Dark times. Global ecosystem collapse, sixth mass extinction, global food
shortages leading to social collapse, the greatest threat humanity has everfaced. A dark time indeed. But if it was that bad, if it were all true, if theworld really was dying, people would actually be doing something about it by now.Or not? ---- Well, it turns out that the interconnected global environmentalcrises we face are not easy problems to solve. For example, climate change isdescribed by political analysts as a "super nasty problem". "Super nasty" maysound like a superlative from the 1990s rave culture, but it's actually trying todescribe problems that are complex, multi-caused, involve behavior change, butalso urgent, and there's no central authority that can solve. However, itactually shows that things need to change fundamentally. Climate change is not apolitical issue. Small adjustments, conferences and technological adjustmentsjust won't help. It requires radical systemic change.System change might sound a little vague, so let's be a little more specific. Weabsolutely must end capitalism, the dominant economic system on the planet. Inorder to survive in a capitalist system, the economy must constantly grow, anddespite what the billionaire egomaniacs and space fantasists say, this inevitablymeans more resource consumption, more carbon emissions, more destruction ofnature. De-coupling is the idea that economic growth can be separated,"uncoupled", from resource consumption and environmental damage. But it's likehaving your cake and eating it too. Time and time again this has been shown to bea false hope promoted by those who profit from maintaining the current system(and they don't just want their pie, they want yours too!). In fact, capitalismis simply not compatible with sustaining life-sustaining systems on the planet.Anyway, capitalism is just a cruel and tired excuse for an economic system thatexploits the many for the benefit of the few and is based on bizarre outdatedmyths. For example, "psychological egoism" is the idea that all human activity isdriven by selfish motives, that the only reason you would help someone or doanything at all is because it will benefit you in the end. In a sense, it is asimple solution to the complex and fascinating problem of what drives humanbehavior. But that's just not true. Altruism and cooperation do not only exist inhuman relationships, but are actually the basis of evolutionary theories thathave been misused to justify selfish individualism. "Rational utilitymaximization" takes these ideas of ultimate selfish motivation and uses them asthe basis of economics. He argues that each of us acts rationally and alwaysseeks to maximize our own wealth. But again, it has been proven many times thatpeople don't actually act like that. To learn more about these ideas and how theywere debunked, feel free to look them up.What these concepts really represent is the idea that humans are essentiallyselfish bastards. Their proponents argue that the only way to prevent societyfrom collapsing into a Lord of the Flies type scenario and returning to the StoneAge is to harness our selfish urges for the collective good. If that doesn'tsound completely logical to you, that's because it's completely off the top ofyour head! But spreading and perpetuating these dark myths allows the rich andpowerful to stay on top. To be fair, they did a pretty good job. By confirming usin misanthropy, i.e. in the fact that people are bad by nature, they prevent usfrom believing in the possibility of change.Ok, capitalism has to go to shit, but "what is the alternative?" I hear you ask.There is no alternative! Or at least that's the answer you usually get. As ifcapitalism is the final, optimal way of organizing society, the so-called "end ofhistory". It's true that capitalism has a strong hold on our collectiveimaginations, the world outside of it sometimes seems like a figment of theimagination. This is captured by the term "capitalist realism" - the idea thatcapitalism prevents us from imagining any alternative. However, capitalism itselfis a fairy tale, albeit a particularly bleak, dark and somewhat depressing one.Jumping to another metaphorical genre, we seem to be rooted in a kind of zombiecapitalism: Nobody believes in it, it's not really alive anymore, but it stilltrudges on, refusing to die.Although it is hard to imagine, things can change. After all, there have beenmany huge, seemingly unimaginable changes in the past. Borrowing the wisdom ofUrsula Le Guin:"We live in capitalism. His power seems inevitable. Just like the divine right ofkings. Every human power can be resisted and changed by people."But if that wasn't enough for you, it's not just capitalism that needs to go. Wealso need to fundamentally change the way we relate to and communicate with therest of nature. And by "we" I don't mean just me and you, the person writing andthe person reading this article. I mean humans, homo sapiens, the entire animalspecies (or at least a sufficient number of us who think, strive, and acttogether). I know what you're thinking: people don't have the best track recordof getting together. Have humans ever really acted together, collectively,purposefully as a species? Who knows? But maybe it's high time we did. And what awonderful, enticing thought: that together we can decide our direction, weigh andthink through our beliefs and desires, and shape the future accordingly.It's true that we've never been here before, we're in uncharted territory. If wedon't know what lies in the darkness ahead, how will we find the way? "If youonly knew the power of the Dark Side..." as someone once said somewhere far away.We shouldn't fear the dark, we should embrace it. In the dark lies the mystery,the possibilities and the beauty of the unknown. Of course we must learn fromhistory and not make the same mistakes, but the future is unknown, evenunknowable. Perhaps the only thing we know with some degree of certainty aboutthe world that future generations will inherit is that one way or another, thingswill change, and the change will be huge, unprecedented. Catastrophists' fantasy,ultra-fast posthuman virtual nonsense, or maybe something else, somethingawesome. It's up to us.The world we dreamers seek is not perfect, there is no such thing. Utopias can bevisions to inspire us, but never reality. Still, maybe we can share a few thingsabout what we want and what we don't want. We don't want billionaires. We wanthealthcare, housing, education and food for all. We don't want factory farms. Wewant people to live in harmonious relationships with their surroundings. We don'twant megayachts, megalomaniac houses or megalomaniacs. We want music, dance, playand adventure. We don't want the financial derivatives of futures traders. Wewant the freedom to breathe, wonder and collectively learn about ourselves andthe world around us.As life systems on Earth destabilize, the human social world also appears to beentering a new phase marked by dramatic global events, rifts and new formationsemerging as old structures break down. Instead of succumbing to misanthropicmyths and self-fulfilling prophecies of doom, we must believe in our potential asa species, have the courage to step into the darkness."Leaving open the door to the unknown, the door to darkness. This is where themost important things come from, where you came from, and where you will go." -Rebecca Solnit, The Guide to Getting LostSource:https://freedomnews.org.uk/2023/01/11/welcome-the-darkness/https://www.afed.cz/text/7855/vitejte-v-temnote_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten