"Some stories we have told ourselves?claims by white people, men, or U.S. citizens that domination is natural and appropriate?are relatively easy to debunk (though many cling to them). Other delusional assertions?such as the claim that capitalism is compatible with basic moral principles, meaningful democracy, and ecological sustainability?require more effort to take apart (perhaps because there seems to be no alternative).
But toughest to dislodge may be the central illusion of the industrial world?s extractive economy: that we can maintain indefinitely a large-scale human presence on the earth at something like current First-World levels of consumption. The task for those with critical sensibilities is not just to resist oppressive social norms and illegitimate authority, but to speak a simple truth that almost no one wants to acknowledge: The high-energy/high-technology life of affluent societies is a dead end. We can?t predict with precision how resource competition and ecological degradation will play out in the coming decades, but it is ecocidal to treat the planet as nothing more than a mine from which we extract and a landfill into which we dump."
"Scientists these days are talking about tipping points and planetary boundaries, about how human activity is pushing Earth beyond its limits. Recently 22 top scientists warned that humans likely are forcing a planetary-scale critical transition 'with the potential to transform Earth rapidly and irreversibly into a state unknown in human experience,' which means that 'the biological resources we take for granted at present may be subject to rapid and unpredictable transformations within a few human generations.'
That conclusion is the product of science and common sense, not supernatural beliefs or conspiracy theories. The political/social implications are clear: There are no solutions to our problems if we insist on maintaining the high-energy/high-technology existence lived in much of the industrialized world (and desired by many currently excluded from it). Many tough-minded folk who are willing to challenge other oppressive systems hold on tightly to this lifestyle. The critic Fredric Jameson has written, 'It is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism,' but that?s only part of the problem?for some, it may be easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of air conditioning. We do live in end-times, of a sort. Not the end of the world?the planet will carry on with or without us?but the end of the human systems that structure our politics, economics, and social life. 'Apocalypse' need not involve heavenly rescue fantasies or tough-guy survival talk; to get apocalyptic means seeing clearly and recommitting to core values."
Peace!
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16620-get-apocalyptic-why-radical-is-the-new-normal
But toughest to dislodge may be the central illusion of the industrial world?s extractive economy: that we can maintain indefinitely a large-scale human presence on the earth at something like current First-World levels of consumption. The task for those with critical sensibilities is not just to resist oppressive social norms and illegitimate authority, but to speak a simple truth that almost no one wants to acknowledge: The high-energy/high-technology life of affluent societies is a dead end. We can?t predict with precision how resource competition and ecological degradation will play out in the coming decades, but it is ecocidal to treat the planet as nothing more than a mine from which we extract and a landfill into which we dump."
"Scientists these days are talking about tipping points and planetary boundaries, about how human activity is pushing Earth beyond its limits. Recently 22 top scientists warned that humans likely are forcing a planetary-scale critical transition 'with the potential to transform Earth rapidly and irreversibly into a state unknown in human experience,' which means that 'the biological resources we take for granted at present may be subject to rapid and unpredictable transformations within a few human generations.'
That conclusion is the product of science and common sense, not supernatural beliefs or conspiracy theories. The political/social implications are clear: There are no solutions to our problems if we insist on maintaining the high-energy/high-technology existence lived in much of the industrialized world (and desired by many currently excluded from it). Many tough-minded folk who are willing to challenge other oppressive systems hold on tightly to this lifestyle. The critic Fredric Jameson has written, 'It is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism,' but that?s only part of the problem?for some, it may be easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of air conditioning. We do live in end-times, of a sort. Not the end of the world?the planet will carry on with or without us?but the end of the human systems that structure our politics, economics, and social life. 'Apocalypse' need not involve heavenly rescue fantasies or tough-guy survival talk; to get apocalyptic means seeing clearly and recommitting to core values."
Peace!
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/16620-get-apocalyptic-why-radical-is-the-new-normal
