The Urgency of Now

Generation Why challenged six of our YourSay writers to a very urgent book review. Here is the response from Louise Anderson, Lishia Ezra, Jane Goode, Joanne Kelly, Meenal Odedra and Bex Wiles

A small book about the madness of inequality and poverty President Morales announces the nationalisation of Bolivian gas, making more public funds available for essential services. This was in response to demands from Bolivia’s indigenous social movement The total income of the world’s 500 richest billionaires is higher than that of its 416 million poorest people

GenWhy: On approaching The Urgency of Now what were your first impressions?
Jane: At first glance “The Urgency of Now” made me cautious, the remit for a 60 page booklet was rather a large one: “A small book about the madness of inequality and poverty: how they're wrecking people's lives and why sorting them out will make things better for us all.” Phew!
Bex: Picking up ‘The Urgency of Now’, my first thought was “At last – a book on poverty that’s unthreatening enough to recommend to friends.” Indeed, it’s practically pocket-size – not quite a pamphlet but with its buttercup yellow cover it’s definitely not a textbook. The way that it is presented inside, with a clear font and lots of illustrations, makes it accessible and appealing. The insistence of the title combined with the attractive design compels one to pick it up.


GenWhy: So what is The Urgency of Now all about?
Ann-Louise: The Urgency of Now calls for active citizens, whereby every individual has the power to change the world in a positive way. This book acts as a guide and an action plan for everyone, to join the movement that aims to change the world, so it is time to answer the call, now.
Lishia: In a relatively small book, it tells you enough about the important stuff, although you need to get deeper involved if you want to get the whole story (by being active citizens or at least by reading the larger book – From Poverty to Power by Duncan Green).
Joanne: Crucially, the book manages to achieve what it sets out to do – to inform the reader of inequality in terms of economics – something that is not always the easiest subject to understand!
Jane: Inevitably many situations and ideas are only given a fleeting mention, the product, I guess, of condensing so much into so few pages. Having said this, the arguments contained within are convincing and detailed, most people I know would posit inequality as a bad thing but few I would say, including myself, have got down to the nuts and bolts of why this is, how inequality manifests itself and how we redress the balance, starting now, which this booklet successfully does.

GenWhy: Who is the book suitable for?
Meenal: For someone who is not particularly involved in the political affairs of the country but wants to make a difference to the world, this book is perfect! Giving enough information to the totally clueless, yet not patronising its political readers, this book is a real eye opener.
Joanne: The book has been cleverly written and laid out to cater for someone who is new to issues surrounding global inequality
Ann-Louise: It isn’t just lists of facts and figures either, there are pictures and diagrams that illustrate the scale of inequality that affects so many people, making for a thought-provoking and interesting read that doesn’t overpower the reader with meaningless numbers, nor dumb down the message in too simplistic a fashion.

GenWhy: It seems like a massive topic, how does the book tackle all those issues?
Joanne: Although the text can sometimes be a bit long-winded, and consequently much of the text may be skimmed at stages, the book manages to rein the reader back in with strong case studies using hard-hitting statistics, such as the example of the empowerment of the Chiquitano people of Bolivia and how they reclaimed their human rights.
Ann-Louise: What makes this small book so powerful is that the statistics and examples used even within the first chapter immediately bring the reader into focus with the true state of the world, it is not sugar-coated nor a bright and breezy read, the facts are raw and direct.
Bex: Rather than dictating what we “should” be doing, the aim appears to be changing attitudes and perspectives on poverty - hoping that a paradigm shift will bring about more change than a spontaneous but short-lived attempt to make a difference.
Lishia: Furthermore, in chapters four and five, the book suggests that the duet of active citizens and effective states can reduce vulnerability; and that the web of global governance (international institutions, laws, regulations and agreements) also affect the relations of active citizens and effective states.

GenWhy: Was The Urgency of Now successful in its aims?
Bex: The bleak picture it paints of how things are now– in terms of injustice, climate change and selfishness – is depressing but the situation is rescued by the examples of situations where citizens have brought about extraordinary change, leaving the reader with the knowledge that “things can be different.”
Joanne: I found ‘The Urgency of Now’ a very easy read, just pressing enough to get the message across, but written in a way that not only makes you interested, but gives you greater clarification of how issues such as economy, freedom, climate change and industry are all interlinked.
Meenal: Small enough to take it into town with you, catching a quiet moment to read a page or two, but big enough to explain the situation, it is an amazing book which leaves you wanting more, leaves you asking questions and better yet, challenging the system.
Ann-Louise: The success of this book is that the picture it paints is not a dismal one, indeed the facts are there and they are unavoidable, at times they are even depressing, but this is not a patronising lecture on everything that is wrong with the world, it is a positive and optimistic outlook on what the problems are, and most importantly, how they can be changed.

GenWhy: Could you summarise the book for our Generation Why readers?

Bex: I’d like to tell you that this is a “feel good” book, but that would be a blatant lie. This book will make you angry – but my hope is that we can channel this anger into becoming a force for good. There isn’t any time left for ambivalence – things are urgent now.

Ann-Louise: An action plan for the active citizen – it’s the perfect start for those who want to be well informed on the big issues facing the world today.

Meenal: It’s time we all became active citizens, and put our lives into our own hands and worked together to make the world a better place, a better place for the future generations.

Joanne: I found ‘The Urgency of Now’ a very easy read, just pressing enough to get the message across, but written in a way that not only makes you interested, but gives you greater clarification of how issues such as economy, freedom, climate change and industry are all interlinked.

Lishia: The book closes nicely with an invite for us to take action. No matter how small, the butterfly effect applies. Guess what! You can even start your way to becoming an active citizen by passing the book to someone else.

Jane: In short, it ain't big but it is clever!


GenWhy: Thanks for all your hard work guys!


More information on the book and how to download or buy it.