Larry's Lunchette

Dear members and friends,

The tribe I was born into ran chip shops and cafes – unquestioningly capitalist; but in both my mum and dad’s families were individuals who believed more in the social teaching of Christianity than in capitalism – which gave me an alternative lens. From early in my working life – the glaring injustices of capitalism jarred; that while it generates extravagant wealth for some – it tolerates widespread poverty and inequality. But even at neoliberalism’s worst, I never felt comfortable calling myself a ‘socialist’: the meaning is too vague/variable: its advocates too strident: early Catholic indoctrination left me with an aversion to any ‘closed’ belief system. Always pondering how a post-capitalist society might work, I found a helpful book: “How to be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21^st Century” by Erik Olin Wright.

The essence of Wright’s socialism is democracy – so he quickly excludes ‘revolution’: ‘rupture’ is too risky – never democratic. His vision is of a gradual transition – a two-pronged plan: from above, a social democratic Govt (Corbyn?) will ‘tame’ capitalism by building counteracting institutions; from below, the challenge will come from the system we know as the social economy – the cultivation of democratic structures of social ownership. The specific contours of post-capitalist society, he says, must emerge from democratic experimentalism. This book acknowledges what I have always believed – that small, fragile community enterprises (thousands in Scotland alone) are the frontline of a new social/economic order – improving the conditions for human flourishing. Guardian review or read online.

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I wouldn’t take it from many people, but I’ll take it from Karyn McCluskey – the candid assertion that the true cause of Scotland’s record drug deaths is us – the public; who have long regarded those who struggle with addiction as weak, scrounging, undeserving. The most significant achievement of the Violence Reduction Unit (which Karyn led) was to change public attitudes; to adopt a public health approach; treating violence as a disease, analysing its root causes. We dismiss fellow citizens as junkies and skagheads, she says, yet shake our heads in disbelief at the number of their deaths. Opposing moral universes.

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Scotland benefits greatly from the investigative journalism of The Ferret; one of its current projects names twenty politicians/advisers/civil servants who now work for professional lobbyists. There is an obvious danger of ‘abuse’ if people in power use their position/contacts for personal advancement outside.

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Scotland’s prison population grew over the past year by 709 – the equivalent of an additional (non-existent) large prison – so we see all the ills of overcrowding. There are hopeful signs that the political environment in Scotland (more than England) is moving towards community justice. Good piece in Commonspace.

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A reading last year of Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’ gave me some small understanding of the abomination that was slavery. Scotland is largely in denial, that much of our industrial wealth, sugar, cotton, tobacco etc was generated by African slaves. Glasgow University recently became the first UK institution to offer acknowledgement and reparation; will others follow?

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Scotland’s football humiliations by both Russia and Belgium caused little surprise – diminishing interest: the ‘Tartan Army’ visibly dissolves. In my lifetime, the ownership of our football has passed from community-based institutions – through pay TV – to a multi-billion-pound global business: another part of ‘the commons’ degraded by capitalism. Some Gerry Hassan reflections.

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Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) the Czech statesman, writer and philosopher, gave us one of my all-time favourite quotes – about the nature of hope.

‘Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul, and it’s not dependent on some observation of the world. Hope is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons. Hope in this deep and powerful sense, is an ability to work for something because it is good; not the conviction that it will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. It is Hope, above all, which gives the strength to live and continually try new things.’

Last Friday, saw the Glasgow SE Summit round off Social Enterprise Week in the city with the launch of the Glasgow SE Action Plan. The Action Plan has sought to mirror the national Action Plan format to ensure there is a natural alignment and consistency in approach between national and local Strategies and Action Plans. The three key priorities are similar – supported by 15 ‘actions’. The implementation of the Action Plan will be overseen by the SE Board – a partnership between the Council and the sector – and with strong representation on the Board, the Glasgow Action Plan will be truly led by frontline organisations. Last week also saw the Angus SE Strategy officially signed off by Angus Community Planning Partnership. The Angus SE Strategy is a partnership between the Local Authority, Voluntary Action Angus, Angus SEN, Angus Business Connects and local SEs. Again, they use the three key priorities of the National SE Strategy – and also the SE Code as its benchmark. There are now eight SE Strategies in local authority areas across Scotland.

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