Onwards

Though taken out of context, I stumble upon the words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, “if dreams reflect the past, hope summons the future”. It is the last day of 2017 and the world is still here. This year, the house champagne has been replaced by a timeless St Pancras favourite. Food wise, I went for a safe vegan bet as in the black bean, sweet potato and quinoa croquettes that I made two weeks ago to celebrate my return from the mirror universe.

In Svenska Dagbladet, the conservative party concludes the year by arguing that immigrants should be excluded from the Swedish welfare state until they have earned “their share” by working. Unsurprisingly, the social investment perspective is completely absent. What is worse is that no progressive politician dares to counter this misanthropy with a transformative vision of the future. So afraid have progressives become of “looking down on people” that they can no longer make simple qualitative distinctions or even begin to explain why, rather than having immigrants toil away as cleaners or servants for the rich, we should invest in those arriving in Sweden so that they become equally productive as those born here. Even if such investments in education would delay their entry into the labour market with five or even ten years, they are absolutely necessary to defeat the static racist worldview that has come to permeate so much of our society.

We need every mind working at its fullest potential if we are to make good on the promise of the Enlightenment and ensure a good Anthropocene. More than ever, I am convinced that our limits are political and cultural rather than ecological or technological. So, without further ado, onwards!