MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND (THE PENNY DROPS)

“The best books are those that tell you what you know already”

George Orwell 1984

I can’t shake it.  That niggling feeling I get every time I use the “Contactless” paypoints.  Contact. less.  We are becoming further removed from our money.  It all feels very Orwellian.  The quote plays again in my head.

“Do you know about this?”

A random conversation strikes up with a fellow commuter as she hands me a leaflet stating that cash will no longer be accepted on buses.  My fellow commuter is called Amanda, she is a debt councillor and is concerned about the effect a “cashless” society will have on her clients.    Cash. Less. society.  A society without any money.

“Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them.”

George Orwell 1984

Is the answer to why I feel so uneasy about a cashless society hidden in plain sight?  Contactless, Cashless, it feels like we are definitely losing something.  Did it start in 1971 with the loss of the Gold Standard? Is the move to a cashless society a bid to prolong the life of our Fiat currency?  After all, if we get rid of the promissory notes, will the government have to keep it promises?  Or am I just being pessimistic… In our digital age do we need a “currency” to match?  A digital currency, where billions can be created at the mere touch of a button.  But who’s finger will be on the trigger?

Or is the drive towards a cashless society driven by a much simpler motive?  The sights of South London speed past our window as Amanda shares her fears.  In hushed tones, we discuss the desire for retailers to further remove consumers away from the reality of their purchases. Studies as far back as the 1970s show that cards are not seen as “real money” and that consumers have a tendency to spend more when using plastic rather than cash.  The popularity of our “flexible friend” has probably had a significant part to play in helping nearly nine million people across the UK into serious debt problems.

The bus slows and abruptly stops outside of a betting shop and a Cash Converters, Amanda bids me farewell and disappears under her umbrella.  As the bus pulls away, our conversation replays in my mind; debt, cash, currency, money, profit, greed, retail, shops, shoes..  I press the buzzer. The weather outside is dismal, but I look up and feel a warm glow from a beautiful window display.

“Have you seen these? They’re on special offer £131”

A tap on the machine and they’re mine.

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“Gentrification seems to be the buzz word of the moment but as a born and bred working class Londoner what does it actually mean to me? 

It means, I need to be “gentrified”, this is definitely news to me.  I generally have excellent table manners, have a good job and almost never, hardly, well definitely only sometimes use OMG in a text message.  

On a more serious note, I feel unwelcome on my own street and on a deeper note, it means, my face, my family and my culture  are deemed to bring down property prices. 

 I am considered of less value, less desirable than my new neighbour, who is considered “trendy” and “aspiring”.   

But am I any less aspiring than my middle class counter part?  I would argue to the contrary.  When you come from very little, every day you aspire and work hard to have more.  Of course, we do not have the gift of “connections”, financial backing or the ability to “fit in” as others deemed “more desirable” do and so, the journey may take a little longer.  

More significantly, we are not the gatekeepers of our media perception.  Chav much?  Yes, tastes in clothes, music, food, dialect and socialising may differ, but why is “organic bean paste” considered “gentrified” whereas freshly made Roti with Chicken Curry or Pie and Mash not?   The colonial mentality pushers i.e  media, corporations and government, always have something to sell, whether it be vegan children’s clothing or the argument to reduce public spending.  Sadly, often the average person buys it.  Just take a look at these delightful comments from a couple of Guardian readers on the topic of gentrification.  

“Gentrification makes everyone safer, and if it de-concentrates criminals out of centralised ghetto zones into a broader, narrower ring on the outskirts it reduces their power to affect society and their relative proportion, and hence power..”

“Places like Harlem or Brixton – areas famous for their long histories of independent political and cultural scenes” – What a great way to cloak the words crime ridden and hell holes“

“Its [gentrification] people aspiring to own their own property, its people taking a risk and moving to an area that has potential, its people developing their homes and like minded people doing the same. Its about not crossing your arms and saying “I’m a vulnerable person, do something for me” but doing something for yourself and actually trying to selfishly better your life, largely through your own efforts.”

Apparently, we (the undesired working classes) are all criminals who refuse to do anything for ourselves.

But is this a fair portrayal of the average working class Brixton/Peckham/Hackney resident?  The average working class person in London often has a university degree, white colour job, mortgage,is traveled and owns a car.  Surprisingly, we are not the “Chavtastic criminal underclass” that many pro”gentrification” would have you believe.  And if our area and communal facilities and services are run down, what does that say about “our” government?   The class and colour of the majority of an area’s population determines the level of government service, investment and respect that the area will receive.  

But this reality just doesn’t fit in with the opportunity for many to buy property in central London cheaply and claim it is for the “good” of the people.  

This is what gentrification means to me.

BH xx