So after (many) years of thinking about this, I'm starting to put down in writing some of my ideas. First of all, in no particular order, a list of the aspects of society which have to be examined and managed with the aim of the health of individuals and health of society as a whole:
Politics / democracy / participation
The finance sector / banking / financial structures
Wages / taxes / loans / social safety nets
Housing
Food
Industry and Manufacturing
Building and Infrastructure
Medical care (physical and mental)
Sport (competitive, professional, amateur, physical activity)
Artistic endeavours (professional, amateur / music, literature, visual arts in particular)
Transport
Agriculture
Animal welfare
Relationships between different cultures (and religions)
- an important specific part of that, the position of Indigenous/First Nations cultures and people
Relationships between other different groups (eg ages, socio-economic brackets, men & women)
Finite Resources (of all kinds - water, minerals, lands, forests, air, oceans) and energy (finite and renewable)
National and international relations (including trade, defence, foreign aid, diplomacy, global matters)
Science and research
Skills development
Planning for the future
Within that, there are some other things I think are missing or problematic in the way we currently operate - and many are inter-related:
* Lack of proper analysis / surface thinking / black & white thinking / failure to more deeply examine statistics (great examples of this are average wage stats and unemployment stats, which hide things like what was called "the two-speed economy" during the mining boom and things like high over 40s unemployment as well as high youth unemployment).
* Getting consensus on what's an appropriate balance between individuals and groups, given that people tend to lean more towards one or the other. (Can't find the link for that study right now, but it explains why people find it so hard to agree on political issues - their brains are hard-wired to think the complete opposite of other. But we have to understand that and work together, instead of just calling other side idiots.)
* Looking at new programs, technologies, legislation in terms of UNINTENDED consequences as well as intended. Not our usual way of thinking, but an important way to stop blundering into "advances" that turn out to have huge downsides that were never, apparently, considered.
* Similarly, having people within the system (political/financial) whose specific role is to take a long-term (ie 30 years minimum, more like 200 years) overview of everything within the system (we have far too much short-term thinking at the moment).
* A "learning from the best" culture of evidence-based policy, instead of a reluctance to flesh out policy ideas in case they're "stolen"; policy-by-focus-group which leads us up our own garden path (let's ask kids what they want to eat and give it to them, then be surprised when a diet of lollies followed by requests for more lollies doesn't work out well!!!); an end to opposition purely for the sake of opposing, not because there's anything wrong with the idea.
* Reinventing the concept of the "public service" or "civil service" - we have allowed it to be devalued from the inside and out when it's a concept that began thousands of years ago in order to keep society functioning properly. At least (from what I can gather) American people have a culture of saying (even when they don't like the person) "thank you for your service" to their armed forces personnel. Imagine if societies (US, British and Australians, to start with) said that, or even had that attitude, to government employees in general. They may not face death on a daily basis, but many (eg heath and emergency service workers, child welfare workers, investigators, those who work behind the scenes to ensure public health and safety) face difficult and dangerous situations regularly. Yet "the public service" are ridiculed by both the public and the government on a regular basis.
* Empowering everyone to understand and take part in politics including (urgent!) an understanding of political advertising and propaganda. What emotional hot-buttons are being triggered, in place of actual intelligent fact-based debate? How can we better understand and control (minimise) the use of low-fact high-emotion politics? Likewise party politics and why people vote one way or another. There's way too much "because that's how my parents vote"!!!
*Breaking the nexus between lobby groups, $$$ and politics. Ensuring politicians don't all follow a well-worn path from student party politics (Young Libs / Young Labor) and/or working briefly (usually as lawyers) before entering politics. I'd like to make a minimum of 12 months retail/hospitality work! Having said that, they also have to pass some kind of reading and/or intelligence test, since to do their job properly requires the ability to absorb large amounts of information. Also, banning hiring of relatives by politicians, unless approved by 75% or more of their constituents beforehand, and not allowing politicians to work in "conflict of interest" positions (eg board members, consultants, heading up reviews) within AT LEAST 10 years of their departure from politics. And even then they should have to get public approval beforehand. Too many sweetheart deals going on!
* Politician's wages tied to minimum wage and average income (mean average AND median average AND median equivalised disposable income or MEDI) of the entire country. I'd suggest that an amount absolutely no more than 3 x the median wage and/or allowing no more than 2.5 times the MEDI would be appropriate. The other great thing about this would be that everyone would have a better idea of what the actual MEDI is, which would stop people earning 5 times that much thinking that they're "battlers"! Oh, and we should encourage all politicians to make the "totals" figures on their tax returns public.
Well, I have much more to write but no more time right now. Onward and upward....?
Politics / democracy / participation
The finance sector / banking / financial structures
Wages / taxes / loans / social safety nets
Housing
Food
Industry and Manufacturing
Building and Infrastructure
Medical care (physical and mental)
Sport (competitive, professional, amateur, physical activity)
Artistic endeavours (professional, amateur / music, literature, visual arts in particular)
Transport
Agriculture
Animal welfare
Relationships between different cultures (and religions)
- an important specific part of that, the position of Indigenous/First Nations cultures and people
Relationships between other different groups (eg ages, socio-economic brackets, men & women)
Finite Resources (of all kinds - water, minerals, lands, forests, air, oceans) and energy (finite and renewable)
National and international relations (including trade, defence, foreign aid, diplomacy, global matters)
Science and research
Skills development
Planning for the future
Within that, there are some other things I think are missing or problematic in the way we currently operate - and many are inter-related:
* Lack of proper analysis / surface thinking / black & white thinking / failure to more deeply examine statistics (great examples of this are average wage stats and unemployment stats, which hide things like what was called "the two-speed economy" during the mining boom and things like high over 40s unemployment as well as high youth unemployment).
* Getting consensus on what's an appropriate balance between individuals and groups, given that people tend to lean more towards one or the other. (Can't find the link for that study right now, but it explains why people find it so hard to agree on political issues - their brains are hard-wired to think the complete opposite of other. But we have to understand that and work together, instead of just calling other side idiots.)
* Looking at new programs, technologies, legislation in terms of UNINTENDED consequences as well as intended. Not our usual way of thinking, but an important way to stop blundering into "advances" that turn out to have huge downsides that were never, apparently, considered.
* Similarly, having people within the system (political/financial) whose specific role is to take a long-term (ie 30 years minimum, more like 200 years) overview of everything within the system (we have far too much short-term thinking at the moment).
* A "learning from the best" culture of evidence-based policy, instead of a reluctance to flesh out policy ideas in case they're "stolen"; policy-by-focus-group which leads us up our own garden path (let's ask kids what they want to eat and give it to them, then be surprised when a diet of lollies followed by requests for more lollies doesn't work out well!!!); an end to opposition purely for the sake of opposing, not because there's anything wrong with the idea.
* Reinventing the concept of the "public service" or "civil service" - we have allowed it to be devalued from the inside and out when it's a concept that began thousands of years ago in order to keep society functioning properly. At least (from what I can gather) American people have a culture of saying (even when they don't like the person) "thank you for your service" to their armed forces personnel. Imagine if societies (US, British and Australians, to start with) said that, or even had that attitude, to government employees in general. They may not face death on a daily basis, but many (eg heath and emergency service workers, child welfare workers, investigators, those who work behind the scenes to ensure public health and safety) face difficult and dangerous situations regularly. Yet "the public service" are ridiculed by both the public and the government on a regular basis.
* Empowering everyone to understand and take part in politics including (urgent!) an understanding of political advertising and propaganda. What emotional hot-buttons are being triggered, in place of actual intelligent fact-based debate? How can we better understand and control (minimise) the use of low-fact high-emotion politics? Likewise party politics and why people vote one way or another. There's way too much "because that's how my parents vote"!!!
*Breaking the nexus between lobby groups, $$$ and politics. Ensuring politicians don't all follow a well-worn path from student party politics (Young Libs / Young Labor) and/or working briefly (usually as lawyers) before entering politics. I'd like to make a minimum of 12 months retail/hospitality work! Having said that, they also have to pass some kind of reading and/or intelligence test, since to do their job properly requires the ability to absorb large amounts of information. Also, banning hiring of relatives by politicians, unless approved by 75% or more of their constituents beforehand, and not allowing politicians to work in "conflict of interest" positions (eg board members, consultants, heading up reviews) within AT LEAST 10 years of their departure from politics. And even then they should have to get public approval beforehand. Too many sweetheart deals going on!
* Politician's wages tied to minimum wage and average income (mean average AND median average AND median equivalised disposable income or MEDI) of the entire country. I'd suggest that an amount absolutely no more than 3 x the median wage and/or allowing no more than 2.5 times the MEDI would be appropriate. The other great thing about this would be that everyone would have a better idea of what the actual MEDI is, which would stop people earning 5 times that much thinking that they're "battlers"! Oh, and we should encourage all politicians to make the "totals" figures on their tax returns public.
Well, I have much more to write but no more time right now. Onward and upward....?