What is blinding us to the root cause of non-sustainability

Today's editorial was a welcome reminder that not all Americans are as totally blind and irresponsible as the Bush administration in respect to the threat of climate change ("America's shame in Montreal").

However, society as a whole - not just the Bush administration, is still finding the full extent of the Problem (with a big "p") hard to accept and face up to, so please allow me to offer an explanation.

It is well known - at least, amongst those who study human cognition - that we don't experience actual reality, but an interpretation of it, produced by our brains, that is more-or-less consistent with the views and attitudes we already have, and which in turn is strongly influenced by our peers, the prevailing consensus and, of course, our vested interests. The view we have of the economy and our way of life is no exception, and because we depend on them so much, we are very disinclined (putting it mildly) to entertain any ideas that might seriously undermine it. This is the cause of our blindness.

Global warming is just one (major) consequence of an underlying Problem that we should have faced up to 30 years ago, when publications like the Limits to Growth by Meadows et. al. first drew broad public attention to the fact that our planet, Spaceship Earth, has limited resources and a finite carrying capacity, but a huge and increasing population of essentially insatiable human beings. Instead, we went into collective denial. Which is where we still are - virtually everyone, although some more deeply than others. Taking an anthropological view of our situation may help provide some of the objectivity necessary to overcome our blindness.

Man is not a fallen angel, but an animal (see Darwin), Earth's Greatest (aspiring) Ape, who greatly and dangerously overestimates his powers of understanding and reason (it was very misleading of the 18th Century biologist, Carl Linnaeus, to name our species Homo sapiens - wise man). Our social behaviour evolved over millions of years to serve the survival and advantage of individuals and family groups in the natural environment; there has been no time for it to adapt to the much larger social units of human civilisations, which only arose in the past few thousand years.

In addition, the natural environment has effectively been replaced by an artificial "socio-economic environment ", where modern capitalism developed and has been honed to exploit our primitive, animal nature (our fears, greed, competitiveness, our interest in sex, in free or cheap lunches, in power, social status etc). The struggle for survival and advantage, which is programmed into us, continues, very largely, as the struggle for money (power and status) in the local, national or global economies, which explains why we give priority to the economy (the household of man) rather than to ecology (the household of our planet), when it is obvious (even to a child, were we adults not in denial and afraid of biting the hand that feeds us) that achieving sustainability and securing human survival demands the opposite.

It's a frightening reality to wake up to, for all of us, but sticking our heads in the sand isn't going to help. On the contrary, it makes our situation truly hopeless, when it needn't be - provided we face up to the situation and, after a period of reflection, start taking the necessary measures, which, more than anything else, means changing some of the values, attitudes and (material) aspirations which underlie our economy and way of life.

I know, it's difficult and painful to face up to - like the birth of a child. But once we do, the pain will dissolve into joy, as we set about creating a wonderful new, sustainable (more just, humane and, necessarily, far less materialistic) society.

At the moment we still have the possibility of achieving sustainability in our own (humane) way. If we fail to do so (which we certainly will the way things look at the moment), a ruthless mother nature will do it for us. Climate change is her just "warming up" for the job. If it entails reducing human numbers by several billion, or even eliminating our species entirely, that is what she will do. She is not squeamish.

The chances of you publishing this letter would be much greater, of course, if I were a Nobel Prize winner, but they too are subject to the same mechanisms that are blinding the rest of us. So, may I suggest that you consider sending a copy to some eminent academics in the fields of philosophy, anthropology and individual/social psychology – just to check out whether or not I am the crackpot you suspect me to be.

To: The New York Times Re: What is blinding us to the root cause of non-sustainability Date: Tuesday 13 December 05

Dear Sir/Madam, Today's editorial was a welcome reminder that not all Americans are as totally blind and irresponsible as the Bush administration in respect to the threat of climate change ("America's shame in Montreal"). However, society as a whole - not just the Bush administration, is still finding the full extent of the Problem (with a big "p") hard to accept and face up to, so please allow me to offer an explanation. It is well known - at least, amongst those who study human cognition - that we don't experience actual reality, but an interpretation of it, produced by our brains, that is more-or-less consistent with the views and attitudes we already have, and which in turn is strongly influenced by our peers, the prevailing consensus and, of course, our vested interests. The view we have of the economy and our way of life is no exception, and because we depend on them so much, we are very disinclined (putting it mildly) to entertain any ideas that might seriously undermine it. This is the cause of our blindness. Global warming is just one (major) consequence of an underlying Problem that we should have faced up to 30 years ago, when publications like the Limits to Growth by Meadows et. al. first drew broad public attention to the fact that our planet, Spaceship Earth, has limited resources and a finite carrying capacity, but a huge and increasing population of essentially insatiable human beings. Instead, we went into collective denial. Which is where we still are - virtually everyone, although some more deeply than others. Taking an anthropological view of our situation may help provide some of the objectivity necessary to overcome our blindness. Man is not a fallen angel, but an animal (see Darwin), Earth's Greatest (aspiring) Ape, who greatly and dangerously overestimates his powers of understanding and reason (it was very misleading of the 18th Century biologist, Carl Linnaeus, to name our species Homo sapiens - wise man). Our social behaviour evolved over millions of years to serve the survival and advantage of individuals and family groups in the natural environment; there has been no time for it to adapt to the much larger social units of human civilisations, which only arose in the past few thousand years. In addition, the natural environment has effectively been replaced by an artificial "socio-economic environment ", where modern capitalism developed and has been honed to exploit our primitive, animal nature (our fears, greed, competitiveness, our interest in sex, in free or cheap lunches, in power, social status etc). The struggle for survival and advantage, which is programmed into us, continues, very largely, as the struggle for money (power and status) in the local, national or global economies, which explains why we give priority to the economy (the household of man) rather than to ecology (the household of our planet), when it is obvious (even to a child, were we adults not in denial and afraid of biting the hand that feeds us) that achieving sustainability and securing human survival demands the opposite. It's a frightening reality to wake up to, for all of us, but sticking our heads in the sand isn't going to help. On the contrary, it makes our situation truly hopeless, when it needn't be - provided we face up to the situation and, after a period of reflection, start taking the necessary measures, which, more than anything else, means changing some of the values, attitudes and (material) aspirations which underlie our economy and way of life. I know, it's difficult and painful to face up to - like the birth of a child. But once we do, the pain will dissolve into joy, as we set about creating a wonderful new, sustainable (more just, humane and, necessarily, far less materialistic) society. At the moment we still have the possibility of achieving sustainability in our own (humane) way. If we fail to do so (which we certainly will the way things look at the moment), a ruthless mother nature will do it for us. Climate change is her just "warming up" for the job. If it entails reducing human numbers by several billion, or even eliminating our species entirely, that is what she will do. She is not squeamish. The chances of you publishing this letter would be much greater, of course, if I were a Nobel Prize winner, but they too are subject to the same mechanisms that are blinding the rest of us. So, may I suggest that you consider sending a copy to some eminent academics in the fields of philosophy, anthropology and individual/social psychology – just to check out whether or not I am the crackpot you suspect me to be. www.spaceship-earth.org