Peaceful Revolution

This week has been a momentous week: President Mubarak of Egypt has been forced to stand down by his people and China overtook Japan as the world’s second largest economy. This could be the beginnings of massive upheaval in the world’s main oil region and a reconfiguring of the world economy.

The peaceful revolution in Egypt is a good sign, reflecting well on all concerned. The protesters should be admired for their perseverance, determination and restraint, deciding that violent protest was not their way. The police need to be understood, having been asked to retain control against a tide that could not be stopped; many of the junior ranks are now angry that they ended up on the wrong side and vilified unfairly. The army should be admired for their even-handed and sensitive handling of the protests. President (ex-President) Mubarak should also be respected for not pulling all the levers at his command to try to retain power. These have been dangerous times for Egypt. One incident, one mistake such as an accident between a tank and a protester and the mood could have turned.

Meanwhile China continues to grow its economy and reach out to extend its influence across the world to secure the supplies its ballooning economy requires. The continents of Africa and South America are targets for Chinese investment. China is not running aid programs; China is after natural resources and we should be concerned what the consequences might be for these poor countries. As China rises up in the new world order it will be hard to restrain its rampant demand.

This could be the start of a revolution, which I hope will morph into the Sustainable Revolution. It is only the cushion of oil money that keeps the autocratic rulers of the Middle East in power. As the world plans a future beyond oil, there will no longer be a need to prop up unsavoury regimes to secure supplies.

In China there are signs that damage to the environment is now a concern and China may lead in showing a way beyond conventional industrialisation. The West may help the transition by adopting cradle-to-cradle manufacturing and stop the one-way importing of stuff from China that is used for a while before finding its way into land fill.

The coming revolution could be dangerous but we can also be optimistic that if sustainable policy comes to the fore the changes will be for the better.