And so this is Christmas?

Donella Meadows, a famous systems thinker, pointed out that:

… the new world trade system was explained to me. It is a system with rules designed by corporations, run by corporations, for the benefit of corporations. Its rules exclude almost any feedback from any other sector of society. Most of its meetings are closed even to the press (no information flow, no feedback). It forces nations into positive loops "racing to the bottom," competing with each other to weaken environmental and social safeguards in order to attract investment and trade. It's a recipe for unleashing "success to the successful" loops, until they generate enormous accumulations of power and huge centralized planning systems that will destroy themselves…

If we look around us, isn't that synopsis accurate?

We're full of self congratulation about our escape from the global financial crisis, but have we really sailed through? Have our governments and the "big four" banks made a full and frank disclosure of their contingent liabilities? All of them, I mean, including those flowing from off balance sheet transactions? Disclosing their full exposure in the derivatives market isn't a bad place for them to start, and that certainly isn't where the confessions should stop.

All in all it's hard to be much impressed by what we've done in 2010, and by what we haven't. Perhaps if society at all levels heeds what Lennon said - "Let's stop all the fight" - we'll be able to look forward to 2011 and "… hope it's a good one, Without any fear".