Stephen Barlow Profile picture
Jun 3, 2022 8 tweets 2 min read Read on X
People often ask what I mean by system change re: the climate and ecological crisis. It is very simple. I mean a full shift to a truly sustainable society/economy. This means changing more or less every convention of our modern society.
Sustainable means what it says. A society and economy in balance with the ecological carrying capacity of the Earth. Essentially that means no unsustainable trends, where our impact on the natural systems of the world is growing.
You see, in ecological terms, if there is a component, where it's impact on natural systems is constantly growing. Eventually it will have catastrophic effects, impacting also on the component driving it i.e. human society.
Lots of natural components have growing impacts. Let's say an exploding population of rodents. But this is eventually counteracted, by a sudden fall in the population of that rodent. Often, it produces a cycle or rise and fall.
Humans appear to have got out of this cycle and effect, by using innovation to get around what would cause that contraction in that growth. For instance, the use of fertilisers and pesticides.
But this is at the cost of destroying other ecosystem components and biodiversity, which in a long loop, will eventually have serious impacts on us, that we can't innovate our way out of.
There is no simple recipe for creating a sustainable society economy. However, if we don't want our population, our civilization, our society and economy to crash, it is essential.
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More from @SteB777

Dec 10
"Human rights official says politicians are playing into the hands of the populist right as they seek to tackle migration"

Remember, you heard it from me first. Not just yesterday, but for the last year. I give you tomorrow's news today.

1/🧵theguardian.com/law/2025/dec/1…
It's so obvious that Starmer is playing right into the hands of Reform, that you have to wonder if Keir Starmer is a secret admirer of Nigel Farage, because if Starmer isn't aware of what he's doing, he's someone's useful idiot.

2/threadreaderapp.com/thread/1998544…
Remember, I accurately predicted the downfall of Boris Johnson, in 2-3 years, at the time of his big win in 2019. I'm not some sort of clairvoyant, and I've repeatedly explained how I make these accurate political predictions.

3/
Read 5 tweets
Dec 10
"US plans to start checking all tourists' social media"

This is why the whole "free speech" shtick of the American right is totally fake, the opposite of the truth, a classic Orwellian sleight of hand, doublespeak, doublethink, where everything is the virtual opposite of what is stated.

1/🧵news.sky.com/story/us-plans…
What this is about, is ideological purity, a fake right wing racist and white supremacist narrative, carefully dressed up in false justifications. It's a narrative based on total lying. The oligarchs, peddling this new fascism, know that their specious narrative doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
2/
So they know they need to control the narrative, just like in the old Soviet Union. The irony is incredible, the right are using state communist mind control tactics. To control intellectuals, who see through their mindless, unintelligent lies.
3/
Read 9 tweets
Dec 10
"Starmer urges Europe’s leaders to curb ECHR to halt rise of far right"

Is Keir Starmer just stupid, or is he following orders/directions/coercion?

Keir Starmer has got this stupid idea, that if he appeases the right, with a partial anti-immigrant policy, a sort of "Reform-lite", that he will draw support from Reform, and the far right. That's his argument anyway.

It plainly doesn't work, because support for Reform and the far right has grown, and they absolutely hate Starmer and Labour. I see no evidence whatsoever, that Starmer has won over one single right wing voter, through this strategy.
theguardian.com/law/2025/dec/0…
1/🧵
The reason this is stupid strategy, a that doesn't work, is very simple.

1) It makes it falsely appear as if Reform, and the racist/xenophobic right, has a genuine point.

2) This actually increases support for Reform and the nasty right, because no one, with xenophobic or racist tendencies, would ever consider voting for Starmer/Labour.
2/
The right wing media, portray Starmer and Labour, as pro-immigrant, woke, and the cause of lax "immigration policy". Trying to say, we're a bit racist and xenophobic ourselves, doesn't win anyone over. It just appals traditional Labour/left voters, makes them less likely to vote Labour, and more likely to support another party.
3/
Read 19 tweets
Dec 8
When I made this suggestion, in response to Elon Musk calling for the abolition of the EU, I got the usual abuse from right wing nuts, that I was a commie, a retard, etc, etc. I will justify what I said. Billionaires, should not exist.
1/🧵
In any fair and rational system, there would be progressive taxation, that made it impossible for anyone to accumulate that sort of wealth. By progressive taxation, I mean wealth taxation, that increases proportional to the wealth being accumulated. So a moderate wealth tax on millions.

However, if someone starts accumulating hundreds of millions, this tax should get progressively higher, until it becomes impossible to accumulate billions.

There are 2 main reasons I say this. Neither of them involves either envy, or ideology.
2/
The first reason, is that billionaires are anti-democratic. They subvert democracies with their wealth, to put in place politicians who work for the them, against the public interest. This is objective, a large proportion of billionaires actively engage in propaganda and disinformation, to gaslight the public.
3/
Read 16 tweets
Dec 6
"Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden says more must be done to lift people out of hardship and help people into work"

I want to illustrate, the complete lack of joined up thinking, not just by the UK's governments, but all governments in the Western world.

1/🧵theguardian.com/politics/2025/…
The Starmer government, like previous governments, claim that the way to lift people out of poverty, is to force them into paid work. Except:

"AI ‘apocalypse’ could take away almost 8m jobs in UK, says report"

2/theguardian.com/technology/202…
According to Bill Gates, AI can replace most human jobs.

I expect, what will actually happen, is largely unknown. But huge investment in AI is being made, with the intention of it replacing lots of jobs, in a cost effective way i.e. very profitable for big business.

3/techxpo.hu/en/bill-gates-…
Read 21 tweets
Dec 4
"Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar

Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’"

This outrageous neoliberal ideology. The idea that normal feelings have been over pathologised, is a right wing talking point, emanating from right wing think tanks. The only medical people who support this perspective, are right wing ideologues.
theguardian.com/society/2025/d…
1/🧵
What is ironic, is there's massive evidence, that neoliberal doctrine, which Wes Streeting is an arch exponent of, he is a neoliberal extremist, is hugely contributing to a rise in mental illness. It is giving people mental illness, by not seeing them as fully human, but consuming units. Simply cogs in the machine.

Neoliberal extremists like Wes Streeting, are only looking at the increase in those claiming benefits for these illnesses. It is not looking at the other dimensions of an increasing in mental illness, which have nothing to do with claiming benefits. In other words, there is a huge increase in mental health problems, with those in work, and not seeking benefits.

The right wing press, continuously pumps out this false idea, outright disinformation and propaganda, that people just go along to their GP, and say they are feeling mildly anxious or a bit down, and the next thing they are receiving maximum disability benefits and PIP. This is almost the diametric opposite of reality, where it is increasingly difficult to get mental health diagnoses, because of this prevailing neoliberal dogma, which assumes anyone with a mental health problem, is swinging the lead.

Labour itself, has contributed to this, by previously introducing fitness for work tests, run by private companies, under the New Labour regime (founded on extreme neoliberal doctrine.
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC81…
2/
What is outrageous about this, is that unqualified, propaganda from the oligarch owned right wing press, oligarch funded right wing think tanks, is the basis for setting up a presumably very expensive review, where we can expect, extreme political pressure, and cherry-picking of this review.

Essentially, neoliberal extremists like Wes Streeting, are trying to raise the bar of scepticism, so that anyone saying they are mentally struggling, will be disbelieved, and presumed to be exaggerating their symptoms, to get benefits, which are not very generous at all.

The reason this is so dangerous, is that it is very easy to claim someone is exaggerating symptoms of mental distress, simply because it is necessary to take someone's word for what they are experiencing.

There is the very real danger, that this could result in an increase in suicide rates, which have fallen (most of the fall being prior to 2000) substance abuse, and crime.
3/
Read 7 tweets

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