BY JOHN DREWRY

Billions of people are probably now familiar with the promise ‘You will own nothing, and you will be happy’. When I first heard it, I remember reacting with a mixture of incredulity, indignation and derisory humour. I thought, that is the aspiration of a madman, and is definitely irrational. Even if Herr Schwab helped to manage the dastardly realisation of ensuring we owned nothing, we would hardly be happy about it. Indeed, he himself is on record as acknowledging there will be a lot of anger. How does that square with happiness?

Since his aphorism, or perceived threat, entered the public domain several years ago, there has been much narrative around it. Some of the scoffing has been replaced by dystopian projections of dark tyranny as some evidence of this intent started to manifest. Maybe not a madman, more an evil genius? Perhaps needs to be taken seriously, because he clearly means it? Haven’t we been here before with a German fanatic?

I have seen animated films of people in the near future confined to little boxes, virtual cages, food delivered by aggressive drones, death to those who stray or rebel. The most ghastly, Orwellian scenario. But something bothers me about his paradoxical statement, his oxymoron, his non sequitur. Why does he say we’ll be happy? Is he simply lying to us, or laughing at us? I think neither. Too much care has gone into the construction of it. Maniac he may be, but he’s a serious, ruthless planner, and he thinks about his words very carefully. I think he means we will be happy.

After wrestling with this deceptively simple statement over the past few years, I’ve concluded that a majority of people will indeed be happy with the world according to Uncle Klaus. It’s a statement in two parts, not just structurally but relating to sequential time periods.

Taking the first part, ‘you will own nothing’, that is definitely a threat, and I doubt anyone is happy to be threatened. Yet what we have witnessed over the past three years or so has been described by pundits as the greatest transfer of wealth in human history. This has, of course, been going on far longer than three years, but the Covid era both exposed and accelerated the process. So many SME businesses, once the middle-class backbone of Britain, have disappeared en masse, swallowed up by bigger enterprises. I daresay even if you look what’s behind your local Greasy Joe’s Café, you’ll find it’s part of something bigger, probably a franchise with a modus operandi manual, and its supplies dependent on centralised purchasing.

If something like a currency collapse occurs, with the resultant credit crash, those indebted will lose their homes and all residual assets. The gravitational pull of wealth to the black hole of a tiny minority is in plain sight.

So, where does the happiness bit come in?

Well, once they own everything, they can move to phase two, and they can afford to be magnanimous. Not through a philanthropic change of heart, but the sheer practicality of maintaining the peace and avoiding tiresome uprisings. There will be bread and circuses.

When they own everything, there is no longer any price competitiveness or clamour for customers. Have you not noticed that the concept of a customer is already near dead? Today, you’re a user, serving yourself from what’s on offer. Suppliers don’t want to talk to you. Press this, scan that. You’re being trained.

When they own everything, they won’t need to print money because there will be nothing for the plebs to exchange or trade. They will simply issue redeemable tokens, for food, water, energy and clothing. A digital ration book, where everything is free! Where do you think the concept of Universal Basic Income comes from? It’s an important, reality-changing step. In the USA, Joe Biden has been sending ‘free checks’ in the post to his grateful citizens for some time.

Younger generations are already trained in the concept of not having to work for a living (in tandem with the acceptance that they’ll never be able to afford to own a home). Feed them, clothe them, house them, keep them warm, they already have the ‘real world’ in the palm of their hand – their mobile friend, from whom all news, instruction (‘guidance’) and unlimited porn will be freely available. The same technology explosion will have replaced most jobs in less than the next decade (today’s train drivers and ticket office workers, whatever your politics, know that their working days are numbered).

Older folk, who are going to die soon anyway, may not regard this as happiness (though I wouldn’t underestimate the plethora of those who breathe a sigh of relief as they hand over all assets and responsibility to the State – remember how they queued in their millions for the jab). And the yet unborn generations will accept everything gratefully as their reality. They’ll arrive in a world of peace. Wars, you see, will no longer be a necessary distraction. They related to phase one, part of the asset grab, by then erased from official history anyway.

John Drewry has a background in marketing, owning and chairing an advertising agency for many years. He also holds an Equity card as a stage director and actor, and is Patron & Presenter for the Nursing Memorial Appeal.