Grace kindly agreed to take time away from planning her new book to chat to us about her views on the world as it is, and how it could be. Here is just some what she had to say. If you’d like to hear the whole conversation, click the link to the podcast underneath this article.
On Trump
Trump’s tariffs were high on the agenda. Opinions are generally split between, “Trump’s an idiot, he’s got no idea what he’s doing” and “It’s all conspiracy to make his mates even richer”.
Grace took a wider view of Trump’s tariffs and his seemingly nonsensical approach to world trade: in his “zero sum” thinking, Trump sees China and the EU as a threat and is trying to weaponize America’s position at the centre of the capitalist world to halt its declining influence.
As to why there was nothing in place to stop Trump taking this drastic action, Grace thinks no one really believed he would go this far. And as yet, no other nation or block is in a position to replace the US at the top of the world order, so we’re in a particularly unstable time. Grace had a whole lot more to say on Trump in the podcast.
On Labour
Grace was forceful in her condemnation of the current Labour government which she regards as the most strongly Torylite in the history of the Labour party, telling us, “Even I didn’t think it would be this bad.” She suggested Labour is now too steeped in neoliberal economic values to revert to truly democratizing policies of its own accord.
Both citizens and political parties, she argued, are held in the grip of the neoliberal lie that our current economic free market model is both beneficial to the people and the only possible approach. In the podcast, Grace outlines how the lie prevents people from imagining alternative economic models, ones rooted in the power of communities themselves and not in the hegemonistic monopolies that govern our economic lives today.
Change to Labour thinking will require enormous citizen pressure and from many campaign directions to curb its current determination to ape Reform and instead adopt progressive policies. Grace has many ideas on how this pressure might be applied which you can follow up in the podcast.
On the EU
Grace is a notable opponent of capitalism in general, and neoliberalism in particular. Having criticised European neoliberal policies in the past for exacerbating inequality, she saw an opportunity in our leaving the EU to redress the balance. This has not, in the event, been realised.
We talked about capitalism’s – and the EU’s – role in creating an illusion of prosperity, and in particular, how globalised free trade has left behind huge swathes of the population who are still waiting for the “trickle down”. She suggests the left need urgently to recognise this model has been a disaster and to develop a narrative that speaks to people who have not benefitted from economic models that have been in place for decades.
This lack of insight and counternarrative is driving the rise of the far right across the globe, and we talked more about the current populist wave and its dangers.
On journalism
We asked Grace about her views on the current media climate of post-truth disinformation.
We discussed the disparity between, on the one hand, what we see with our own eyes or in real footage of events and, on the other, the anaesthetized content we are fed by much mainstream media.
This kind of disparity, she observed, breeds confusion and distrust. So, it’s vital to deliver independent news and analysis from the bottom up that is not driven by private interests but instead offers “a growing and vibrant” alternative trusted media space owned by the people.
Grace joined with us in viewing citizen journalism as a form of grassroots empowerment, giving voice to views across the UK that would not otherwise be heard. In the podcast, you’ll hear more about Grace’s enthusiasm for the Bylines Network mission and how she develops the theme of participatory journalism as a key lever in strengthening participatory democracy.
On what’s next
As our time drew to a close, we asked about the future. What comes after our decades-old Western brand of democracy and benign-ish capitalism crumble?
Grace is surprisingly optimistic about the future if we can only throw off the neoliberal fallacy that we are isolated individuals whose only purpose is to consume. Listen in to find out how.
Dare we hope she’s right?
You can listen to the full podcast of our chat HERE
Grace’s latest book, Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vulture-Capitalism-Corporate-Backdoor-Bailouts/dp/1526638061/
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