2020: Cheer the Heroes. They Don’t Live Forever.

Heroes don’t live forever.

And I also do not want to go back to “normalcy”

“Normalcy” is childcare fees costing my daughter more than her mortgage. 

Aged care run by rent seekers in a society that accepts as “normal” the warehousing and discarding of our frail elders.

“Normalcy” is higher education run as a “business model”, supported by contracted academics producing graduates with massive debts.

“Normalcy” is healthcare where eyes, teeth and mental health are seen as extras.

“Normalcy” is an economy dependent on professions predominantly female on the front line - childcare workers; teachers; nurses; support workers - low wages, contract, a contingent “flexible” workforce that has born the brunt of COVID lockdowns. 

“Normalcy” is trillions of dollars spent on technology in government, on some estimates an 80% failure rate, and after 20 years we are still buying the marketing hype of digital transformation.

This “normalcy” has been purposefully designed by politicians and bureaucrats over the past twenty years, a “normalcy” which has gutted public sectors of capability. 

This is no accident - the system is operating as designed.

Cheer the heroes. They don’t live forever.

And then step up and demand change.

I wrote this blog post on LinkedIn, and which attracted much interest, in response to the formidable article by Mariana Mazzucato, “Capitalism After the Pandemic: Getting the Recovery Right.”

#Society #NotNormalcy #Democracy