Competition has a lot to answer for

Meanwhile armed forces health services back in US have deteriorated to the extent even the famous Walter Reed military hospital was found to be “infested with mould and vermin … suffering from shortage of staff and basic hygiene”.

In a recent interview on SBS Dateline about her new book The End of America Naomi Wolf equated Bush with Adolf Hitler.

The Australian government would be well advised to steer clear of the US, at least until a new president is installed. Already, most of the war weapons in the world are made in US, including some of the most lethal, like cluster-bombs and landmines which blow children apart years after conflict.

This warfare is the ultimate competition.

Perhaps in Australia we fear if we don’t have vigorous economic competition we will “all be rooned” and slip into nationalisation and regimentation. There are other alternatives. One is the mixed economy seen after World War II in Britain which combined private industry, appropriately nationalised industry, and considerable investment in public education, health, and housing services.

Another is the co-operative system, seen, for example in the Mondragon international industrial complex in Spain and the Semco manufacturing conglomerate in Brazil, where duties and rewards are shared according to agreed systems.

One of the most extreme forms of privatised exploitation is the world-wide trafficking of young women into the sex industry, in which Australia plays its part.

Then there are increasingly commercial pressures in sport. “It’s not cricket” used to mean “It isn’t fair”. That’s gone now. Sledging in international cricket is a cowardly underhand attempt to win outside the rules of the game. Soccer is now as much about elbowing, holding shirts and other illegal moves as it is about ball-playing skills. Healthy competition morphs into thuggery and cheating. Is it because the commercial ethic of winning at all costs now pervades the sports field? And is that because sport is as much about becoming millionaires as about health, fitness, fair play? Is the whole of life, even pleasure, now aimed at making money?

Why does Kevin Rudd always talk about “working families” when this excludes those who don’t work, for whatever reason, and those who live alone?

Politicians are wont to glorify past wars, throwing out their chests and trying to sound personally tough, as if war is a boxing match. Service personnel often show great courage, but it is a pity they are called on to do so, and it is commonly the innocent, including children, who suffer most. Politicians should not pretend they are soldiers, but spend their energies preventing further conflicts, achieving peace, and considering the many problems it is possible to cure with the dollars spent on destruction.

One of the most impressive speeches by a national leader in recent years was in 2005 by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. He did not boast about the bravery of German soldiers in various wars but lamented his countrymen’s support for Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and 1940s and that they did not do more to oppose him. In other words there is nothing sacred or perfect about national history, past wars, former leaders. Honesty is more valuable than spin.

In the media we have frequent finance reports for the well-heeled but very few of interest to pensioners and others on low incomes. Does this reflect that most broadcasters are themselves on good incomes and financial struggle does not currently impinge on them? We should also have regular reports on homeless people in different communities, the waiting period on the public housing list, what applicants need to do to climb the ladder, how to survive on a low income, about new regulations from the Department of Social Security or Housing.

Advertisers should also lift their game. Authorities tell us the major health threat in this country is obesity in youngsters. Getting fat shortens life. A major cause is fast food. But who advertise fast food on television? Cricket heroes. Someone should take them on one side and inform them of the damage they are doing to youngsters.

The 2020 summit participants have an unusual opportunity to bring about significant changes in this lucky country. I encourage them to be brave, really brave.