This goes for both of us

Yeah, I know this is stupid, but this blog is a pointless and desperate attempt at trying to “save the world”. So if you’ve been paying attention to the news at all lately, you might have caught the news that most scientists seem to agree that our current human society has only about 10 to 30 years left before it collapses spectacularly, potentially rendering humans (and probably most of the other species we actually tend to like on this planet) extinct.

So what’s killing us? Well, three or four basic things: Inequality, overpopulation, a crappy economic system, and ecological degradation.

So what’s the solution? Well, that’s complicated, but it boils down into about one of two things:

• Some sort of new plague wiping most of us out before we can kill the rest of the planet too.
• Better governance.

Now while the first option may make a better movie, it’s not really something I think any of us want to live through, so maybe we should start to focus on this better governance thing.

I follow a couple guiding principles on government. The first is this: governments essentially have two powers, the power to help people, and the power to punish people. And the more a government helps people, the less it will have to punish anyone. Secondly (or maybe actually a corollary to the first idea), is that if you want to fight crime, fight poverty. And thirdly, people have the right to self-determination. A good government should adhere to these principles.

Now based on our current position, getting to a place in which we might be able to affect positive changes in the world seems pretty hopeless, but I sure as hell am going to try. So check this blog over the next few months and years to see if I can work out any decent solutions to our problems.

Ok, so about my perspective. I am american by birth, but emigrated to Norway a few years back. So my focus is most definitely on solving the current american political miasma, but my perspective is definitely more that of a helpful outsider.

And yes, I’m straight, white, cis, male, middle-class and all that crap, and probably just oozing with privilege from every pore, so I know I probably should not be trying to throw my voice around right now, but I have a voice, and it seems insane not to try and use it. However, I like to feel that I am trying to use my privilege to help others and not so much simply myself, so I feel no shame in speaking out.

Anyway, enough about me… go read the dang blog already.