21 March

I was 1 when humans landed on the moon. The thing that interests me much more about it now is how society has changed, since then. Look at the pictures of that day in 1969, people gathered around the handful of TV sets available, even in shop windows, to watch the moon landing. Society was collectively transfixed by the magnitude of what was being done, I think we’ve completely forgotten just how exciting and unprecedented it felt. Fast-forward to today. What major social projects excite us in this way? I can’t think of any. 70 years of replacing that whole idea of society aiming for collectively amazing things, with an ‘economy’, has broken it. Now we’re focused on ‘living our best (individual) lives’. And building our jobs and careers, again all individually-focused, inside that bloody economy. Middle-aged people, who should be leading the projects that excite humanity, are still obsessed with their favourite bands, and gigs, like teenagers. Imagine again the ‘moonshots’ we could aim for. Free energy, clean air and water for everybody, a 4-day (or even less) working week, beautifying our towns and cities, amazing schools and hospitals, etc. None of that is allowed, by the economy and its dreary budgets. It says it’s interested in those things, but it’s spin, all of them have gone backwards at rapid pace, in the past 70 years.