By Tony Weekes on April 13, 2010

Tags: climate

… with a temperate climate; occasional storms and flooding, cold winters, periods of drought – but nothing really devastating.  There is the capability to grow crops which provide food and fuel.

There is a small disaffected minority, but generally people are prepared to contribute to the common good.  There is a diversity of skills and standards are generally high. There is a rich tradition of invention and problem solving. Large numbers of young people pass through the third level of education … and there are opportunities for late starters to do the same.

There is work to be done. Urban areas to be redeveloped; rural areas to be regenerated; the needs of a ‘new economy’ to be met, an economy which meets the problems which have been identified and which lie in the not-too-distant future. The work requires many different kinds of abilities, ambitions and inclinations: “doers”, organisers, planners, teachers and thinkers; people with creative skills; those with skills to care for children and people with special needs … and so on.

A visitor – from another planet – comes to observe what the people of this land call ‘their economy’.  Pretty soon, she observes a strange mismatch.  The people are not doing this work.  Their leaders wring their hands with regret; the term used is ‘unemployment’.

She asks her hosts why this mismatch is allowed, and is told “There is a recession; we haven’t got the money!”.  She has seen ‘money’ – it seems to be bits of paper with serial numbers and a portrait of the king.  There’s other kinds, she is told – most is, in fact, in the form of electronic records in what people call ‘banks’.

After struggling for a while to understand why the mismatch persists, she decides that these people must be crazy; time to go home …

 This place sounds familiar … but I can’t think why.