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Episode 12

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The Togetherness Project

Intro Episode 12

Revisiting the why and how of The Togetherness Project.

First up: What happened last week and how it fits with the Four Horsemen?:

  • Democracy under threat. Is it?
  • Social Cohesion report. The details are startling
  • What is the biggest threat to our wellbeing? Why we ignore the slow moving threats

Today’s Topic – A history of threats and danger

It is time to have a look at some of the things we talked about before. We will try to update some of what we talked about and get a bit of context.

The Issues

Social Cohesion Report1

The key findings are drivers of discontent and anger:

  • Cost of living is front and centre. However, those most affected think that the solution is for others to bear the brunt. RBA talking points don’t add up for most people.2
  • There is strident anti-immigration and anti-ethnic sentiment. However there is 87% support for multiculturalism and diversity
  • Anger over perceived injustices and uneven impacts of interest rate rises has driven voting intentions away from traditional 2 party. One Nation is the main beneficiary.
  • System of Government is blamed

Some of the violence and unsociable behaviours we see are a direct result of these factors

Democracy weak and yet strong

Movement to the far right. Scanlon report has some clues.

Shift in sentiment. Far right (authoritarian) support has dropped and support for more inclusive and progressive options has emerged.

The USA elections continue the trend of the last year?

Authoritarian regimes are still there and the USA is still undertaking extra-judicial killing of targeted groups

What the money spent on election campaigning could have done. 500 million dollars = 25,000 jobs for a year in the USA. Enough to elevate 100,000 people out of poverty – given the multiplier effect of job creation. One trillionaire spent 0.05% of their wealth and will recoup that in about a month.

Our biggest threats

Our brains evolved to deal with immediate threats. A leopard in a tree. Slow moving threats tend to be ignored. Yet, these are the big ones in our industrialised and concentrated populations. Key threats:

  • Loss of environment (population pressure and collapse)
  • Depletion of resources (food and other resource insecurity – Famine)
  • Geopolitical ambitions (war)
  • Climate Change (pestilence, famine, war and collapse)
  • Mass Migration (war)
  • Inequality (collapse and war)

Do we know what might be happening by reviewing history/anthropology?

A few examples:

  • Anasazi
  • Sahara
  • Inca/Maya
  • US and English Civil wars
  • French and Russian Revolutions
  • Pol Pot, Cultural Revolution, Irish potato famine
  • WWI and II

The pattern:

Resource depletion ? unequal distribution ? frustration ? anger ? lashing out ? violence ? blood lust

The Response

So what can we all do together?

  • Think Globally and act Locally. Act now
  • Do the things we can individually
  • Join local groups that try to do better things
  • Help each other with random acts of senseless kindness
  • Use your vote well. Demand better of your representatives
  1. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/nov/04/social-cohesion-report-australia-cost-of-living-economy-immigration-multiculturalism-ai-ntwnfb [↩]
  2. https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2026/nov/04/the-rba-says-there-is-excess-demand-in-the-economy-households-doing-it-tough-might-disagree [↩]