Rebuilding in troubled times — the power of localism
It’s a long time since I’ve had to reflect on living in truly troubled times and how they impact on the people around me. Many years ago I was in the Soviet Union, then Russia, when two political coups took place. It was a time of much fear and also much economic and political change.
You might think this was a different experience, but I’ve realised how much they are likely to be similar — the coups that led to the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the current COVID-19 pandemic — will bring huge changes to what people value and how our economy functions. On a simple level, they also both involved an eerie quietness on the streets and a feeling of great uncertainty about the future.
I’d really hope that the Soviet coups which led not to economic improvements or even greater political freedoms, but massive disruption and ultimately much more obvious power imbalances in wealth and well-being are not going to be mirrored in the impact of the pandemic. Many years ago studying political science, and specifically revolutions, I was struck by how little interest my fellow academics had in the well-being of those who lived in times of immense change. Is that naivete? Of course economic & political change is at the core of significant events such as this — but they happen within communities and to individuals.
I’m not an economist, and wouldn’t claim to be one, but already the financial imbalances of the pandemic are manifesting — young people and those not in secure work will be financially devastated — professional people able to work from home and in secure jobs will be less affected— it’s the degree of harm that remains uncertain — and all of us are experiencing isolation and how that affects our mental health.
How will we then rebuild our economies. Already many are focused on whether the continuation of Brexit will result in a unique double whammy, as our supply routes, and key links with trading partners, are re-built. In the same way the breakdown of the Soviet Union saw an economically centralised state suffer fracturing as the economy had to manage the twin realities of supply line breakdowns alongside multiple sell-offs of state industries. Put this alongside severe price inflation — I well remember the price of bread going from 40 kopecks to 4 roubles in one week alone & my rent becoming astronomic and unaffordable. I also remember how overnight the babushka’s of the Moscow metro — still selling their strings of forest mushrooms — were often totally unprotected from the scale and speed of the changes.
In parallel the UK continues to struggle with low productivity, low wage growth and declining standards of living. Easy words to write but the reality is a grinding poverty and exclusion for many.
What I’m interested in is localism — it often comes to the fore in times of crisis. Some of that is a natural protective reaction, when forces outside of our control change our lives we tend to focus on family and local community.
In the later 90s, years after the breakdown of the Soviet Union — in the previously closed city of Perm — I sat with the Mayor of the City, and heard clearly the reality of how economic fracturing had led to astonishing levels of substance misuse — civil society was weak —local factories closed — unemployment high with the black economy flourishing. What was surprising was how open he was. And how clear he was that he was looking for local solutions. Things have changed we all know — centralisation has become the reality once more in Putin’s Russia. What I’m interested in was how it was clear that this was someone who recognised that local solutions were the only way he had to try to support his population — and that he was prepared to listen internationally to what partners could offer by way of ideas. Like many Russian people during this period he was more than aware that resilience was needed and that he had to find ways for the City to manage it’s own problems.
Here we are in 2020 and building resilience whether personal, within the family or local communities is mentioned in multiple contexts. It’s also perhaps worth considering early reviews of COVID19 responses which suggest federalism (and the role of the Lander) in Germany, as opposed to super-centralisation in the UK is one of the reasons why they were better able to respond to the virus as the pandemic developed. Certainly we can see the differences between the responses within the four nations of the United Kingdom and many have signed up for local WhatsApp groups to stay in touch with neighbours. Online meet ups for business and pleasure are the new normal creating an entirely new idea of community as well.
How can localism provide solutions going forward as we re-build our communities? This isn’t just about economics it’s much more about inclusion. I’m a bit of a dreamer and having lived in a large community (Old Hall, East Bergholt) for a while I do believe it’s a powerful tool. Localism could deliver local renewable energy alternatives (if Lerwick can have a district heating scheme as a solution that works in Shetland — what would be your local areas most effective alternative?), greater civic participation — local people actively being part of care and supporting well-being. There have been examples of this working in rural communities where care-giving groups have been set up. How would we manage violence in families — and, of course, how would we prevent this developing into vigilante protectiveness as we saw in the images from some of Wuhan’s locked down streets, patrolled by a few.
I’m pretty sure though that I’m one of many who are wondering how we can hold onto some of what’s changing in our local communities just now — all the positives that are coming out of the isolation. And yes, I do acknowledge we’ve seen some frightened behaviour as well. I guess I’d encourage people to think about what comes after, when the wheel turns again and we need to harness the change. I for one would like to see something fairer — not just economics — a community revolution that supports kindness and well-being.
