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Lessons for our Age
Decadence and Indulgence are the portraits of Illusion and Delusion, the Sure Signs of the Moral and Spiritual Decay
Photo via The Telegraph
‘£120,000 bottle of Chateau Margaux, £3,000 Wagyu steak, £13,500 for New Year’s Dinner, £5,000 glass of 1811 Napoleon Grande Reserve cognac, £1000 burgers, £1800 Wagyu ribeye steak, £1,700 diamond-studded sushi, £600 cupcakes, £325 cup of Sumatran coffee brewed from berries excreted by a weasel-like creature called a civet, truffles for £2000 per kilo, £2000 Michelin-starred in-flight meals at 30,000feet, while drinking £15,000 bottles of 1990 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti : all for the 1%, whilst billions of people live in abject poverty on less than $2 a day.’- The Telegraph, 18 May 2015 (N.B. The prices above are 11 years old. God only knows how much they are now!)
This is the age of the Pleasure Paradox, where places are saturated with luxury but completely drained of meaning, when there are moments of instant gratification, followed by periods of long-lasting sadness and guilt. In short, a world that has achieved ultimate material wealth, comfort, and indulgence, yet suffers from absolute emotional and spiritual emptiness.
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How do I know this? You might ask.
The answer, simply put, is: Because I too, rebelled against the ‘hustle culture’ and neoliberalism nearly 30 years ago. I hope that Gen Z gets a better and more sympathetic hearing than I did.
Gen Z discards the hustle culture of millennials. They value balance and time. A lesson for all of us.
Nota bene
At a time when youths everywhere are under constant attack by the neoliberal politicians and right-wing media—humiliating and belittling them by calling them lazy, idle, hoodies, benefit scroungers,“parasites” and “cockroaches,” to name but a few— Gen Z, has put all these no good-doers in shame with their moral and spiritual calling, challenging the neoliberalisation of everything, our way of life, and our humanity.
To my mind, there is an urgency that Gen Z should get a good hearing to their call for a better world. They must be helped and supported to succeed.
It is my firm belief that we, the older generation, and Gen Z, together in dialogue and action, can, and will become the joint architects of this new world we are all yearning for.
“Why can’t they listen to them? We need to build their hope, not crush their spirit.”-Shabana Azmi, Indian actress and activist, supporting the ‘cockroaches’ rebellion.
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Will he make taxation fairer and more efficient and just by introducing a single tax?
N.B. I have posted this writeup as a response to an inspiring article about an open letter by a number of senior economists to Andy Burnham pleading with him that upon becoming prime minister he should aim to make taxation in Britain fairer, more efficient and just. They are calling for a single levy to replace six key taxes to raise money for public services and to encourage a more inclusive economic growth, to “unlock the gridlock that plagues the country”.
In short, the main aim of this writeup is firstly to highlight the important points raised in the said open letter. Then, to offer a time-honoured possible alternative available to the new prime minister by recalling a few gems on this subject from our GCGI. INFO archive.
Tax, tax and more taxes! Taxes on everything. Taxes even on living and dying! So many taxes that are even driving the sane to madness!
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