Replace the greed with the common good

May 26, 2026

Geoff Davies asks why we have ignored Attenborough’s warnings that our industrial-economic system is destroying the living world. Perhaps it is because humans are too stupid, as Gaia founder James Lovelock suggested in 2010. I would add too greedy. Davies links this greed to the “financialisation of productive activity” and the pressure on companies to “maximise shareholder returns ahead of all other considerations”. That is capitalism treating nature as an infinite, free storehouse of raw materials. There are, however, some encouraging exceptions, including banks and super funds identified by market forces as ethical and sustainable. So what is the alternative? The British Ecological Society points to Citizens’ Assemblies as a successful way to drive change. Davies also advances solutions in his book, A New Australia: Discarding Delusions and Organising for the Wellbeing of All, arguing neoliberalism has been hijacked by vested interests at the expense of the common good: “It has become a convenient cover for those who wish to turn the power of the State to their own advantage.” Davies ultimately asks whether Australians are prepared to embrace a more sustainable and equitable future for future generations? Are we?