Fascism promises more chaos on the horizon, and it won't be pleasant.
Every one of us is profoundly tired because we live in an age where surviving is as exhausting as it once was for our ancestors during the Industrial Revolution. Today's zeitgeist can be found in a poem written long about by Gerard Manly Hopkins.
"Generations have trod, have trod, have trod; And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil."
Overwork, underwork, the cost of living crisis, the end of public healthcare, the housing crisis, along with a corporate news media firmly in the pockets of the 1% put society if not into the hands of fascism within arm’s reach of it.
I am so fucking tired of well-heeled pundits saying democracy is in danger because it is beyond danger. It is as dead as a corpse three days in a morgue. Those pundits know it. But for them to let that cat out of the bag ends their gig with mainstream media. Questions would then begin to be asked- about why they supported, in the first place, politicians who appeased fascism.
You do not need to be an economist or a historian to know that our era is an epoch of enormous class inequality, which created the conditions for this authoritarian dystopia we now call the new normal. Why people who earn an ordinary wage or less want to believe those who earn a top income wage have their best interest at heart in business, the governance of society, the arts or maintaining the infrastructure of a civilised state will always be a mystery to me. Too many prefer to believe the economy is tanking rather than accept that neoliberal governments- right, centre, or tepid left are corrupted by the influence of the 1%. This is the economy they want and will fight to keep no matter how many of us die in it.
I live- as do most of you in penury. By the end of each month, I have spent most of my waking hours robbing Peter to pay Paul to ensure I have a roof over my head for the next month. End-stage capitalism is a 24/7 dance marathon. There are no breaks or prizes except to live another day, if you can make it through the last one.
Capitalism where everything is monetised creates a symphony of anxieties and fears that dog our days and nights. It weakens our health and our psychological well-being. I had a heart attack at 42 and cancer came to me at 56. But I am luckier than most, who will get these afflictions in 2025. At least in 2004 and 2019 there was hope the social safety net would be maintained. We could believe it would not be sold off to the 1% to make every aspect of our living and dying an opportunity to turn a profit, for them. Now the only thing ordinary people can rely upon when severe illness strikes is State Assisted Suicide.
Neoliberalism is an economic system that has metastasised into a cancer that devoured what was best in our society to feed the ambitions and greed of the 1%. There is chaos on the horizon and it won't be pleasant. The billionaires ensured neoliberalism wouldn't be bridled like capitalism was following World War Two. So to paraphrase Patrick Henry liberty or death is all that remains because the Billionaires are at war with us. The only other option is a servitude more horrendous than any circle of Hell described by Dante.
Rent day approaches quickly, and unfortunately due to the bad economy, I've lost some paying subscribers this month. So, I have included a tip jar for those inclined to assist me in this project because it’s a bit of an SOS.
The Green & Pleasant Land is now complete in its beta version, and the last excerpt from it will drop on Substack this week. DM for a copy.
A yearly subscription will cover much of next month’s rent. All I need is 6 subscriptions to make June’s payment. But with 3 days to go, it is getting tight.
Your subscriptions are so important to my personal survival because like so many others who struggle to keep afloat, my survival is a precarious daily undertaking. The fight to keep going was made worse- thanks to getting cancer along with lung disease and other co-morbidities, which makes life more difficult to combat in these cost-of-living crisis times. If you can, please join with a paid subscription, which is just 3.50 a month, or a yearly subscription. I promise the content is good, relevant and thoughtful. If you can’t, it's all good, because we are in the same boat.
Take Care, John
