A correspondence between George Monbiot and Paul Kingsnorth poses some truly horrific questions…
“The writing is on the wall for industrial society, and no amount of ethical shopping or determined protesting is going to change that now. Take a civilisation built on the myth of human exceptionalism and a deeply embedded cultural attitude to "nature"; add a blind belief in technological and material progress; then fuel the whole thing with a power source that is discovered to be disastrously destructive only after we have used it to inflate our numbers and appetites beyond the point of no return. What do you get? We are starting to find out. We need to get real. Climate change is teetering on the point of no return while our leaders bang the drum for more growth. The economic system we rely upon cannot be tamed without collapsing, for it relies upon that growth to function. And who wants it tamed anyway? Most people in the rich world won't be giving up their cars or holidays without a fight.” (Click here for the whole exchange.) Pic by R. Crumb
“The writing is on the wall for industrial society, and no amount of ethical shopping or determined protesting is going to change that now. Take a civilisation built on the myth of human exceptionalism and a deeply embedded cultural attitude to "nature"; add a blind belief in technological and material progress; then fuel the whole thing with a power source that is discovered to be disastrously destructive only after we have used it to inflate our numbers and appetites beyond the point of no return. What do you get? We are starting to find out. We need to get real. Climate change is teetering on the point of no return while our leaders bang the drum for more growth. The economic system we rely upon cannot be tamed without collapsing, for it relies upon that growth to function. And who wants it tamed anyway? Most people in the rich world won't be giving up their cars or holidays without a fight.” (Click here for the whole exchange.) Pic by R. Crumb
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5 comments:
Monbiot wrote:"When civilizations collapse, psychopaths take over."
Maybe post-collapse psychopaths simply won't have to expend the energy pretending they haven't already taken over?
I'm of another option, oddly unmentioned in the entire piece... expansion into space.
The problem is quite obviously too many people being crowded together with nowhere to go... so, send 'em to the space opera. Look at history, note that when there is a wild frontier to tame, the psychopaths & power hungery get all excited & go out after everything they can find to pillage rape & plunder.
Send 'em off to mine Mars & syphon Titan for everything its worth.. I'm pretty sure things will calm down if we can get those fuckers to go out after something rather than keep hanging around causing trouble here.
"A new life in the off-world colonies."
Fascinating and frightening discussion, Mick. Thank you for flagging it up.
Since the psychopaths clearly have taken over perhaps its time to admit the civilization HAS collapsed and start looking for something to replace it.
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