A Dispatch from the Zombie Wars

I'm writing to you from the front lines of the Zombie War. I will explain to you what that means in a moment, but I don't have much time right now. What you need to know is this: you and the civilisation you are a part of (and probably take for granted) are in grave danger. How do I know this?

You are haunted by the living dead. You may have trouble accepting this. But I assure you, they are amongst you each day, hiding in plain sight, an army silently marching to destroy your wealth and your lifestyle and take from you everything you value, especially your freedom. Do not, however, believe that the Zombies of which I speak look like the one below. That would be a mistake.

You see, the Zombies are more clever than that. What you may not realise is that the Zombies that have destroyed the future from which I write are not walking corpses. They are bad ideas that refuse to die but have taken a living form, often in equally bad laws, or even worse, bad economic philosophies. I won't blame you because that accomplishes nothing, but I find it hard to believe you were unaware that an economic system based on envy was philosophically sound. How did the people of your day depart so much from economic and political liberty? I'm not sure I'll ever understand).

But let me be clear about the threat you face: the Zombies I speak of are the un-dead thoughts of economists and politicians. They are animated by errors, avarice, and a lust for power. In your time, they were paraded around and even respected by the living. I cannot name them all. But you would recognise a few...fractional reserve banking...progressive taxation...Keynesian economics...all of which have their basis in the idea that you can get something for nothing.

Perhaps these dead ideas survived (thrived even) because people wanted them to be true. It would have enabled people to become wealth and happy without effort, sacrifice, saving, thrift or virtue. I can see now why it was so alluring.

The ideas must have looked and sounded alive, and the people who gave voice to these Zombie ideas inexplicably commanded the respect and belief of the population, which explains why so many people believed the ideas were good. But in their heart these Zombie ideas were rotten and their brains were both empty and corrupt.

I can't believe you didn't see that at that time. But that is why I'm writing to you today, so that you might better spot these ideas in your own time, and hopefully cut off their heads, for as I'm sure you know, that is the only way to kill a zombie.

Ideas are notoriously hard to kill, of course. Some would say it is impossible, and maybe they are right. That's what makes the Zombies such a formidable enemy. And I must confess we find ourselves hard put to kill the ones still among us. They simply refuse to die. We were lucky that the logical consequence of the Zombie ideas led to their own destruction. Not even the Zombies saw that coming.

But some of the worst ideas are still amongst us. Upon reflection, I now believe that's because whatever virus animates the Zombies is also present in the brains and blood of ordinary humans. We are not all Zombies now, but I can see how that might easily happen.

If I am able to write more letters to you, I will show you how to inoculate yourself against this virus. And if you are successful, you may be able to spare me and many people whom you will never meet a great deal of suffering.

For I can assure you that unless you fight them, the Zombies will slowly take everything you have. They will make your world poorer and meaner. I know, because I live in that world, where we are paying the price for your laziness and indifference to the dangerous ideas that were clearly right in front of your face, but about which you did nothing.

However I know this all must be a shock. You must be thinking that the world you live in is not nearly as fragile and vulnerable as I make it out. I will try, in later letters, to show you that it is, and what I think you must do to survive and hopefully kill some Zombies.

Until then, your friend from the future

Shawn Cownah