Dear Sir/Madam,

The most disturbing and frightening thing about the report in last Wednesday's Guardian, concerning the possible outsourcing of National Rail Enquiries to India, is that despite the insanity of it striking one in the face, it may well make "good" economic sense, and thus go ahead, and we will quickly get used to having someone in Bangalore telling us which train to take to Crewe or wherever. It follows the same economic logic that has already led to the outsourcing of so much of our manufacturing industry to countries where labour costs are low, and, facilitated by the advent of cheap telecommunications, is currently responsible for the migration of 10's of thousands of call centre and other white collar jobs to countries like India ("Catching a train to Crewe? Call Bangalore", 15 October 2003; "A tale of two cities", 19 October 2003).

The economic logic which places the pursuit of profit, productivity and efficiency before ALL else has been instrumental in creating the ever-increasing flow of material wealth to which we have become addicted, and in relegating to a tiny corner of our minds awareness of the horrific social and human costs incurred. We are junkies, high and dependent on our non-sustainable, growth-dependent economy and the materialistic lifestyles it engenders, which also make us insensitive, if not oblivious, to what it is doing to our own lives, to the lives of others, to our planet, its plants and animals, and to the fact that it will eventually kill us (see A Tale for Today).

We are in deep, deep trouble. But like many addicts, we refuse to face up to it. And there is no lack of distractions, many of which are sold to us as success and achievement, some even creating the illusion that we are working towards a solution of our major problem of achieving sustainability on our imperilled planet, Spaceship Earth.

In reality, our situation is like that aboard the Titanic shortly before it struck an iceberg. All that will save us is a radical change of course and a big reduction in speed, but the captain, his officers and crew and the passengers are nearly all intent on maintaining both speed and direction.

Catastrophe cannot be avoided. So what are we to do - those of us who recognise and are prepared to face up to the situation?

Panic and despair immediately spring to mind, and it is very tempting to distract oneself, along with the others, and to fantasise that it is in fact we who are mistaken.

Perhaps we are  - but I don't think so.

Everyone - even President Bush - acknowledges that sustainability is important. But no one seems to appreciate just how radical the changes to our economy and lifestyles have to be in order to achieve it, or how quickly they must be implemented to avoid catastrophe.  

Small adjustments to our economy and lifestyles will not suffice. We have to change the very values, attitudes and aspirations on which they are based - ones we have grown up with and take so much for granted that most people would not even contemplate contemplating changing them.

Thus, there is no point in even trying to change the system. We have to accept the fact that our ship is going to hit the iceberg and sink. There is no longer anything we can do to stop that happening.

What we can do, however - what we must do, if we want (our children and coming generations) to survive -, is to start building another vessel (a lifeboat in which to leave the doomed ship of our non-sustainable economy and lifestyles). The more progress we make with an alternative, sustainable society and moral economy before the old system, on which we still so much depend, founders, the better will be our (children's) chances of survival and recovery, and the less lives will be lost.

The beginnings already exist (organic farming, the use of renewable resources, recycling, fair trade, ethical investment, cooperative undertakings, etc), but lack the distinguishing character and framework of a clear social and economic philosophy (particularly ethics), which would make them clearly recognisable and distinguishable from  the non-sustainable, amoral economy which currently dominates society and the world. As the new, alternative society and economy grow it will be possible - each according to their own circumstances - to transfer more and more social and economic activity and dependency from one to the other.

Central to the creation of a sustainable society and moral economy is how we earn, spend and invest our MONEY.

TRANSPARENCY is also essential, so that those striving to create a sustainable society and moral economy are able to recognise and support each other. We have to be honest about who we are an what we are doing, what we are giving to and taking from society, and how great a burden we are placing on our planet's finite resources and carrying capacity, so that others can see and judge whether or not it is good, fair and proportionate (see The need for a "voluntary" National ID database in our "Social Jungle").

The values, attitudes and aspirations conducive to the creation of a sustainable society and moral economy (and those which are not) need to be clearly stated - which is something I am working on.