I've been wondering whether it might be that much of our present-day madness stems from capitalism's need for growth
Its pretty obvious that as economic growth uses up the Earth's natural resources we are plundering the planet at a rate which cannot go on indefinitely. To use a much used word physical growth within a finite planet is just not 'sustainable'.
If you have any doubt about the lengths to which Mankind will go in the search for oil then just take a look at Bruce Parry's documentary about the Canadian tar sands oil fields - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHU1S6Ifpk Bruce describes it as 'sad' but a dispossessed indigenous woman reckons the planet is being raped.
A similar 'rape' of our natural environment is increasingly evident in the UK as previously protected rural land, including valuable food-growing land and ancient woodlands, is being opened up for development.
Then I've been thinking about how capital's need for labour has meant millions of economic migrants traversing the globe in search of work. In the dark hours of an early winter morning in Southern England I looked up our road and saw a dark skinned young man delivering leaflets in the gloom. As he approached our door I smiled in welcome but he couldn't understand English and passed by with his head bowed against the cold. So here we had a young man leaving his homeland and loved ones to travel across miles to an often unwelcoming country to post leaflets 99% of which will end up in the recycling bin. Mad?!
(I've just come across David Goodhart's new book 'The British Dream' which according to the Guardian reviewer sees mass immigration as damaging to social democracy and eroding our national solidarity. Look forward to reading that)
I'll have to think about other ways in which the needs of capitalism for growth have had an adverse impact on the sort of society we here in the West have created and are desperately trying to export worldwide
If you have any doubt about the lengths to which Mankind will go in the search for oil then just take a look at Bruce Parry's documentary about the Canadian tar sands oil fields - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHU1S6Ifpk Bruce describes it as 'sad' but a dispossessed indigenous woman reckons the planet is being raped.
A similar 'rape' of our natural environment is increasingly evident in the UK as previously protected rural land, including valuable food-growing land and ancient woodlands, is being opened up for development.
Then I've been thinking about how capital's need for labour has meant millions of economic migrants traversing the globe in search of work. In the dark hours of an early winter morning in Southern England I looked up our road and saw a dark skinned young man delivering leaflets in the gloom. As he approached our door I smiled in welcome but he couldn't understand English and passed by with his head bowed against the cold. So here we had a young man leaving his homeland and loved ones to travel across miles to an often unwelcoming country to post leaflets 99% of which will end up in the recycling bin. Mad?!
(I've just come across David Goodhart's new book 'The British Dream' which according to the Guardian reviewer sees mass immigration as damaging to social democracy and eroding our national solidarity. Look forward to reading that)
I'll have to think about other ways in which the needs of capitalism for growth have had an adverse impact on the sort of society we here in the West have created and are desperately trying to export worldwide
No comments:
Post a Comment
Good to have your feedback. Thanks for commenting.