Page 204 - Carbon Capitalism and Communication Confronting Climate Crisis

16 AN INTERVIEW WITH DAVID RITTER … 199

BB: I’d like to close on a hopeful note. After a successful launch in
Canada, the LEAP Manifesto has gained momentum in Australia. Do
you think change is imminent?
DR: There is no doubt that change is coming. People working together
can achieve anything. LEAP is exciting and has inspired lots of hope and
movement along with other projects like Next System and NEON. People
are starting to come together in Australia too, in an organised way, in a
collective project to secure a better future. We must come together, to
share some analysis on what some of the foundational causes are that
underpin economic, social and environmental problems, to build political
community and to organise. Because whether you’re talking about
homelessness or you’re talking about fracking… refugees, whatever the
issue might be, there are certain common problems of power and structure
that need to understood and challenged… And the democratic deficit
manifested in the media is one of the basic structural issues that we have to
face up to. Because hoping you’re going to get a favourable article in an
antagonistic newspaper with a declining readership or shackling your civic
conversation to Facebook’s latest algorithm change is not actually a plan
for how you build a sustainable, thriving democracy. We need a plan.
I retain an absolute conviction that we will make a great transition to a
fairer, more just and sustainable society—but we will only achieve that
great dawn through political collaboration, through shared determination
and through sheer hard work.