Questioning the basis of our unsustainable economy

Dear Editors,

In a recent response to an article about the plight of black American men, I suggested that there was something fundamentally wrong with American society. In response to today's editorial, "What's Bad for G.M.", I suggest that there is also something fundamentally wrong with the American economy.

I'll go further and say that there is something fundamentally wrong with the entire socio-economic order of western civilisation.

You do not see it, of course, because, like every one else, you are completely immersed in and dependent on it, and have been from birth; added to which, as editors at the NYT, you occupy privileged niches in the socio-economic environment and are very well-placed in its hierarchy, giving you a huge apparent interest in the status quo and a corresponding disinclination to question it.

I say "apparent interest", because ALL of us who care about our children and future generations (as much if not more than we care about ourselves), in fact, have an overwhelming interest in questioning the status quo, because it is inherently and fundamentally UNSUSTAINABLE. Which means that either WE make the radical changes necessary for SUSTAINABILITY, or a ruthless mother nature (who is already "warming up" for the job) will do it for us.

The cause of this inherent unsustainability lies in our very own animal nature, in which our socio-economic order is deeply rooted - unsurprisingly, when you think about it, and in view of what Charles Darwin taught us about human origins.

Yours sincerely (and imploringly, because time is running out)

To: The New York Times <letters@nytimes.com> Re: Questioning the basis of our unsustainable economy, before we wreck the planet (and our children's future) completely Date: Wednesday 22 March 06

Dear Editors, In a recent response to an article about the plight of black American men, I suggested that there was something fundamentally wrong with American society. In response to today's editorial, "What's Bad for G.M.", I suggest that there is also something fundamentally wrong with the American economy. I'll go further and say that there is something fundamentally wrong with the entire socio-economic order of western civilisation. You do not see it, of course, because, like every one else, you are completely immersed in and dependent on it, and have been from birth; added to which, as editors at the NYT, you occupy privileged niches in the socio-economic environment and are very well-placed in its hierarchy, giving you a huge apparent interest in the status quo and a corresponding disinclination to question it. I say "apparent interest", because ALL of us who care about our children and future generations (as much if not more than we care about ourselves), in fact, have an overwhelming interest in questioning the status quo, because it is inherently and fundamentally UNSUSTAINABLE. Which means that either WE make the radical changes necessary for SUSTAINABILITY, or a ruthless mother nature (who is already "warming up" for the job) will do it for us. The cause of this inherent unsustainability lies in our very own animal nature, in which our socio-economic order is deeply rooted - unsurprisingly, when you think about it, and in view of what Charles Darwin taught us about human origins. Yours sincerely (and imploringly, because time is running out) www.spaceship-earth.org