The Voice: The Unspoken Economic Issue Fuelling Division and Debate

We are all racist.

It's a man made label we give to an animalistic instinct in all of us.

It’s called ‘othering’.

When we ‘other’ another race we become ‘racist’.

When we ‘other’ another sex we become ‘sexist’.

When we ‘other’ another political ideology we become… stupid.

Point is, we all have the same bias.

Sameness = safeness.

Which also means different = dangerous.

And that doesn’t just apply to people. It also applies to circumstances.

We all have a strong preference for keeping things as they are.

Because if we stick with what we know our brain feels better placed to predict the future. Since it is more likely to look like the past.

If we ‘change things willy nilly’ we cannot predict every eventuality.

Right now the political apparatus is very deftly using our bias against us.

If you’re for change you must be ‘ignorant’ of ‘what it really means’ or 'who is really in control'. Or you're just a ‘do gooder’ who is ‘virtue signalling’.

If you’re against change, you must be a ‘selfish’ ‘emotionally unintelligent bigot' who needs to 'get with the times'.

The ‘narrative fallacy’ means we prefer simple stories over complex realities.

And right now these narratives are distracting us from the real problem because of the way it has been framed.

It’s the classic magicians trick: ‘look over here’ (so you don’t see what is happening over there).

What is really happening is that the economic pie is not growing. It is shrinking.

That is why we’re all so concerned about ‘who gets what slice’.

Few readily admit this, because we’re wired to delude ourselves about our deeper motives.

Before the voice it was ‘big business profiteering off the public post COVID’.

Then, 'immigration is out of control'.

Coming up… the great battle of ‘renters vs owners’.

It’s all the same problem: the ‘have’s vs the ‘have nots’.

If you identify as a ‘have not’ you’ll be attracted to narratives that emphasise the need to 'share the pie'

And you'll be enraged by others you see as 'keepers'.

If you identify as a have you'll be attracted to narratives that urge caution on splitting the pie.

And you'll be enraged by others you see as 'takers'.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that other aspects of identity don't play a role (I'm particularly interested in the six dimensions of moral foundation theory ).

What I am saying is that the 'have/have not' self image as a factor is largely hidden or ignored.

Yet it plays a far more signifcant role than anyone is willing to admit.

When you combine willful ignorance about self serving motives with unconious bias, you get tension. You also get confusion.

Most people cannot articulate their position at all.

All we actually know is that we have strong feelings about it.

So walking into conversations about this feels like a no win situation. Most people avoid it.

We're thinking about it, but struggling to have constructive conversations about it.

As proof, the impressions and views on this article are roughly 3 times the 'engagement' I'd normally see through likes etc.

Now, set all this on top of a fragile, contracting credit based system and you get a powder keg.

But this is not unique...

This pattern repeats throughout history. And it happens every time a self appointed group of humans assumes control of money.

The set of assumptions we use to play the ‘money game’ need to be interrogated.

Hell, our outgoing Reserve Bank boss Phillip Lowe said this explicitly in his last statements .

He was ‘disappointed’ the review focused too narrowly on the operations of the bank. Yet made little to no effort to rethink the way our monetary system works.

In other words: the way we’re working isn’t working.

Imagine that. The expert who's been telling us 'trust us, we have the tools' is now saying 'actually our tools don't work'.

Lowes last utterings have to be the most underquoted quote since it was said that 'rates will be lower for longer'.

But as important as that problem is, we cannot solve it divided by our differences.

So what can we do?

I’m no expert. And clearly, I have a bias for understanding things through an economic lens.

I’m not blind to the privilege that has given me access to the information and education to even see things this way.

It's one of the key reasons why I’ve built a business centred on educating everyday Aussies in this arena.

But I believe this is our generation's opportunity to stand up and assume leadership.

It is time to bond. And it is time to build.

In my career as a coach I was privileged to work with many brilliant indigenous athletes. And now working shoulder to shoulder with the legend that is Mitchell Parkins I’ve learned alot.

Alot about who our indigenous people are. And alot about what they’re not.

Who they are is something to be proud of.

The oldest indigenous race on the planet. Their wayfinding wisdom is lost on all of us.

And their strength and courage is absent from our efforts.

Working for the Wallabies I was always Jealous of the Hakka.

Pride is the most powerful fuel for performance. And by ignoring and rejecting our first people we only cling to our shame.

We are not better for it. We are bitter and we are weaker.

The only way we can build a better future is by owning and honouring our past.

No politician is coming to save us. And nor should we want them to.

Struggle builds strength. And the strong are both self reliant and interdependent.

We need to assume responsibility for our future. And we need to work arm in arm to actualise it.

If we don’t, the ‘lucky country’ will soon become the ‘lame country’.

I want to look back with pride when I tell my grandkids what we did.

I want to speak with dignity when I describe the decisions we made.

So I’m going to look beyond seductive simplistic narratives. I’m going to go deeper.

Deeper within myself.

Deeper with ‘others’.

And I’m going to work my ass off to provide for my family by and through helping others provide for theirs.

Because if we get back to growing the pie together, there's no reason to bicker over who gets what slice.

In the words of the great John Farnham: I’m not going to sit in silence. I’m not going to live in fear.

If you read this and want to connect with me to help me learn more. Please reach out. I'd love to meet you :)