The Good New Days

Song Lyrics

Imagine it’s the year 2030…This could be our world…
One day we just stopped messing around
And left the carbon in the ground,
Made a sensible economy,
To live sustainably,
We stopped worrying about the GDP,
Less stuff, but we have enough.
Welcome to the Good New Days, Welcome to the Good New Days.

Less cars, less trucks and less gasoline.
But no wars for oil – we all came clean.
Goodbye, fossil energy, Hello, security,
You can’t own the wind, you can’t own the sun.
It belongs to everyone.
Welcome to the Good New Days, Welcome to the Good New Days.

The best moment of the human race-
We put corporations in their place.
Now people are people and speech is speech
And banks serve people, not just the rich.
And the best thing yet, nobody’s in debt.
Less stuff, but we have enough.
Welcome to the Good New Days, Welcome to the Good New Days. Instrumental

We finally got the population down,
And there’s plenty of plenty to go around.
The rich ain’t rich, and the poor ain’t poor.
We’ve all got food growing right next door.
We’ve got happiness, and a lot more love.
Less stuff, but we have enough.
Welcome to the Good New Days, Welcome to the Good New Days.

No traffic jams, no parking lots,
And you don’t see us tied in knots.
There’s time for neighbors and time to spare,
And the air is sweet, and the water’s clear
There is time and fun for everyone
Less stuff, but we have enough.
Welcome to the Good New Days, Welcome to the Good New Days.

Words and music © Doug Hendren and Nancy Beall 2013 

About the Issue

What might an economy look like without growth, and without fossil fuels?  Many people tend to see only the storm clouds, and miss the silver lining. It is difficult to navigate with confidence toward the future without some sort of guiding vision of what it could be.  And focusing on inspiring possibilities can be a stronger motivator that focusing on obstacles.  In this song, I am “backcasting” from the future where we have traded greed for peace, and debt for abundance. The elements I focus on here are reform of energy markets, of corporatocracy, and of our banking system. And, of course, population reduction.  These changes hold immense potential benefits for virtually everyone.  True, it will reduce the fortunes of those whose wealth and power is based on generating fictitious dollars, debt and inflated asset prices.  But for the 99%, it means developing more local economies, shedding debt and restoring democratic principles.   It means turning away from war and toward a secure future.  It means turning from GDP to more meaningful indicators, like GNH, GPI and others. It means building economies that sustain us and our planet, rather than consume us. I propose that taking a bit of time to cultivate a positive vision of the future is a healthy and necessary activity; it may be an essential ingredient in navigating toward our best possible future. What might the good new days look like to you?

Where do you start?  Start with the end in mind.  State your current situation.  Choose your ideal outcome. Establish a magnetic connection. Intention is everything.

– Carla Reiger, The Change Artist

Recommended reading: Rob Dietz & Dan O’Neill, Enough is Enough: Building a Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources (2013), Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, San Francisco.