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PART ONE

INTRODUCTION

September 11, 2001 was an event that will leave a lasting impression on not only the United States, but also the rest of the world. It is an event that was isolated geographically, and on one level, affected only those directly affected by the aftermath, but in reality, it will have changed the world and all our values forever.

The Twin Towers were the home of the third economic centre in the first world economy, New York being a significant financial centre, globally, along with Tokyo and London. The economic power of western culture was effectively held in the hands of a very few individuals. At the press of a button, and with the advance of technology and computers, a very small number of individuals have been able to move money around and make decisions for the rest of us.

With the Twin Towers disappearing in a day, this has had a lasting and profound affect on people, not just in the United States, but all over the world. A subtle, but very significant affect. The destruction of the Twin Towers altered the dynamics of global economy. In an effort to maintain a sense of control over how money is managed, both globally and individually, there are now all sorts of procedures, some of them complex, paperwork and identification required for some of the simplest tasks.

The concept of living in a village, town or city, and having a relationship with your local bank or bank manager, no longer exists. We have lost, as a result of the concept of `global economy', the human touch. The local corner bank is no longer somewhere you go to exchange the time of day, or simply deposit your week's wages. The local bank has become part of a worldwide institution.

What lessons have we learnt, individually and globally since the event took place in New York on September 11th 2001, as we mark the passing of its forth anniversary ....?
We appear to have become a culture steeped in fear, one which has become over-exaggerated in terms of security measures on every level, the CCTV camera, hidden holographic symbols on driving licences; a passport required for some of the simplest transactions; lengthy waits at airports and seaports; convoluted measures when using a credit card and so on ... This increasing fear based approach to life appears to have created a culture of suspicion and distrust.

The Twin Towers and their demise marked the beginning of the slowdown and fragmentation of `corporate culture' as we have known it, a culture that evolved through the 70s, 80s and 90s. The idea was that to be powerful, rich and successful, one had to buy into this culture. We have created the reality we are now living in, a fragmented secular society, driven by money, making more money, greed and material wealth. We are measured by the size and type of car we drive, the size of house we live in, the amount of possessions we own, and so on .... We are in emotional, physical and spiritual deficit, out of touch with the natural world around us and with each other.

This book is an attempt to look at the social changes we are undergoing at present and the transition we are experiencing between the `old order' of the 20th century and the `new order' of the 21st century. What could the new order look like ...?

PART ONE

THE ECONOMY

It is 2005 and Britain appears to be in a state of economic collapse. There are headlines about the economy spiralling out of control. Millions of pounds in consumer retail debt, as a result of buying on the never-never, hyperinflation within the housing market, making it impossible for the majority of people to either sustain mortgage repayments, or even think of buying a property in the first place. At worst, lenders have been known to advise, unofficially, buyers to declare in some cases, up to six times their income. There will be a significant number of people, at this time who are so over-extended on credit, that they could well be in a situation, particularly if they lose their jobs, of finding it difficult to repay their debts.
Hyperinflation and chronic recession, in Germany, were the catalyst for triggering the Second World War. History is so often reinvented to suit the guilty. Could it be that Hitler has gone down in history as a scapegoat for the death of ultimately 50 million people worldwide, when in reality, he had the cooperation and support of virtually a whole nation?
In addition the Jews in Germany were made the scapegoat, as a result of their perceived wealth and economic success, for the entire collapse of the nation's economy, at best an impossibility.
Does history have to repeat itself ...? The ideas in this book are an attempt to put forward an alternative way forward, an alternative way of living, materially, physically and spiritually.
Because there seems to be a similar pattern to the events preceding the outbreak of war in 1939, I would like to take a snapshot of history, dating from 1945. I don't think the reader needs yet another textbook on the Second World War! The theory behind examining events from 1945 is to give the reader an overview of Europe and her development, socially, politically, economically and spiritually, since that time.
The summer of 1945 was pivotal for Berlin and the rest of the world. This year marked the end of one of the most appalling six year periods in modern history. The city was in a state of utter collapse on every level. The Nazi's concept of the Utopian world had resulted in the most macabre, malevolent, misguided sequence of events that had left much of the world in tatters. It had all gone horribly wrong.
The difference between how Berlin looked in 1945 and the 2005 could not be more contrasting. From a dark, desperate ruined city, it has now been completely rebuilt and today you will find yourself in a very sophisticated European city with every kind of luxury, consumer item available.
Following the end of the war in 1945, Western and Eastern Europe were being pulled in two directions, by either the influence of the United States or the Soviet Union.
Today, in 2005, as a result of a pro-homogenous desire for Europe, we appear to have a more United States of European countries. Similar in many ways as a result of the 21st century technology, i.e. the computer, mobile phone, international travel, agricultural exchange and trade, and the introduction of the common currency, but differing, in that Vienna is in complete contrast to Paris or Seville. Even with a cross-cultural migration over the last 50 years, you know immediately which country you are visiting, by the local architecture, art, smells of food, and of course the language being spoken.
In the immediate years following 1945, there were all sorts of changes occurring; the impact of the loss of life, migration of people, the rebuilding of cities and political realignment of continental Europe. Depending which country you were living in, be it on the Eastern side or Western, economies were being regenerated, some much faster than others.
A significant turning point for Europe and the world was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a monumental event symbolically and physically; an event in European history, where East would begin to meet West - merging of diverse cultures and political ideologies.
With communications being developed at a tremendously fast pace, American globalisation was to make a significant impression on European culture, whether we liked it or not! Mcdonalds and Coca-Cola have even infiltrated the Eastern bloc!
In the years following the end of the Second World War, the nature of how communities were structured altered. Europe became less rural and people moved towards the urban areas. People wanted to improve their living conditions and it was felt that an urban environment might be able to offer them such an opportunity.
With financial aid from the United States, Western Europe was rebuilding its infrastructure and taking its lead from the American consumer model. Such deprivation, from a world that was at war for six years, was all the fuel required to encourage that desire for the Hoover vacuum, the fridge, washing machine and television. It wasn't just the Hoover people wanted, the desire for more stretched to music, fashion, literature and films. Mass consumerism became a very pervasive but powerful aspect of peoples' lives.
Within Europe, the pace at which this developed, as an integral part of people's lives, was different for each of the European countries undergoing post-war changes. Western Europe appeared to adopt it much more quickly than any of the other regions to the North, South or Eastern bloc.
Consumerism soon produced a new set of problems; an increase of personal debt as a result of buying on the 'never-never', i.e. the credit card, and prolific production of all sorts of goods people felt they had to have. This also created a problem of having too much and so what happened to the redundant items?
This brought into question the whole issue of landfill sites, materials, which do not decompose, are not biodegradable, and their effect on our planet and future generations.
Mass consumerism also created a less individual culture, in respect of goods being produced by different countries, being exported to their neighbours, and so being made available to a whole cross-section of society and meeting the most common denominator. This also had the effect of breaking down the class structure: the lower and upper classes coming ever closer to one another, to meet in the middle. Mass consumerism produced cars, fashion, music, cosmetics, food and wine which would become available to everyone, through the concept of the hypermarket, supermarket, wholesale outlets and factory shops. So an Italian could buy a Paul Smith suit, at cut-price, at an outlet specifically built for this purpose.
The power and desire for individuality was fast being eroded, by globalisation.
With the breakdown of the more localized economic structures, the infrastructure became more centralized. In other words, the governments in both West and Eastern Europe, and food producers, in particular, became much more powerful in making decisions for the rest of us. In a bid for profit margin, the way food was produced, preserved and transported became conveyor-belt like in its quality. We now in 2005, appear to have started to see that food produced in this way, has probably had a very detrimental effect on our longer-term health.
With the growth of government agencies and the development of policies, rules and regulations, have `E' numbers actually served us in any way that is beneficial to our overall health?
The other downside of mass consumerism, and the increasing power of central government and its agencies, was that the intelligentsia, i.e. the journalists, writers, philosophers and the autonomous critics of the political and economic arena, were at risk of having their `voice' diminished.
Mass consumerism also appears to have produced a culture of `the haves and have nots.' It is very insidious, but it would seem the rapid level of rising crime, particularly in urban areas, at this time in 2005, has arisen out of the \"I want it and I want it now\" attitude, regardless of the fact there isn't the money to pay for it.
Mass-market advertising and marketing have not helped: including corporate driven campaigns, an advertising campaign developed in the UK, and then translated into innumerable foreign European languages to `appeal to a wider audience.'
This has only encouraged ever more people, from all walks of life, to buy into the idea that they really do need that very expensive, brand new, fully fitted kitchen, this month, and can pay for it later.
In London, in particular, it is now possible to walk the pavements or drive through the streets and see the end result of such a culture. The shops are brimming with goods in the majority of cases made and imported from Third World countries. The price tag on the items will have had to accommodate a whole chain of people and events, starting with the person making the items, to quality control, and to packaging, warehousing, transporting, advertising and marketing. In some cases this item will have travelled halfway around the world.
The question that arises is what effect does this have on a local economy, individuals, countries, cultures and last but not least importantly, the environment, in terms of the volume of articulated lorries on the roads, traffic congestion and pollution.
In the name of profit margin, it is interesting to note the enormous vehicles on the roads, not just the motorways, but in the towns and cities as well, with details along the side about a cat litter supplier! If one starts to consider a little more carefully the law of economics we have created, it almost looks bizarre!
In conclusion, we could take the demise of Atlantean civilization as an analogy to our present 21 St century, first world culture. Whilst Atlantis is considered to be a myth, it has been recorded as a civilization that was submerged by the ocean, the Atlantic. It had evolved to such a degree that it had become a culture of greed, arrogance and aggression. It might be considered that these attributes are reflected in the society we are living in today.
In this Western, first world culture, we have arrived at a crossroads, we have a choice, at this time, to alter the course of history. What might the new order for our society look like ....?

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