From my Green New Deal colleague and friend, Andrew Simms for BBC Ideas:
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To the headline question my answer is: We could, but I don’t believe we will. 🙁
I am inclined to agree – too much societal inertia. The example of the Iceland volcano was good – but it was a natural event – which forced temporary change.
The book “decline and fall, of the roman empire” by Peter heather is instructive with respect to Roman britain – which in Ad400 had a population about the same as 1450 England. This was greatly reduced by the impact of a “natural force” called Angles and Saxons. Roman Briton was a well organised but totally civilian society (most of the legions having been withdrawn). There is an info black hole between 400Ad and 600AD with respect to what happened. However, it is very likely that societal inertia with respect to the angle/saxon threat coupled to a civilian society led to a destruction of that society.
The discussions of “keeping temp rise to 1.5C” are diversions. Methane in Siberian artic/permafrost is now starting to off-load & we are at 1C. Chinese emissions continue to rise (2.8% last year). There is no global response on the horizon. Of course, there could be one:e.g. stop all flights – now (redeploy people into energy renno of the built environment + renewables), fossil fuel rationing etc etc. Won’t happen, gradualism rules – OK!
I’m not sure the US Moon landing is a good example of what can be achieved. Possibly the biggest PR fraud in modern history.
Just look at that flag blowing in the Lunar Breeze and ask yourself what is making it billow like that ??
You don’t really believe it was faked?
Surely?
If it were a fraud it would be more interesting than the reality. But PR stunt? – almost certainly.
If the money had been spent on basic research/education (or even near earth orbit technology) the payoff would have been better.
That I buy
The Moon landing ? Faked ?
I don’t rule it out.
It was a very significant vanity project of the Cold War. Some people are convinced it was a hoax and I don’t know.
Maybe they did get there, but they took the pictures first …..? Maybe this …maybe that, maybe something else.
The intriguing counter-argument is that we (NASA) were better equipped technologically in 1969 to fly men to the Moon and back, than to fake the filming !
Once we start to distrust ‘authority’ it’s very difficult to know where to stop.
In this I have not a doubt it happened
Wow, just wow! Take a trip to the Science museum and find the Apollo 10 command module and tell me you are not moved by seeing at first hand the ingenuity that took 2 people to circle the moon and back safely. You can almost touch it and feel the burnt heatshield. The J2 rocket engine is also around that area and that incredible piece of engineering helped take them there.
To borrow another US Presidential slogan: ‘Yes we can!’. Because if we don’t we’re toast.
And if the ruling global market capitalist neo-liberal Establishment won’t change (a big ask as it’s not in its DNA) then Millennials and Centennials will take matters into their own hands. One can only hope that the requisite radical transition will be peaceful. I have my doubts because there is too much for the 1% to lose both materially and power-wise.
Roosevelt’s New Deal proved to be only a partial and temporary solution to the economic woes of the time. Once some level of stability had been restored post WW2 the Capitalist class systematically set about unwinding the clock by declaring war on the installed welfare programmes, Federal government regulation, high taxation, left-wing political parties, trades unionists and progressive socio-economic thought wherever it had taken root. A war that, in its mind, is still unfinished. Reagan was its poster boy.
But there can be no winding back of the changes required to protect future life on the planet.
It’s a unique opportunity for Green Parties everywhere to show the way by coming together en bloc in order to provide inspirational leadership. (In the wider context, our own beleaguered Brexit is an unwelcome distraction).
It behoves us all do whatever it takes within our individual and collective power to ensure that ‘Silent Spring’ doesn’t morph into ‘Silent Eternity’.
John D says:
“To borrow another US Presidential slogan: ‘Yes we can!’.”
Erm……… Since when was Bob the Builder ever a US president ? 🙂
12 Years?
Indulge me a little would you dear friends?
I have been deeply disturbed by what I have seen in New Zealand recently and even more by some of the reaction to it.
The Aussie ‘senator’ (what a respectful title carried by such an underserving person) Frazer Anning blaming the incident on immigration for example. I watched his tussle with the young man who broke an egg on his head in protest and then watched the lad brought to the ground by the private thugs hired as Anning’s minders and then watched said lad being marched away by the Police.
And I thought ‘Why is isn’t Anning being arrested and marched away by Police for saying what he said, given how inciteful it was?’. What a strange world we live in and how it delineates good from that which is bad as it does? Anning should be in prison for what he said, and also lose his job as a senator.
To me, how that incident unfurled told me a lot about what seems to be happening in the world. There is something malignant out there – and here – that needs to be tackled head on.
There are for me two major crises we are facing at the moment – you could see them as Siamese twins because they are linked:
(1) Contemporary North American Capitalism – with its propensity for moving wealth from the many to the few and placing its profit costs on the rest of society;
(2) The widely acknowledged but also denied environmental instability created by pollution in pursuit of the above.
Immigration seen in the context of yesterday was actually how many a country built its wealth – Australia and the U.S. in particular and the UK using its commonwealth for the same purpose to address manpower issues.
But now, with post 2008 trauma still around, austerity, capitalism’s obsession with short term profit -making money by bearing down on the worker, an unblinking belief in more automation without thinking of the consequence of this on human life – immigration just seemingly (ands unjustifiably) adds to people’s woes as the masses feel that they have to compete with neighbours more for less work, wages etc.
And then we have the Far Right sensing blood in the water, stirring up these issues and trying to capitalise on them. Even the Left thinks it appropriate to either go along with a lot of this because they simply do not know what to do anymore in my opinion, or end up blaming say, the Jews for the way money works in our world or cling to some dream that one day people will rise up and overthrow all of this.
If we have 12 years where might any change come from?
Well, I’m going to dream a bit now – and I need to because it comforts me at this time – and hopefully this idea or line of thought might comfort or even spur more capable people along?
A friend of mine who is a Christian (and very patiently would like me to become one) lent me a booklet about Jesus some time back. As ever, I smiled politely (and knowingly) and said I would read it but only glanced at it initially and put it on my book shelf. The other day whilst looking for something else I came across it again and this time I looked through it and came across this statement that the booklet attributed to Jesus:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out by religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn tom live freely and lightly”.
I read this and suppose with the line about being burnt out about religion it got my attention and something – I don’t know – stirred within me. I thought politically – ‘What a great manifesto statement’. He is not advocating a system (the Church, religion, God). He seems to be advocating leading by personal example. I am drawn to this.
As boy I learnt that Jesus had kicked over the money lender’s tables in the temple. I was always impressed by this act because Jesus (and seemingly Christianity ) had realised that what was meant to be a social utility had now turned into an object of desire itself and also a basis of power for vested selfish human interests. This ‘something’ is money.
Speaking somewhat religiously now – when you think about it, it is money – this man made thing – that is (perhaps) the Devil? I’ve seen money change people for the worst – when they do not have enough or if they have too much. And, what they are prepared to do for the right amount (lawyers, accountants financiers and politicians take note).
Anyhow, I have also read Michael Hudson’s writings about debt management in Bronze Age societies. It seems that the Ibrahimic religious attitude to debt (or money management if you like) were based on morality.
Christians and Muslims took a dim view of usury. The Jews had a more interesting idea – borrowed it seems from more ancient societies – that if people got out of hand with money (and it is always people remember – not money itself), the idea was to forgive all debts and wipe the slate clean for everyone – a debt Jubilee – a re-setting of the economy.
I look at Christianity and Judaism now and wonder what is going on? Why so quiet about these ideas? Recently in my area, a loan shark had just been convicted who was a Muslim with a loan book worth hundreds of thousands of pounds but who was a regular at his mosque. I know a another Christian who sees his faith rewarded by materialistic things – a new car or washing machine. I see Jewish journals writing about anti-Semitism in the Labour party but not doing a lot on their front pages to campaign to restore a debt Jubilee policy.
So what to do in 12 years?
I’d like to see all the religions somehow go back to their past attitudes to money – to find and rekindle them and build a political movement around those. This is the only way to bring about any change. The ancients seemed to know more about the problems people have with money than we do now. Maybe because money was so new as a concept in those past days? Isn’t that bizarre? But also, isn’t that instructive?
Here in the UK, I’d like to see a dominant C of E , along with the Catholic church, supported by Muslims and Jews (and even our fellow human beings in other faiths) think about what Jesus did in the temple and what he says above and bring about the change we need. All religions seem to speak of fairness and promote self awareness of our impact on and consideration of others. Maybe this is the linkage? Maybe this is the idea that the Faiths can coalesce around? Put aside whose prophet Jesus is and just listen to his words or those from other prophets that are similar?
Jesus is the man (or maybe YOUR man is the man, depending on your faith?). He is the only leader I can think of at the moment. Even though his existence remains disputed and his origins (the son of God?) I find hard to accept. Yes, there maybe leaders in Judaism and Islam and other faiths who say the same but I am not conversant with them – forgive me if this is the case.
But the words. The deeds. They really say something that too many supposed political and business leaders we have today could not say because they have lost their way and taken too many of us with them.
Finally, many might be worried that I am advocating a pervasive religious view on ALL things human. I am not. Rather I am advocating a Jesus driven, religious view of an attitude to MONEY. There is that saying that ‘Money is the root of all evil’. This saying is now more pertinent than ever before in my view.
Money is being put before people and the planet. This has to be stopped. For me this man/legend that is Jesus – at this moment in time, his words and deeds make sense whether he existed or not. We need to find a way to bring them about. He – or the words – have the answers I feel sure. Let us look to him/them again?
Much to think about
And think about it I will
Thank you for taking my musings in good faith.
As a life long atheist, I find myself in territory I feel somewhat uncomfortable in. And also ignorant of.
But as you say, the world abounds with orthodoxies – too many bad ones. We need collections of new heterodoxies to bring about change – ideas that represent the best of us. For my part I am happy to learn more about the common sense humanity of Jesus and bring it into play without fear of hypocrisy or denigration.
All the other ideas seem to have come to and end. All we seem to have left is this guy from Nazareth or someone similar in another faith. Just what have we forgotten? We should listen and go back.
I’m sure the ancients knew.
“The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting”
― Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
Jesus created a wisdom tradition
And a faith
He also had a religion created in his honour
The last was the problem
“Jesus […] had a religion created in his honour….”
We call it Christian, but much of it is Pauline. (Paulian).
That’s not all of the problem but I reckon it got it off on the wrong foot. 🙁
“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.”
Meanwhile ….. ‘out of the mouths of babes ….’ Greta Thunberg calls for ‘system change not climate change’ – https://theconversation.com/climate-strike-greta-thunberg-calls-for-system-change-not-climate-change-heres-what-that-could-look-like-112891.