.

Imagine a possible scenario:  a war or nuclear disaster in the Persian Gulf in whichIranblocks the straits of Hamuz, through which 40% of the world’s oil passes.  The price of oil would shoot to 200 dollars a barrel plus, and fuel on the forecourt would rise to at least £10 a gallon.  The added costs to the Co-operative Group, Tesco, Asda, etc for food store delivery would be enormous, let alone the cost to the food manufacturers.  Could we deliver?

Those of us who still refuse to compartmentalise our thinking into economics and the environment and social well-being, have for some years been aghast at the visionless policies put forward by self-interested politicians of all parties, who continue to separate these three things.  It was inevitable that the great world religion – the worship of the Golden Calf, would lead to troupes of political monkeys dancing to the tunes of the Corporate/capitalist organ-grinders, in particular the Oil Companies and Banks. Driven and blinded by greed, they invented ‘new financial instruments’ which have inevitably failed, but have resulted in making debt slaves of both citizens and nations.

The vision of the Rochdale Pioneers was entirely different.  They fought against local exploitation by relatively small capitalist oppressors – small shopkeepers, mill and mine owners etc.  They demonstrated a different way of doing business, and lit a fire that spread all over theU.K.and beyond with masses of small Societies fighting the same injustices in their own areas.  However, those early pioneers could not have foreseen the rise of the international conglomorates that trade across national boundaries, pay few taxes, know no patriotism and keep politicians in power.  Neither could they have foreseen that the one billion population of the world of their own day would grow to seven billion in 2011, and how the growth of mass consumerism, driven by mind-changing advertisers, would erode the physical health of people and planet.

But they knew about debt, and the effects of it’s pernicious human enslavement.  They also knew about the value of land, and bought increasing acres of it to grow produce for their co-op shops to ensure the supply of healthy food. It is my contention that the Co-operative Group  and other Co-operative Societies should be buying up more land and offering it to the tens of thousands of people who are seeking land to grow things on*.  These co-operative growers should be encouraged to sell their surplus produce to co-op shops.  (To it’s credit, the Group does encourage and support local farmer’s markets and community village shops etc.)  Were they alive today, I believe this is precisely what the Rochdale Pioneers would be advocating.  It would represent a much needed and welcome return to localism and democratic involvement in the movement.

Given the unique global, environmental and financial challenges we are facing can we find the courage to willingly return to the roots and vision of the Pioneers, or betray them, by stubbornly persisting with the dream of ever increasing production and consumption, which we all know in our hearts is unsustainable.

In the mid Devon town ofOkehamptonmany families are now reliant on soup kitchens and food parcels, and it will not be long before we see this sort of thing in other towns and cities.  Yet the cost margin between co-op food prices and the other big four supermarkets has now widened so much that previously loyal customers are abandoning our stores.  However, our diminishing active membership still clings to the pioneers’ original vision, and are waiting for the Co-operative Group to respond.

150 Years ago when the movement started, its prime aim was not to increase it’s ‘market share’, but something far deeper and socially transforming.  Yet today, even though we are so much wealthier, we are doing much less in terms of social justice and helping the poor.

As the price of  food continues to rise, together with unemployment, only the Co-operative Movement has the financial strength and original vocation to respond.  The question is – have the Boards of the Co-operative Group and remaining Societies the vision and motivation to think and act as radically as the Rochdale Pioneers did in their own day?

Given that food is our main business, we should start by facing up to the fact that all cultural and economic life is dependent on the earth, and despite western societies technical sophistication and organisation, this has not changed – and will not change.  We are organisms not mechanisms

* There are currently 110,000 people waiting for allotments in theU.K.

Jeremy Bell

Member of N,E,West Devonand Somerset Area Committee writing in a private capacity.

The importance of this question cannot be overstated, because those who argue that technological progress is the only path to human development often dismiss those who put the environment first as Luddites or green romantics, who hark back to some sort of mythical time when men and women lived harmoniously together in a vegan paradise.  As the economic and environmental crisis deepens, I believe that both these views are dangerous, and we all need to understand why.

Firstly, let me offer two historical examples to illustrate why even our smallest actions can have huge implications for all of us.

a)         In the mid nineteenth century one man introduced two rabbits intoAustralia.

As they multiplied and spread, the richer grasslands on which cattle were grazed started to deteriorate.  (Cattle are selective grazers, rabbits nibble everything down to the roots).  Such was the rapacity of the rabbits that a rabbit proof fence was constructed from the north to the south ofAustraliato try and prevent them from spreading into the west of the country.  People spent their lives constantly repairing it.  Sheep farming became more profitable, and the fleeces exported toBritain’s industrial woollen mills.  Thus, the introduction of these two rabbits effected the way the Australian economy developed, and in turn, that ofBritain.

b)         Before Henry Ford started to mass produce the motor car, much thought was given to the building of new towns and villages to house the growing population.

Progressive thinkers proposed the building of Garden Cities in which every house would have its own green area, e.g. Welwyn Garden City.  The advent of mass produced cars put paid to this movement as town planning was adapted to take account of this new form of transport.  Almost every planning permission today is granted on the basis that there is adequate parking and the road system can take the traffic flow.

So what are the implications for our own future and that of our children for the sorts of technologies that are part and parcel of our lives today?  Let us look at three examples.

a)         OIL  It is not only transport that is utterly reliant on oil, but every bit of plastic in your computer, phone, television, bin bag etc.  Without oil none of these things could exist.  Yet retrievable oil reserves are rapidly being exhausted, together with rare earth minerals which are essential for most electrical technology.  The most readily available oil reserves are in the Middle East; hence that region’s political importance and instability. China controls approx 95% of the world’s rare earth minerals, and naturally wishes to use them for its own growing internal market and manufacturing exports.  As a result political decision making revolves around the supply of oil and rare earth minerals.

b)         NUCLEAR – ‘TOO CHEAP TO METER’  The current estimated cost for decommissioningBritain’s aging nuclear power stations is 80 billion pounds.  Unlike coal or gas fired power stations, we can’t just walk away and leave them.  Successive governments have not only shifted this problem on to the economic back burner, but are planning to build new nuclear power stations mainly on the same sites ie. at sea level for cooling purposes.  Given that sea levels are rising and plutonium is radio active for at lease five thousand years, our politicians are either incredibly naïve or ‘barking mad’ in that they believe we will continue to have the nuclear technological expertise to look after them together with the waste they produce for that period of time, ie. the age ofStonehenge!

c)         COMPUTERS  – ‘THE PAPERLESS OFFICE’  We now consume more paper than ever before.  However, what is often overlooked is the physical and emotional effects of staring at a tv or computer screen for long periods of time and the cost to ourselves and the wider economy, e.g. i. memory becomes lazy (I can store it on a machine).  ii.  Imagination and creativity are constrained by the sheer volume of information pouring into the struggling brain.  iii. ditto real, as distinct from virtual human inter-reaction:  you cannot receive or communicate the deeper emotional and physical messages via a screen.  These can only be exchanged in personal head and heart conversations through physical meeting.  iv. We are not just brains, we are physical organisms, and unless we use our bodies they will degenerate.  The touch of the screen can never be a substitute for the touch of another human being.

So what is the answer – a retreat to peasant farming or a vain and hopeless quest for some utterly mythical Holy Grail of Technology?  As I wrote in last month’s column, without some sort of spiritual awakening, both the desire for a return to a rural idyll and some sort of techno-salvation are dangerous delusions.  No-one with any sense of history would want to return to the menial drudgery of peasant farming in a denuded bio-sphere, and neither would anyone with any vision want to seek to preserve the drivers of much of our banal materialistic culture – a culture that denies the young in particular, meaningful fulfilment.

All of us are going to have to get used to a reduced standard of living, so now is the time to ask ourselves what sort of society do we want.  A minority are already trying to do this by developing some sort of spiritual and emotional intelligence.  They can see that some technologies are benign, sustaining and appropriate, ie they are personal and work in harmony with the natural order, rather than being exploitive of nature and people.  Such technologies will always be small scale and local rather than vast centralised industries run by an elite.  The vision would be for local, self-sustaining economies that export their surpluses and unique products, and import what they cannot produce themselves.