Some reflections on turning 40

Joining the ranks of the over forties, a category associated with increased precariousness and risk, is a good occasion to reflect on how I seek to define myself as far as possible according to the values I cherish most. For the greatest freedom we have is that of shaping own ourselves and one of the arts which we should all aspire to master is  "the care of of the self".  Here are some of the things I aspire to as I get older.

1.      Intellectual honesty which means always speaking truth (which is always subjective) to power and to keep a healthy distance from the dominant economic and political powers while always be ready to engage intellectually with anyone decent and never to look down on anyone.  It is only detachment which gives the necessary perspective for lucid analysis but one should be wary of being self righteous.  The dissident intellectual denounces what he tries to understand not what he simply dismisses or shuns. 

2.      Ageing gracefully i.e. embracing the prospect of becoming more sober and tranquil as one gets older and to value silence and just listen to it without attempting to hear anything in particular. The opposite of ageing gracefully is to resist the flow of time and to seek to lose oneself in the noise. Ageing gracefully is also about continuing to grow up with the people close to you and nurturing friendships.

3.      Upholding a dignified punk ethic   i.e. to be politely and intelligently irreverent, never rude or dismissive towards anyone but to practice the art of  refusal when confronted by demands from those who wield economic or political power.  Its not a question of contempt but a choice one makes in order to be free and happy within. While compromises are unavoidable to achieve pragmatic goals these should be out in the open.

4.      Upholding a Christian humanist perspective, reconciling with what essentially remains a revolutionary theology whose ultimate logical consequence is the withering away of the God of Power so that the "meek (represented by the humble son) shall inherit the earth" (the incarnation).  A religion which gives value to apostolic poverty is in itself revolutionary especially in the context capitalist globalism where even citizenship is sold while migrants are viewed as a disposable source of cheap labour.  While fundamentally secular in my beliefs, I have grown to give greater value to religion as an ethical system which can make the world a happier and fairer place to live. I therefore have no qualms defining myself as Christian albeit an agnostic one.  Living a good life is an end in itself even if the definition of good has been corrupted by an obsession on sex by most religions.  The more time passes the more I am convinced that an eco-socialist alternative needs to be upheld by an ethical system of values which can be partly found in radical Christian thinking and liberation theologies as well as in other religious/spiritual traditions.

 

5.      To reclaim time and to challenge discourse which glorifies hard work  and which commodifies what is left after paid work.  The greatest violence committed against the working classes  is that of robbing them  from time and the ability to control their limited time on earth in ways they can enjoy.   Instead of celebrating 'hard work' we should be encouraging people to reclaim more time for their own well being and that of others.  In short idleness is to be praised, work  enjoyed and toil avoided like the plague.  I would also like to propose the idea that the more people enjoy their life the more lucid and dignified they are during their hours of work. Ultimately the desirability of endless economic growth for its own sake  is to be questioned (especially in view of the ecological crisis) but even from a growth  perspective i contend that the less people work the more productive they are.

6.      To be able to see the bigger picture  and to defend the forts of a system one dislikes when it is attacked by the hordes (racists, bigots, fascists, crony capitalists, prophets of profit, speculators, regimes in the making, aspiring Bonapartes and Berlusconis etc etc).  That is why  in the face of the risks posed by authoritarian democrats and right wing populists political and social alliances have to be variable even if counter hegemonic blocks have to be build on shared values.

7.  The more time passes the more I attach importance to the aesthetics of power.  It is in the way power manifests itself and animates its supporters that one can smell the first signs of a  regime whose main aim is not hegemony for social reform but hegemony aimed for its own perpetuation.  The greater the personalisation of power the greater the risks of political regression from old boring but precious democratic wrangling to the authoritarian democracy which ultimately could lead to kleptocracy. Being sensitive to these questions distinguishes liberals from sheer secularists, a distinction which is not made in the local context.

8. Not to mind being dubbed a conservative when defending public ownership of strategic areas like energy and in defending the post war european social model  against neo liberal detractors.  Public ownership and the  welfare state may be sometimes inefficient and may be badly in need of reform but like democracy are worth defending in principle.

9.      To stop trying to control things which are beyond control.  Sometimes one has to recognize that you can only change things up to a certain extent while other things remain outside our control.  Changing that part which is in our control is the first step. The second is to join others in seeking to bring more areas in life under democratic control.  Here comes the value of solidarity and struggle.  But there will always be things which are beyond our control both on a personal and collective level.  In fact expecting miracles outside the realms of the possible often leads to the worse perversions.

10.      To seek happiness as an end in itself and feel it by living those moments of joy with those you love most for the longest time possible. 

too old too young

I am on the threshold of maturity...in 2 years I will join the over 40s (those who are too young to slow down but too old to keep the pace)...I should feel lucky having lived in an epoch were history changes by the hour, where technology is changing our biology and mental processing, where stasis can only be found within.  Still it is also a time marked by great risks; environmental, economic and personal.  Over the past half decade we have lived through the worst economic depression since the great depression in a country where people are so inward looking that they still have not grasped the fact that this is permanent and the only way forward is sustainability in all spheres: environmentally, economically and even within our little lives.  It is time to rediscover the revolutionary potentials of austerity rather than delude ourselves with promises of plenty and growth which can only deplete further what is left of our physical and spiritual environment.  We live in a brave new world were demogogues with effective soundbites can defy the physical reality promising things which can only exist in discourcive spheres.  And we all remain our fragile selves amidst all this change, vulnerable to mental illness and depression and fear of not coping in a changing landscape.  Even worse could be the reaction of those who are not able to understand, the gullible who consume illusions, many of which were excluded from what remains an unequal society.  Governing the fast process of change to make it sustainable and ensure that its benefits are shared in an inclusive way is the basic political issue of this century.  Ultimately we must realise that the whole aim of growth is happinness and that the way of austerity can get us there faster than the way of wasteful consumption.  In these times of Christmas-a Christian feast rooted in pagan rituals, which still fills a secularist like me with inward joy, my thoughts go for all those passing through mental illness or depressions, those feeling that unhappiness cannot be overcome, those whose life dreams have been foiled by whatever circumstance, whether legal, healthwise, economic or personal...Surely unhappiness will always be part of life but even at a personal level there can be ways of taking care of ourselves (sometimes with the help of others and even professionals) which unfortunately are not thought in schools.  Providing mental health services at community level while equipping people with the skills to cope with change and risks, inevitable in liquid modernity where even our intimate worlds are changing, should be one of the priorities of progressive social policy. 

a new habitat?

Technology has changed human relations perhaps beyond our current understanding. It has made us more open to chance and risk amplifying the feeling that life is a complex web of random coincidences. Just as it offers the prospect of opportunities which can bring personal happiness, it can also be a minefield of surprises, loneliness and delusions. The existence of a parallel communication space where reality and fantasy blur is in itself a radical notion, one may go as far as describing it as a new habitat for an anthropologically changed species.
This makes the task of understanding the human situation a more urgent endeavour. Making sense of the fact that we live in a very random place where anything can literally happen from one day to the next is constant threat to the yearning for stability and tranquillity. Yet the fact that experience changes humans constantly has been recognised by philosophers since the time of Heractlitus who professed the words which inspire this blog: No one can step on the same river twice, for its neither the same river nor the same man. Still it does not help to simply recognise the state of fact of our existence. Building meaningful human relations in this chaos where everything is open to chance is important. Resisting the dangers posed by a rejectionism of the losers asserted either by romantic notions of the past or even worse by those taking refuge in patriarchy, race or nation, is another task for the critical thinker. Recognising new human bonds which are already forming, but do not necessarily replace but can compliment more treasured traditional roles, is another way of understanding. But ultimately the focus of critical thought should also be the question of happiness; how to create a new art of the self which makes us strong, happy and considerate towards others in a risky environment.

reflections of a christian agnostic

Although am agnostic I enjoy celebrating Christmas not just for hedonism's sake (I like that bit too especially the eating part) but also as a 'religious' feast.
I think non Catholics can still feel at ease celebrating the birth of a historical figure who preached universal love and intellectual honesty, someone who spoke his truth to power gently but firmly.
Over the past years I came to the conclusion that Christian humanism can easily co-exist with the values of the enlightenment.
On the other hand I came to discover that rabid anti clericalism can easily co-exist with xenophobic, extreme right and the most irrational viewpoints.
So does religious fundamentalism and traditionalism which can turn the cross in to a banner of cultural exclusion.
Not surprisingly while I disagreed with Bishop Mario Grech on divorce, I admired his equally principled stance against the government's detention policy.
During the first part of the year I actively campaigned through my writing for the introduction of divorce, something which I consider to be a vital step in a clear separation of church and state.
In many ways the introduction of divorce was a blessing for the Catholic church as its rejection may well have triggered a resentment of a gross imposition.
In many ways divorce was introduced thanks to good Catholics who not only made a distinction between church and state but who felt solidarity towards people who were being denied a second chance. The same reasoning may one day lead to an acceptance of gay marriage and granting citizenship to the children of migrants.
In fact what both secular and Christian humanism share is a world view in which what counts for the goose counts for the gander, human dignity should be respected in all circumstances.
Obviously there are also issues like abortion or euthanasia where such convergence is more difficult but at least the emphasis on human dignity makes rational debate possible in a way which excludes both eugenics and zygote fetishists.
But there is much room for convergence on protecting the dignity of future generations from short term policies in both fiscal and environmental field, particularly when it comes to climate change policies.
Another thing which runs deep in both traditions since the time of Erasmus and Spinoza is a sense of introspective moderation and sobriety.
In today's world where the politics of anger characterize populist movements like the 'tea party' in the US and 'lega nord' in Italy, one should heed the distinction made by Vaclav Havel, between theater and politics.
"In a theater, our consciences are touched, but responsibility ends when the curtain falls. The theater of politics makes permanent demands on us all, as dramatists, actors and audience - on our common sense, our moderation, our responsibility, our good taste and our conscience".

London calling?

The riots in London and other UK cities have given rise to at least two contradictory narratives.
According to one narrative this is purely a law and order problem, where a bunch of thugs are terrorizing their own communities. The fact that their only motivation was to loot upmarket consumer goods is presented as proof that the young rioters are simply trying to steal what they cannot buy.
According to another narrative the riots are a symptom of a social injustice and poverty aggravated by Tory cuts and follows the traditional account of riots as an expression of class warfare in deeply unequal societies triggered by police brutality.
I find both accounts simplistic which ignore another aspect; some rioters could be simply taking what they perceive as their fair share of the consumer bounty.
Some could be doing it for the thrill of feeling in control and they do this without any ideological discipline or solidarity with others like them. In this sense the revolt is post racial and post socialist as it does not seek a redistribution of goods but simply provides an occasion for mayhem and private appropriation of goods.
The rioters simply used the indignation against a police blunder to grab an opportunity to loot.
Relative poverty is surely one of the factors leading people to loot but the link with tuition fees is tenuous considering that university was always out of reach for most of these people. But still snobbing the rioters for looting handbags instead of food stores ignores the fact that yearning for these goods is an integral part of the fabric of capitalist societies. And lets admit it; the bounty of goods (despite its ecological problems) is one of the most appealing aspects of life in capitalist societies.
And surely one of the most appealing aspects of late capitalism is the widespread availability of tools of communications. Media commentators damning twitter and blackberry for fanning the flames of revolt exposes an inherent classism. Surely inciting violence through any means is bad but underlying some of the commentaries is a sense of revulsion at the fact that balckberries are being used by wretched youth. Is it this such a scandal that these people are participating (in their own misguided ways) in what has been loaded as a revolution in communication?
Ultimately the thugs will not gain any sympathy even within their communities. They may well strengthen calls for draconian law and order thus reversing the few liberal gains in the past year. But probably the rioters do not care about this. For a few die hards more repression will give more opportunities to riot. Most will simply return to their dreary normal lives after the carnival ends. What we are seeing is a celebration of gangsterism in place of community solidarity.
The silver lining of all this could be a realisation that a degree of social cohesion and inclusion is necessary not just for the well being of those living at the fringes but also for the majority which for the past decade felt insulated from what happened in the ghettos.
When people wake up to this realisation they might be more willing to understand the value of public services and community services which cost money but are necessary to offer a prospect to people to have legitimate aspirations. Surely the rioters themselves do not seem to care a fig about all this and some will still aspire to live a snoopy dog life irrespective of all the money invested in their education.
Still more social inequality through cuts (some of which necessary) unaccompanied by social investment in mobility funded by taxation will make things worse.
A deeper reflection on the riots deals with the way both rioters and the looted seem to have lost a sense of power over their own lives.
Ultimately in an increasingly globalised word where even nation states have very limited power, the arbitrary lawless exercise of power gains a new appeal. Obviously this does not make the riots anymore legitimate. In many ways the riots were simply an attack on conviviality which made life hell for fellow citizens. Most of the victims are poor hard working immigrant communities who had to keep watch of their few possessions threatened by this orgy of violence.
Since there is no turning the clock back, the only long term way forward is a new definition of global and more educated citizenship which is more willing to comprehend the complexities of the world but also more empowered to feel a part of a change it can understand and influence by thinking globally and acting locally ... surely a lot of gibberish for the handbag grabbing mob but a wake up call for political engagement.

Welcome to 812 new inhabitants

True progressives would first express solidarity with migrants from war zones like Libya, then insist that these traumatized people are not detained, and finally call for greater European solidarity without losing a sense of proportion.
812 people are a lot but far from a cataclysm or a biblical exodus.
We only weaken our case in Europe by crying wolf all the time.
And fundamentally most of these people who have no country to go back to, qualify for protection by right. They are also likely to stay and live here for a long time.
The right for asylum is not conditional. And as a civilized state we have to grant these rights. Keeping people who clearly qualify for protection in detention simply prolongs their suffering.
A government which constantly refers to Christian values should show more compassion. Unfortunately for this government christian values are mostly invoked to oppose divorce and persecute novelists.
And the Labour Party's stance on immigration (which is devoid of any discourse of rights and solidarity) seems bent on exploiting xenophobic sentiments on this sensitive issue, which makes it anything but progressive.

Tribute to a great Maltese man

Five years have passed since Julian Manduca departed. He was so many things in his short life; a probing no holds barred journalist, an entrepreneur who sold Chinese balls and anarchist five pointed stars, a pioneer of green politics and AD founder, a great vegetarian cook, a radical activist with the grass root touch, a liberal humanist whose secular funeral summed it all, an organizer of alternative events and parties, a living testimony to cosmopolitan secular values... I remember meeting him 20 years ago, when he introduced me to beat poetry, the philosophy of dancing particles and bob Dylan's nasal voice. I wonder sometimes what he would make up of malta five years after he left. Surely he anticipated many things; the golf course u-turn, the havoc caused to our towns and villages after building heights were relaxed, the responsibility of the price club's directors to the their creditors and a slow but steady liberalization of social mores...Probably he would be disappointed at the slow pace of Europeanisation and the persistence of the political duopoly he abhorred...