I see no joy, I see only sorrow… and hope

“Stand Down Margaret” ~ The Beat, 1982

In 1982 I was 16. Every day my generation would wake up knowing a third World War could happen at any time. We also had a Prime Minister in Margaret Thatcher who hero-worshipped Ronald Reagan. Their answer to an era of high inflation and recession was to adopt neo-liberalism, to shift their countries in radical ways towards individualism rather than collectivism, to reward the wealthy and those fortunate enough to rise up through education to high earning status, all the while dismantling support systems for the less fortunate in our societies.

For this 16-year-old, music was one refuge from these times, and for me, front and centre was the “Two Tone” musical movement, taking the Ska music of 60s Jamaica and fusing British and West Indian music with bands made up of white and black alike (hence “Two Tone”) such as The Special aka, The Selecter, Madness, and The Beat.

The most overtly political song from The Beat was Stand Down Margaret, a song they had to bury in the second part of a medley “Whine And Grine/Stand Down Margaret” a video of which I’ve included below for your enjoyment of this joyous yet powerful music. For more on the story of the song, read more here.

Now, 40 years later, neo-liberalism remains strongly the orthodoxy for both main political parties in the UK, even though it has clearly made the rich richer and radically increased inequality, as well as cutting public services to levels never seen before.

To add to this, the current leadership battle for the Conservative Party to effectively elect our next Prime Minister sees both candidates not only endorsing continuing policies such as Thatcher put in place, but doubling down on them with tax cutting (43% of UK citizens are so poor they don’t pay any tax, so this only helps the rich) and xenophobic and downright racist immigration policies (despite every economist being able to tell you how immigration is good for the economy).

I could easily despair, but as I was reminded of in watching the first-class TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman”, the most powerful force in the world is Hope.

Hope.

I am ever an optimist, I believe that humans are intrinsically good. So, I shall continue to do whatever I can to connect the dots between people and ideas, with my milieu being the world of businesses of scale. I am hopeful in this space, I do find multiple leaders to work with that believe in Leading from Purpose (see core blog post here) and in leading from a space of Purpose, People and Planet being their drivers, with Profit as the outcome that enables them to scale their impact, not with Profit as the driver.

Have Hope and act from that place.

Meanwhile, enjoy The Beat: