I worked in the government for years – now I’m an anarchist

‘The system isn’t working’ — After a long and successful career as a British diplomat, Carne Ross suffered a crisis of faith. Here, he discusses the dangers of our current political order.

When I started out in my career as a diplomat I never imagined that I would one day call myself an anarchist.  I used to believe in what might be called the “western model” – representative democracy, where the many elect the few. But it was my 15 years of experience as a government employee that eventually led me to have a radically different view. I became a diplomat in 1989.

For a while, I wrote speeches for the Foreign Secretary where he would tell the world what Britain thought about places like Africa or the Middle East, or climate change.  As my fingers tapped out what would become his words, I began to believe them.  I started to talk about how “we” – Britain – saw the world, not what I really thought about it. My crisis of faith came with the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  Until shortly before, I had been Britain’s expert on Iraq’s WMD at the United Nations Security Council.  I knew the issue well.  As I heard Blair and Bush explain the war to their ignorant populations, I realised that they were lying.  I knew this because “we” had concluded many times that Iraq was not a threat.  It might have had some WMD, but we knew nothing for certain.  That had been our internal assessment for the four-and-a-half years I had worked on the issue.

Accidental Anarchist – Sunday 23 July on Storyville, BBC Four – former diplomat Carne Ross at Marinaleda, Spain, a cooperative municipality I began to see government as a kind of con-trick. It assured people that it had things under control, but it didn’t.  Worse, I had seen it get permitted to do terrible things.  I knew this, because I’d done them.  The UK and US enforced economic sanctions on Iraq for 12 years after the 1991 war, devastating the Iraqi economy and causing undeniable suffering to the Iraqi people.  I had defended this cruelty, executed in the name of “our” security, which governments claim is more important than children’s lives.  I thought of myself and my colleagues as decent people but somehow the philosophy and culture of government encouraged us to do things that were very wrong. I feel deep shame to this day.

After I left, I searched for a system where people, not abstract ideas or institutions, are in control.  I studied philosophy, history and the “new” economics that claimed that consumption is not the ultimate goal of humans; we are not rational; we are driven by other things.  I learned that there is no way to measure the things that matter most.  Words like meaning, community or love can barely begin to capture their true significance.  I wanted a philosophy that put these values as the goal, where people not “the market” decided what was important.  As I read, I realised that others had reached the same conclusion.  To my surprise, I’d come to believe in anarchism.

Since leaving government, I’ve worked with groups and movements fighting for self-determination and freedom from repression around the world, in places like Kosovo, the Western Sahara or Syria.  We in the West are imprisoned not by dictators but by ideas about democracy, economics and government that no longer work.  Look at the evidence, from stagnant incomes to student debt, unaffordable housing or Grenfell Tower (if the residents had a say in how that building was managed, would the fire have happened?).  The “system” isn’t working.  In repetitive debates and facile slogans, politicians offer the implausible promise that only they can make things better, as long as we vote for them.

The existence of government sends a message that “the people” – us – cannot be trusted, and that order must be imposed from the top down.  I now believe the very opposite; the current system is creating disorder, where the tiny few dominate the rest, and where the planet is in danger.  Unless citizens themselves take control, society will be ripped apart.  It is possible to have a society where things like meaning, community, and indeed love are at the heart, not afterthoughts in an economy and culture that pretends that wealth is the most important measure of success.  Through sharing and taking part in government and business together as equals, we can reweave the tattered threads of society.  This offers a deeper and more enduring order where we respect and work with one another on the things we most care about, a society we can be proud of.  But this will not happen on its own. Only we can make it happen.

Carne Ross is the subject of the documentary Accidental Anarchist on BBC4 Storyville on 23 July.  He is director of the non-profit diplomatic advisory group, Independent Diplomat.  A frequent contributor to the press, a new edition of his first book, Independent Diplomat:Dispatches from an unaccountable elite will be published in August.


Ad

Latest on Huck

Red shop frontage with "Open Out" branding and appointment-only signage.
Activism

Meet the trans-led hairdressers providing London with gender-affirming trims

Open Out — Since being founded in 2011, the Hoxton salon has become a crucial space the city’s LGBTQ+ community. Hannah Bentley caught up with co-founder Greygory Vass to hear about its growth, breaking down barbering binaries, and the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Written by: Hannah Bentley

Cyclists racing past Palestinian flag, yellow barriers, and spectators.
Sport

Gazan amputees secure Para-Cycling World Championships qualification

Gaza Sunbirds — Alaa al-Dali and Mohamed Asfour earned Palestine’s first-ever top-20 finish at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Belgium over the weekend.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Crowded festival site with tents, stalls and an illuminated red double-decker bus. Groups of people, including children, milling about on the muddy ground.
© Alan Tash Lodge
Music

New documentary revisits the radical history of UK free rave culture

Free Party: A Folk History — Directed by Aaron Trinder, it features first-hand stories from key crews including DiY, Spiral Tribe, Bedlam and Circus Warp, with public streaming available from May 30.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Weathered wooden building with a tall spire, person on horseback in foreground.
Culture

Rahim Fortune’s dreamlike vision of the Black American South

Reflections — In the Texas native’s debut solo show, he weaves familial history and documentary photography to challenge the region’s visual tropes.

Written by: Miss Rosen

A collage depicting a giant flup for mankind, with an image of the Earth surrounded by planets and people in sci-fi costumes.
Culture

Why Katy Perry’s space flight was one giant flop for mankind

Galactic girlbossing — In a widely-panned, 11-minute trip to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere, the ‘Women’s World’ singer joined an all-female space crew in an expensive vanity advert for Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Newsletter columnist Emma Garland explains its apocalypse indicating signs.

Written by: Emma Garland

Three orange book covers with the title "Foreign Fruit" against a dark background.
Culture

Katie Goh: “I want people to engage with the politics of oranges”

Foreign Fruit — In her new book, the Edinburgh-based writer traces her personal history through the citrus fruit’s global spread, from a village in China to Californian groves. Angela Hui caught up with her to find out more.

Written by: Katie Goh

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:

Accessibility Settings

Text

Applies the Open Dyslexic font, designed to improve readability for individuals with dyslexia.

Applies a more readable font throughout the website, improving readability.

Underlines links throughout the website, making them easier to distinguish.

Adjusts the font size for improved readability.

Visuals

Reduces animations and disables autoplaying videos across the website, reducing distractions and improving focus.

Reduces the colour saturation throughout the website to create a more soothing visual experience.

Increases the contrast of elements on the website, making text and interface elements easier to distinguish.