Capitalism, like cocaine addiction, is only about feeding the habit now for instant gratification, regardless of the consequences to others, and even to the self.

You might think, from listening to politicians, commentators in the media and people chatting down the pub, or at work, or on Twitter, that the way things are run in this country, is the only realistic option available:

• that some form of capitalism is the only viable economic model
• that benefits have to be means tested
• that people don't appreciate a health service when it's free at the point of delivery
• that the country is swamped with illegal immigrants who are bleeding the country dry
• that the unemployed can only be incentivised to work by literally starving them

This is what the Government has been telling us, since they wangled their way into No 10, in May 2010, and for some reason none of us can understand, the official Opposition seems to be agreeing with them, on virtually all counts...

There is never any genuine evidence presented to support those statements; from time to time some obscure figures are bandied around by ministers, and taken and reported as fact by the mainstream media, but these are invariably presented completely out of context and all too often get exposed as false and misleading by those who have a lot more experience in a particular field.

I have many problems with capitalism as an economic model, and my objections are well documented on this blog.  I'm not an economist, but you don't have to be an economist to see that it makes no sense to have such a tiny proportion of the population so obscenely wealthy, while other people, an ever growing number, are struggling to feed their children and keep a roof over their heads.   A government economic policy, which seeks to perpetually increase the gap between those with excessive wealth and those who can't even meet their basic needs, is a recipe for social disaster and the obsession with consumerism to feed that model can only end in ecological disaster.

Don't be fooled by politicians who use expressions like ethical capitalism, there is no such thing; as a concept, that cannot exist.  The single point of capitalism is to return maximum profits for shareholders for minimum investment or outlay.  By its very nature, capitalism requires that people cut corners and take risks to secure the biggest rewards in the shortest time possible, there is no place within the capitalist model for compassion, for ethics, for deferred gratification.  Capitalism, like cocaine addiction is only about feeding the habit now for an instant reward, regardless of the consequences to others, and even to the self.

Of course there is another way.  There are a number of other ways and more and more of us are finding a voice to express our concern and our desire to help create a better world, where we all have our basic needs met to live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives, without the need for human suffering, indignity and endless conflict.