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8/20/2019 Surviving the End of Growth
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Surviving the End of Growth: Achieving a Red-Green
Synthesis. by Joshua A. Peters
© 2014 by Joshua A. Peters. All rights reserved.
Books may be purchased in quantity and/or special sales by
contacting the publisher, www.lulu.com
Published by: www.lulu.com
Cover Design by: Joshua A. Peters
Editing by: Joshua A. Peters
ISBN: 978-1-312-17522-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Second Edition
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Surviving the End of Growth: Achieving a Red-Green
Synthesis
Joshua A. Peters
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The sky was bright and brilliant, dotted with light pink
clouds, as the sun slowly peeked over the horizon. Jubal could
sense the brightness flood into his consciousness as the sunlight hithis closed eyelids. For a fleeting moment he chased around the
amorphous sensations dancing in his mind, expanding and
contracting light amoebas, slowly changing shapes. Opening his
eyes, he could see the forest canopy above. Jubal had been
travelling for three days to reach a specific area of open plains
outside a Ward cluster in the Ohio River Valley; compelled by
history, and by relic knowledge. A small creek was running
nearby and a few hearty fowl that had survived the GreatBottleneck were chirping timidly. Jubal Valentine did not
experience the Great Bottleneck himself, only the much harsher
world that remained nearly sixty years after the mass extinctions
finally subsided. The extinction event lasted more than twenty
years and a constant cycle of human depopulation caused by
famine, disease, and environmental degradation reduced human
population from its peak of 16.7 billion in the year 2064 to a more
stable population of 3 billion today: the year 2152.
Jubal took stock of his belongings: a two strapped bag that
hung from his shoulders containing one change of clothes, a spare
set of leather boots, flint for starting fires, a collapsible water
container, a compass, a shepherd’s sling, his communication
device, and a stash of vegetable seeds gathered along his travels. If
Jubal wanted to be on time to meet his space-man from the past, he
knew he would have to get moving. It was highly unlikely that thehuman astronaut launched in 2056 would actually return as
planned, but hey, it was worth being there to find out.
Jubal’s stomach rumbled loud; a clear sign that he needed
to eat, and soon. He had not eaten meat for three days, not an
uncommon occurrence, but he hungered for something substantial.
He opened the leather drawstring on his pack and pulled out his
shepherd’s sling. It was basically a slightly cupped pouch, wovenfrom hemp rope, with two long cords woven in; one cord coming
from each side of the pouch. One of the cords had a loop at the
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end, intended to slide over the middle or ring finger, while the
other cord was placed between pointing finger and thumb. A small
rock, smoothed by flowing rivers, was placed in the cupped pouchand flung out at great speed when the cord between thumb and
pointing finger was released. Most people did not see this as much
of a weapon; in fact many had underestimated its power, but in
Jubal’s able and practiced hands it was silent and deadly.
Jubal walked slowly and quietly along the edge habitat
created by the immense swathes of downed trees, slowly swinging
the loaded sling in a circular motion over his head. He was aboutto give up the hunt when he saw a grey squirrel in the distance,
sitting on a tree branch, packing his cheeks with black walnuts.
Jubal twirled the sling faster, two more revolutions, then released
the chord between his thumb and finger just as the centrifugal
force aligned with the target. The polished river stone launched
out of the pouch at incredible speed, revolving at the perfect
frequency. The squirrel’s death was quick and painless and Jubal
said a prayer, thanking the creature for his sacrifice. This was theway of the world in 2152. A much deeper reverence for the flesh
of animals had been established, a vestigial respect bourn of the
tragedy of the Great Bottleneck. Every able bodied human was
required to be present for the butchering of any animal whose meat
they intended to consume, and were encouraged to participate in
the killing of the animal as well. Additionally, all animals
domesticated as a source of food must be allowed to live at least
one half of its average life span before consumption. The NewConsensus demanded this regulation to ensure reverence for the
animal’s sacrifice and consideration for their life potential.
As Jubal packed away the valuable protein for later
consumption, he noticed a flash out of the corner of his eye. He
turned his head and saw a small glowing sphere shooting out of the
Northwest sky, slowing as it approached; then a small controlled
explosion from the top. It was an old-style parachute brightlyadorned with the Old American “stars and stripes”, with a
glowing-hot metal container hanging from long chords. Jubal
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hurried toward the apparent landing zone, almost not believing his
eyes.
Captain Carl Kakudmi, the U.S. Astronaut sent out into the
cosmos in the year 2056, was equally surprised to be “home”. The
last thirty years of his life had been spent inside a room no larger
than a school bus, thinking about the family he left behind: his
mother, father, and little sister Ursula. Now fifty years old, he had
spent more time in deep space than he had spent on Earth. Carl
was sent off at the age of twenty to be the first forward time
traveler. Everyone knows that traveling backward in time isimpossible, but anyone with a basic knowledge of physics and
space-time knows that traveling forward in time is just a matter of
speed. Capt. Kakudmi had traveled in a life sustaining vessel,
eventually reaching .95 the speed of light. When traveling that
close to the speed of light, the passing of time relative to Earth,
slows significantly. He had been shot into deep space, slowed
down, slung around a nearby star, then accelerated back to .95 the
speed of light, returning thirty years later in his life span. But because he traveled so fast, when he returned to Earth, more than
ninety years had passed.
As Carl shoved open the hatch he was surprised to behold a
singular human in a simple brown sarong, smiling broadly. Jubal
spoke, enunciating perfectly, “As the Regional Education
Ambassador, I Jubal M. Valentine, welcome you to the Communal
Wards of the Americas. You must be Carl Kakudmi. You mayhave expected a larger welcome home committee, but to be honest,
the low probability of your survival combined with the massive
changes we have experienced, led to a lack of popular public
knowledge or interest.”
Carl was shocked, he wasn’t necessarily expecting a ticker-
tape parade down Broadway, but this was truly lackluster. “What
changes?”
Jubal began speaking towards the captain’s blank stare, “I
have thought a lot about where I should begin, to help explain the
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significant and radical changes that have come to fruition since you
left Earth. I think it best to begin with the concept of a ‘progress
trap’, are you familiar with that term?”
“No, I can’t say that I am. Hey, where are we exactly,
anyways?” Carl asked assertively.
“You are outside a Ward cluster near the Ohio River
Valley, please try to listen, a progress trap is when innovation that
looks initially like a positive adaptation later proves to be
dangerous or detrimental. The progress trap is constructed by
unintended consequences and triggered by the exhaustion of asystem. Social innovations like capitalism and the harnessing of
fossil fuels, initially hailed as saviors of mankind, were revealed to
be a cruel trap.”
“No more capitalism? You gotta be kidding me?” Carl
barked, feeling somewhat confused.
“I am not.” Jubal paused long, waiting to see if this antiquespace-man was ready to listen, then spoke again: “Even in your
time, there were warnings that capitalism was driving the rift withthe biosphere and that we were struggling to maintain a sustainable
relationship with nature (Clack). In order to survive, humanity had
to turn away from the blind ambition of pure anthropocentrism and
the expectation of perpetual growth, toward a species being that
was more eco-centric and less centralized. The New Consensus,
our new social thesis is this:
Liberal, social democratic, conservationist, and
environmentalist thought all support a capitalist status
quo that is destroying our planet; in order to establish
the theoretical foundations required to survive the
inevitable end of growth, humans must synthesize the
radical responses provided by Red social thought and
Green environmental thought into a consensus ideologythat creates a reverence for humanity that can be
projected upon all living entities on Earth.”
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Captain Kakudmi squinted a bit and pressed his lips
together tightly. Jubal went on, “Many ecological theorists had
noted that as capitalism expanded and natural resources weredepleted, production costs would skyrocket and create a crisis for
capitalism, but very few wanted to listen (Clack). Clearly, a new
social contract was needed in order to provide social and
environmental justice to future generations. Simply cordoning off
tracts of land and deeming them National Parks, preserving a
snapshot of what your generation saw as ‘wilderness’, was not
enough.” Sensing that Carl was finally taking him seriously, Jubal
continued, “A new form of democracy emerged, woven from thetheoretical musings of political theorists; a system that
decentralizes political power and creates a seat at the table for
other living entities. Fortunately, the need for a highly
authoritarian political system, proposed by Heilbroner and others,
was not necessary because the New Consensus was deeply felt by
all (Smith).”
“Well there’s a first!” Carl interjected, “one hundred percent consensus, in America! What did you have to do,
brainwash everyone?”
“I’ll get to that, Captain. Please allow me to continue.”
Jubal paused,
“Go on, Jubal, say your peace.”
“In the face of hardship, the urge to ignore moral andethical realities was intense, but ultimately a new social contract
was established in which we recognize our responsibilities to the
planet, future generations, and even other species. Just looking
ahead one or two generations was not good enough, the ethical
domain of human thought had to expand much further; the
potential needs of humans twenty generations in the future had to
be at least considered. The post-modernist-esque assertion that the
inherent complexity of evolving life precludes any obligations oressential truths, advanced partially by 20th century political
philosopher Michael P. Golding, fell from favor (Smith).”
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Carl looked at Jubal, slightly puzzled, then spoke somewhat
sternly, “Surely you understand that the further out you forecast,
the less accurate your social engineering will be? Right?”
“Clearly.”
“Good…” Carl grumbled. “Wait, how does one represent a
‘future generation’ or a blade of grass?”
“By studying and then ser ving their interests, as any good
representative should.” Jubal smiled wryly, “Don’t pretend it is
witchcraft, Captain; setting up markets to bet on the future value ofhogs, now that’s witchcraft.” Carl cracked a smile, then laughed
heartily, something he had not done for a long time. As
disorientated as he was, to be in the presence of another human
after thirty years was, well, intoxicating.
Jubal continued, “Of course it is difficult to judge the needs
of a future generation, but some base needs can be forecast with
clarity. Water is a prime example. The possibility that futuregenerations will learn to use far less water, per capita, should not
obstruct one from protecting the quality and cleanliness of freshwater resources now. Air is another example. I suppose it is
technically possible that future advances in medical devices could
allow us to replace our human lungs with some sort of machine,
but wouldn’t it just be better for society and species to enact the
regulations necessary to keep the air we breathe safe for
consumption by us and future generations?”
“But I can’t believe you got, what is it by now, fifteen
billion people, to go along with this crap, seriously?” Carl huffed.
Jubal felt a flash of heat and tears welling up as he remembered the
cost of this consensus. “Not fifteen billion.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“There are only three billion humans now” Jubal said,looking down in shame. But in reality it was not Jubal’s shame, it
was Captain Kakudmi’s shame, and he knew it.
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“Where the hell did twelve billion people go? How?” Carl
shrieked, burying his face in his hands. How could this have
happened, he thought? How did his generation misjudgeecological concerns so disastrously? “It can’t be true! Tell me
you are lying! Where is everyone else? It can’t be just you here,
just three billion people left, it can’t be!” Carl collapsed into
Jubal’s arms, crying deeply, but already trying to compose himself.
Jubal began to speak softly, reciting a poem he remembered,
written by Aeschylus:
Guide of mortal man to wisdom,
he who has ordained a law,
knowledge won through suffering.
Drop, drop — in our sleep, upon the heart
sorrow falls, memory’s pain,
and to us, though against our very will,
even in our own despite,
comes wisdom by the awful grace of God.”
Jubal gave him a friendly hug and then pushed him back
upright. “I’m sorry that this is difficult for you, but it is
information that you must know as deeply as we do, you have to
hear it all. The progressivist faith in science, the idea that
technology and innovation would progress at least as fast as our problems, was a lie (Hay).”
Jubal explained, “The Great Bottleneck began as an
upheaval in the human social structure and culminated in
unprecedented biological loss and ecological restructuring. The
first sign of a serious disruption to human society happened in the
late twenty first century. The workers of the industrialized world,
by this time nearly half of the planet, had been slowly pressed intoan increasingly miserable existence. Even by 2010, twenty six
years before your birth, corporate CEO and Wall Street manager
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travel, achieved by near light speed travel to the second closest star
and back again.”
“Me.”
“Yes, you.” Jubal paused, “the stored energy of ancient
plant and animal life had been harnessed to manufacture plastic
products, produce gasoline for combustion engines, synthesize
fertilizers for crops, transport food across the planet, and generate
electricity. The human population bubble created by this nearly
‘free’ energy was significant and dangerous in hindsight,
especially when combined with a culture so corrupt that it couldnot make the necessary adjustments to the global economy.
Capitalism experienced a crisis of material realities, finally falling
on the sword of chaos around the year 2078. As the other ‘Karl’
once wrote: ‘what the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all,
is its own grave-diggers’ (Marx 483)”.
“The feedback loop of economic collapse finally stopped as
the Great Bottleneck of human population began. What remainedof the global economy collapsed when electrical grids failed
around the globe. Crops failed without petroleum based fertilizers
and food was no longer easily transported across continents and
oceans. All of the easily obtainable fossil fuels had been scooped
up, along with those that were not so easy to obtain. It is said that
our fore fathers excavated and processed sand deposits filled with
tar to keep the oil-based economy going, even building a pipeline
atop the continent’s most prized fresh water aquifer. They also broke bedrock hundreds of feet deep, not considering the seismic
consequences, in order to release the natural gas locked inside.
The result of these futile actions was to further the population
bubble, exacerbate climate change, and ensure even more future
human deaths. The collapse of governments and electrical grids
around the world led to nuclear reactors melting down, chemical
leaks tainting water supplies, and an unleashing of global climate
change in full force.”
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“The unrestricted use of fossil fuels also led to significant
climatic warming of the Earth. Higher air temperatures released
methane trapped in previously frozen tundra causing sea levels torise significantly. We knew in 2002 that methane was a more
powerful global warmer than carbon dioxide by weight and that it
had the potential to create abrupt changes in the atmosphere
(Nisbet). Even more significantly, warmer ocean temperatures led
to the release of massive reserves of condensed methane hydrate, a
form of solid methane trapped by pressure and cool ocean
temperatures; the ocean appeared to boil for years in some
locations as methane gas bubbled to the surface. Warning came asearly as 2004 that when considering the dynamics of global
climate, methane gas releases from the ocean floor cannot be
ignored as a possible source of the type of positive feedback
necessary for abrupt warming (Garidel-Thoron, Kvenvolden). We
knew, but did nothing”
“Most catastrophically, the melting permafrost also
released a myriad of bacteria and viruses that had long beenforgotten by the human immune system. The resulting deaths from
disease alone claimed another four hundred million human lives
starting in 2084. The piled bodies of those who starved to death or
died of disease had to be burned en masse. Chaos and violence
spread, with the vast majority of the poorest people around the
world perishing. Only one in five humans survived the Great
Bottleneck. Along with the billions of humans who perished,
thousands of other species also suffered or became completelyextinct.”
“It is possible, that this outcome was inevitable, even fated.
In Das Kapital , Karl Marx wrote: ‘the historical development of
the antagonisms, imminent in a given form of production, is the
only way in which that form of production can be dissolved and a
new form established’ (Cohen 146). The inherent antagonism of
capitalism, a system predicated on growth, was that it was fueled by a finite energy source, fossil fuels. In this case, the ancient
power of stored carbon supported not only a socio-economic
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RED THREADS
At the campsite, Carl watched his first sunset in fifty years
while Jubal cooked the squirrel over the fire. The sun crosses a
horizon twice a day on Earth; the lack of such an event in space
had unnerved Carl almost immediately. Now he savored it, he
didn’t want to close or even avert his eyes. Great swaths of
crimson and violet lit up the twilight sky in a breathtaking display
that again brought tears to Capt. Kakudmi’s eyes, this time light
and reverent.
After dinner, Jubal continued his attempt to bring Carl up
to speed. “Are you ready to continue, Carl”
“Now that my stomach is full, yes, I am quite ready.
Thanks again.”
Jubal explained, “A Marxist or socialist orientation was
important in order to explain the transition humans wereexperiencing, to address the human social systems that led to our
downfall, and to provide the most stable social system going
forward. According to Karl Marx’s materialist conception of
history, significant changes in social form occur when ‘one
dominant production relation supplants another’ causing a
revolutionary shift in the economic structure (Cohen 86). The
physical realities and modes of production are seen as having a
primary effect on the resulting social structures that occur in
society. In Marx’s Theories of Surplus Value, he wrote that ‘the
economic relations and consequently the social, moral and political
state of nations changes with the change in the material powers of
production’ (Cohen 146). The end of fossil fuels provided just
such a shift, with catastrophic results.”
“Marx viewed human social history as driven by the
development of productive forces over time and wrote in 1859 thatat ‘a certain stage of their development, the material productive
forces of society come in conflict with the existing relations of
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production’ followed by an ‘epoch of social revolution which
brings about a change of economic structure’ and finally a higher
relation of production (Cohen 136). Essentially, Marx is sayingthat the next great change in social and political structures will be
preceded by a change in the materials and techniques we use to
harness energies, as humanity did when we upgraded our fuel
source from wood to fossil fuels. For more than a million years
Homo sapiens survived on Earth utilizing wood to climb to the top
of the food chain; less than four hundred years of burning fossil
fuels reduced that chain to ashes. But it all started with the peak of
fossil fuel production and the resulting economic crises that Marx predicted.”
“Marx believed that when commercial crises were
especially deep, the immiseration of the proletariat would begin.
Marx envisioned embittered ‘masses of labourers, crowded into the
factory’ and organized like regiments of soldiers working as slaves
to the bourgeoisie, the state they control, and the machines they
work upon (Marx 479). The next step was widespreaddissatisfaction with the deteriorating social conditions that would
likely lead to an awakening of the proletariat.”
“Revolutionary class consciousness was seen as a
prerequisite by Marx in order for the proletariat to combine their
efforts, to exert change on the existing system. After discontent
spread among the masses, there must then be ‘a joining of forces
between dissatisfied, frustrated people’ (Davies 6). Thiscollaborative effort on the part of the proletariat may spring up in
working class neighborhoods where people of a common class
congregate and discuss their common situation, miserable and
poor. When this symphony of discontent reaches a loud enough
volume, the next step is action.”
“Marx writes that the only redress available to an oppressed
proletariat would be to abolish the ‘previous mode of
appropriation’ (Marx 482). The miserable working class would
turn to any method that proved effective, including general strikes,
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voting for socialist parties or even violence. According to Marx,
this dictatorship of the proletariat would commandeer ‘all capital
from the bourgeoisie, to centralize all instruments of production inthe hands of the state’ (Marx 490). This new state is, of course,
now controlled by the toiling masses and can be directed at
creating an egalitarian society free of class distinctions. This is
achieved, in part, by abolishing private property, instituting a
progressive income tax, and providing free education (Marx). The
goal is to create conditions in society where upon the next step is
allowed to take place; for the state as a governing structure to
eventually dissipate.”
“This withering away of the state is an important step
toward the final goal of establishing Communism. When he
described what would happen to government as society transitions
to Communism, Marx used the German word ‘aufhebung’ which
implies abolition, transcendence, and preservation (Avineri 47).
Certain elements of the state may never fully disappear, but
transcendence beyond the petty self-interest of the bourgeoisie willtransform the state into something wholly unrecognizable. When
there is no longer a parasitic class attached to the state structure,
pretending to be the state, a region can be governed by all in the
best interests of all, in order to build a fair and equitable society.
Communism is established when a ‘community of free individuals,
carrying on their work with the means of production in common’ is
established (Marx 326). This final step in the progression of
human social history represents, to Marx, the highest and mostthoroughly developed form of human society.”
“Does any of this sound familiar, Captain?”
Carl thought for a few moments then looked sideways at
Jubal, “You want me to say that it sounds like what happened in
real life, or should I say the version of events you have presented
to me?”
“Can you at least admit that he was close?”
“From what I hear…” Carl chirped. “Go on then.”
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“Let us now turn to how this ‘Red’ ideology can help us
analyze ecological problems. Enzensberger noted that to deal with
ecological problems in Marxists terms, one must view capitalismas a dominant mode of production that must be changed in order to
change the nature of ‘relationships between men and between men
and things’ (Hay 263). Essentially, we must create equality
amongst ourselves before we can begin to think of other life forms
as remotely equal. It is clear that from a ‘ progressive political
perspective, environmental problems and a widening social divide
are inseparable issues’ (Bailey 4). A higher relation of production
was needed, one with a more socialistic viewpoint in order toestablish the social cohesion needed to curb blind human ambition
and change the paradigm of how we treated each other and
eventually how we treated other species.”
“Environmental historians had done well at describing how
the capitalist development of natural resources degrades
ecosystems but had been less successful at explaining how
‘unsustainable human-nature relationships become accepted as anormal part of everyday life’ (Mosley 920). This is a breach where
Marxist social and political philosophy can provide even more
answers. The unsustainable relationships between nature and
humans was driven by the capitalist political economy that is
concerned only with creating profit and chasing growth, kept on
course by political elites who benefit from the status quo.”
“In addition to providing explanations for where we foundourselves as a species, the practical application of egalitarian
socialist principles were needed to provide a happy life with
adequate comfort to as many species as possible while maintaining
ecological equilibrium. This process begins with how we treat
each other. A ten-to-one pay ratio is now enforced, whereby the
highest paid employee in any organization cannot be paid any
more than ten times that of the lowest paid employee; if you want
to pay the CEO a million dollars per year, you must pay the janitorone hundred thousand per year.”
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“Wait a second, don’t you think that could be a disincentive
to working hard?” Carl barked.
“Not at all” Jubal responded, evenly, “We find that as
companies succeed and expand, this law makes sure that all boats
truly do rise with the economic tide and that solidarity is
established by the guarantee that the surplus value created by the
worker cannot be ferretted away by the executive team.”
“Aren’t some people just WORTH MORE than others? I
mean, really?” Carl huffed.
“No, you are mistaken. No one human is worth more than
another. The ten-to-one ratio still allows for some stratification
based on the productivity and work ethic of the employee, but
anyone who works full time deserves to live a comfortable life.
Without limits on pay ratios history has shown us that
compensation becomes a tool of economic and class stratification.
A twentieth century writer, Barbara Ehrenreich, most deftly
articulated the tragedy of this arrangement:
When someone works for less pay than she can live on – when, for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat
more cheaply and conveniently – then she has made a great
sacrifice for you, she has made you a gift of some part of
her abilities, her health, and her life. The “working poor,”
as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major
philanthropists of our society. They neglect their ownchildren so that the children of others will be cared for;
they live in substandard housing so that other homes will be
shiny and perfect; they endure privation so that inflation
will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the
working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless
benefactor, to everyone else (221).”
The look on Carl’s face im plied a deepening understanding.
Jubal continued, “In addition to the pay ratio law, fossil fuel
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deposits were nationalized and set aside for future projects that can
only be done with energy dense fuels. For example, any future
space programs will need fossil fuels to break the bonds of Earth’sgravity. We also did away with the Electoral College, stock
markets, and charging interest on loans. All measures enacted on
a national scale are voted and passed by popular vote. In fact,
elections and communication devices are two of the few areas
where advanced technology is still used on a regular basis.”
“In general, we as a civilization turned away from
specialization in the workplace and now place much less emphasison driving productivity. We now promote cooperation, not
competition. This thread of the New Consensus creates much less
alienation in the human psyche. Alienation and angst has been
replaced with reverence and understanding. Alas, it is possible to
build a social system that reveres both humanity and nature. This
idea was not lost on Marx, even in his time. Marx envisioned a
communistic world where ‘associated producers’ could ‘govern the
human metabolism with nature in a rational way’ (Clack 419). Admittedly, many socialist ideologies fetishize economic growth
through industrialization, but as you know by now, Carl, those
threads had to be abandoned. In the morning, on the walk to OR-
W46, we will discuss the ‘Green’ threads that in many ways
dominate the New Consensus.”
“OR-W46? Are you kidding me? Have you people taken
all the fun out of life?” Carl groaned, but also smiled a bit. “My apologies for the formality, Capt. Kakudmi, you might
have known this area as Cincinnati, in your time.”
“Much better, Cincinnati. But, not the nicest city, huh? A
little ‘rough’, as my dad used to say”
“You’ll see Captain, tomorrow.”
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GREEN THREADS
In the morning, the pair set off for OR-W46. Jubal was
looking forward to seeing his family, while Carl was anticipating a
colossal let down; how could all of this work, he thought? What
kind of misery was he about to observe in Cincinnati? Jubal
started his lessons before Carl could travel too far down the rabbit
hole, “Let me begin by stating what should be obvious, the timid
and incremental approach of twenty first century ‘conservationists’
and even ‘environmentalists’ had already proved to be too little,too late. Conservationism was fatally flawed because it ignored
the interconnectedness of all natural systems; putting a fence
around it and destroying the rest is not a long term strategy.
Environmentalism failed because the movement proposed only
incremental change and never pushed reforms that would interfere
with the primacy of capitalism and growth. Your era’s version of
socialism was no better; the Green critique of 21st century
democratic socialism held that their capacity to ‘embrace
environmental imperatives’ was diminished by its reflexive
defense of all labor activities and economic growth, including
those that prove harmful to the ecosystem (Hay 256). Your
generation lacked the social and ecological principles to stop the
downward spiral.”
“There was an even more radical ideological path at our
disposal that the New Consensus did not pursue fully. The ‘deepecology’ position, asserts that culturally embedded
anthropocentrism drives humans to impose dominance upon the
non-human world; ergo we must abandon all anthropocentric
thought, placing the interests of plants on equal footing with our
own (Hay 53). Many deep ecologists promote vegetarianism as
the only ethical path forward (Hay). The central intuition of deep
ecology has been described as ‘the idea that we can make no firm
ontological divide in the field of existence: That there is no
bifurcation in reality between the human and the non-human
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realms’, that ‘to the extent that we perceive boundaries, we fall
short of deep ecological consciousness’ (Devall 200). These
positions imply an unrealistic program. Principles of deep ecologycan be more helpful if you tone down the absolutist tone; reducing
our anthropocentric thoughts and actions as much as possible is a
laudable goal that the New Consensus adopted.
Critics of deep ecology reverse the causal direction; for us,
the desire of some humans to dominate others is root, leading to
the dominance and degradation of non-human nature (Hay). The
New Consensus rejects adopting the full deep ecology position,that it would be prudent for humans to completely shed their
anthropocentrism, and instead adopts the radical but more
pragmatic route of Green principles blended with some deep
ecological sentiments. Bookchin got right to the quick when he
pointed out that deep ecology’s greatest failure was its inability to
‘fully anchor ecological dislocations in social dislocations’ (Hay
69, Merchant).”
“Book -who?” Carl chimed in.
“Never mind that. Stay with me, we are making real
progress, and OR-W46, I mean Cincinnati, is just over the next
hill.”
“Go on, Jubal.”
Jubal cleared his throat, “The New Consensus adopted
three pillars of Green politics: ecology, social justice, and
grassroots democracy (Hay). First of all, when I say ecology, I do
not mean the scientific field of ecology you would recall from your
era. I speak instead of ‘ecological awareness’ which demands that
we analyze our position within natural systems and attempt to
minimize any negative impacts on other species, that we recognize
‘the fundamental interdependence of all phenomena and the
embeddedness of individuals and societies in the cyclical processesof nature’ (Hay 131).”
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“Social justice means fairness for all citizens despite their
background or current circumstances. It means applying the law
equally and treating everyone like a valued family member so thatall can reach their highest potential in society. We value and
respect every member of society regardless of their IQ or even
their work ethic. The pillar of grassroots democracy is also key.
The direct democracy model we adopted, including abolishing the
Electoral College and most forms of private campaign finance,
combined with the organizational changes based on bioregion, has
led to a government that much more closely represents the will of
ecologically minded people. It is true that there is a very strongconstitutional base of restrictive laws that place limits on economic
activity, but that is nothing new, is it?” Jubal asked, rhetorically.
“Areas of population, once organized into a state’s county
precincts, now choose a rotating representative once a year who
meets with their peers in localized groups of forty, constituting a
Ward. In addition to the forty precinct representatives meant to
represent human interests, five at-large representatives are electedin each ward to represent the interests of future generations and
another five elected to represent the interests of non-human life,
totaling 50. The wards are grouped together into geographically
and socially logical clusters that coordinate local economies. This
arrangement is similar to that described by Peter Kropotkin, with
the private means of production transferred to public ownership
and ‘a system of autonomous, freely integrated communities’ that
replace economic globalization (Oved 303). All economic activityis geographically analyzed and ordered to maximize efficiency and
minimize waste. Necessary goods are sourced nearby in order to
reduce wasteful transportation practices and arbitrary goods of no
intrinsic value are taxed out of existence. Many of these principles
appeared in a prescient utopian novel published in 1975, Ecotopia.
The author envisioned a world of recycling, electric vehicles, and
urban living blended with a reverence for nature and a communal
living arrangement (Callenbach). Unfortunately this glimpse intoour future was largely ignored.”
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“Like the Ecotopians in Callenbach’s novel, we now use
only clean and renewable sources of energy: wind, solar, tidal and
even human power .”
“Human power?” Carl croaked, “Finally, we get to the
Soylent Green!”
“The what?”
Carl’s smile tuned to a frown, his joke had bombed, and it
was a reminder that the culture that he remembered had been
largely extinguished. “Never mind, I am curious though, human power?”
“Yes, quite ingenious really, there are two major ways we
turn human energy into electricity. The first involves rows of
stationery bicycles with their chains hooked to gears on an electric
generator; once the generator is turning it takes little effort from
twenty pedaling humans to keep it going. One can make an honest
day’s wage turning his food energy into electricity while taking theequivalent of a long but enjoyable bicycle ride through the country.
The other device is higher impact and more social, perfect foryounger people who cannot sit still that long! Envision twenty or
thirty escalators side by side, none with handrails. The people
walk up stairs, using, gravity, leg strength, and their own weight to
drive an electric generator spun by the motion of the escalator
loop. Think of it, one can earn money, spend time with their
friends, and stay healthy all at the same time!”
“Are you serious? People do this for a living?” Carl
questioned.
“Some do, and are proud of it. It provides clean renewable
energy to others and sustains themselves. Plus, haven’t you known
someone in your life that likes to work hard and stay active?
Someone who would never want a job sitting down?”
“Yes I suppose so.”
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“The way we treat animals has changed too. After I took
that squirrel’s life, I said a prayer thanking it for its sacrifice. You
will be expected to do the same from now on. Furthermore, youwill be expected to be present for the butchering of any meat you
intend to consume, a regulation aimed at keeping animal slaughter
from once again becoming an industry. You are also required to
allow domesticated animals to live at least one half of their
expected life span before taking their meat. Keeping animals in
zoos and using for them for medical testing has been outlawed.
These measures force us to demonstrate our respect for the species
being of the animals we consume.”
“The implementation of human labor has become more
agrarian and less industrial. Pointless and wasteful trinkets are no
longer manufactured on a massive scale. Less mechanization in
farming has led to more agricultural jobs, and residents of the
Communal Wards are no longer allergic to hard work! Ah! There
is Cincinnati, Captain, you can see it now.” As Carl and Jubal
crested a bulbous hill covered with tall grass, Carl could see shapesthat looked like houses and buildings, partially swallowed by the
ground. He had seen this scheme once before, but never this
widespread. “All earth-shelter structures? Really? What is this,
The Shire?”
“I get that joke ! Yes, very much so, but with electricity and
without the wizards!” Jubal and Carl laughed heartily. “Placing
structures partially in the ground reduces the energy requirementsconsiderably, and I think, increases the beauty. Also, I have a
surprise for you down there.”
“A surprise? This sounds ominous.”
As they entered the city, via a dilapidated gate left open
haphazardly, Captain Kakudmi was looking for signs of stress,
dismay, or oppression. He saw none. Two children played happily
on the grassy roof of their home while next door a man sat on his porch with a drink and a smoke. Further ahead they passed one of
the bicycle rows where a little over a dozen men and women
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pedaled lazily in the sun. They rounded a corner and passed
through a market, in the distance Carl could now see that a large
hillside had been turned into that escalator contraption described by Jubal. Forty or fifty people walked, skipped or even jogged to
the top then rode back down with the moving steps. Carl was
impressed.
“Carl, what do you remember about your little sister?”
“Ursula, oh Ursula, I have not thought about her in many
years. Accepting that I would never get to know the woman she
was to become, broke my heart. I was her big brother, I wassupposed to protect her, help her through life, and stand up at her
wedding. I have cried for her many times over the last thirty years.
What do you know of her?”
“I know where she lives, and it is right over there.” Jubal
pointed to a small hobbit hole at the end of the street they had
wondered down.
“Don’t you lie to me Jubal; that is not a kind thing to do to
a man in my position.”
“I do not lie to you, Ursula sits behind that door and is
aware that today might be the day you return. I only warn you that
she is over one hundred years old, so do not hug her too tightly!”
Carl took off running, still not quite believing it, but
compelled to find out. When he got to the door, he stopped andtook a deep breath. He slowly turned the doorknob and leaned in.
The creaking door reveled an old woman, to be sure, but standing
up with the aid of a cane. Ursula had wild gray hair and was
slightly bent over, but Carl recognized her immediately. He rushed
over to her and held her close, hugging as tightly as he dared.
“Ursula!” Carl gasped.
She whispered softly in her brother’s ear, “boy, have I gotsome stories for you…”
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CONCLUSION
The narrative presented has applied documented facts
regarding resource depletion and ecological realities to
demonstrate that liberal, social democratic, conservationist, and
even environmentalist thought all support a capitalist status quo
that is destroying our planet. It seems logical to seek an
alternative, especially since a recent Princeton study found that
“the average citizen’s influence on policy making” was “near zero”
(Gilens 22). They further concluded that “if policymaking isdominated by powerful business organizations and a small number
of affluent Americans, then America’s claims to being a
democratic society are seriously threatened” (Gilens 24). Even if
our current system was working correctly, “liberal democracy, by
itself, lacks the capacity to challenge the cultural orientation of
industrialism with the consequence that, what tends to prevail is, a
reductionism that overestimates the human ability to control the
natural environment while underestimating problems of
complexity and unpredictability” (Torgerson 21). Even our loftiest
goals of governance have been set too low. Liberals, and even
eco-liberals believe that capitalism can be constrained and molded
to respect the environment and that total abandonment of
capitalism is not the answer (Bell). I disagree.
In order to establish the theoretical foundations
required to survive the inevitable end of growth, humans mustsynthesize the radical responses provided by Red social
thought, the Marxist tradition, and Green environmental
thought into a consensus ideology that creates a reverence for
humanity that can then be projected upon the other species on
Earth. Merchant described early synthesizers of Red and Green as
holding largely “homocentric” views but ones that were “informed
and modified by ecological and dialectical science” (303). The
New Consensus suggests an even greener version of this synthesis,drawing on many deep ecological threads. The liberal tradition of
extending rights and promoting tolerance is a good start, but must
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do even better, we should seek interspecies understanding and
mutual respect.
Marx’s materialist conception of history and his theory ofrevolution act as an explanatory tool and may in fact predict what
will happen over the next couple hundred years. In his materialist
conception of history and in ecological Marxist theory, the
prevailing “conditions of production come into conflict with the
forces / relations of production” leading to “eco-economic crisis,
initiating the transition to ecological socialism” (Merchant 309).
Weston, an early Red-Green synthesizer rightly pointed out that
any attempt to change societal values is not likely to be successfulwithout a structural change in modes and relations of production
(Hay). Furthermore, “Marx recognized that man was part of
nature, and that alienation was two-fold: from one’s body, and
from the natural (that is, the ‘external’) world. Hence, according to
Marx, a new relationship needs to be established between people
and nature to overcome this so-called ‘metabolic rift’” (Bailey 6).
Essentially, we may need Marxism to change the paradigm
between segments of Homo sapiens; the first step to changing the paradigm between us and other species.
In the story, despite the significant warning signs, humanity
ignored the environmental damage they were causing. It took the
death of twelve billion men, women, and children to shock the
human psyche into changing the paradigm. The initial
environmental problems that appeared were approached in a half-
hearted way that always sought to preserve the principles ofcapitalism and the primacy of growth. If this is the way we
achieve the next stage of human social evolution and survive the
end of growth, it will have come at an astronomical cost.
While it is obvious to say that growth cannot be infinite, we
are faced with few good options. There is no way to tell if we have
passed the ecological point of no return, but any proactive
measures are preferable to inaction. It is my assertion that a Red-Green synthesis should be sought, discarding the flawed and
counterproductive policy proposals on both sides, while
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synthesizing the helpful nuggets. Without high levels of
cooperation envisaged by Marxist/Red political thought, it seems
unlikely that we can face any of the problems exposed by theGreen movement. Ironically, if Marx’s materialist conception of
history is correct, it may not be possible to ‘right the ship’ and
avoid catastrophe. Global capitalism will necessarily exhaust itself
before we can shift the paradigm.
Addressing the inevitable end of growth will require
discarding some aspects of Marxist thought, with the remainder
being blended with Green environmental principles. Clearlycapitalism has got to go. Many scholars have articulated the
incompatible nature of capitalism and green principles, identifying
capitalism’s dependence on growth as clearly in conflict with those
of greens (Bookchin). Greens are “implicitly part of the forces
ranged against the capitalist system and should be embraced as
such” (Hay 267). Three pillars of Green thought should be
embraced: ecology, social justice, and grassroots democracy. We
should also explore new measures of the “good life”: enough toeat, clean water to drink, clear air to breathe, one good vacation a
year, lazy summer weekends with friends, healthy children, not
hating your job, and people to share your life with. All of these
things are more important to human happiness than automotive
status symbols or having forty different laundry detergents to
choose from at the grocery store. We must also embrace
renewable and clean energy, respect for our food sources, local
economies to reduce energy needs, and a generally lessecologically impactful species being; all harnessed to bring
stability within our environment. Humans are not separate from
nature, humans are nature. To destroy nature is to destroy
ourselves. We must seek stasis, not status. We must make an
attempt to rethink being.
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