Capitalism Is In A Self-Destruct Mode
By Lionel Anet
26 November, 2014
Countercurrents.org
This may be regarded as a rant by some, who need to ignore the signs of danger so that we can, in vain, work just to grow the economy so that we can be employed to grow the economy. The notion that it’s easier and cheaper to adapt and mitigate any ill effects if they occur is playing Russian roulette with only one bullet missing in the barrel and not playing it once but many times on the many vital issues we’re facing. The criminality of it is, if we keep on the present course the outcome will be an unliveable planet when today’s infants are in charge, but powerless.
Before 1980s the world’s people failed to annihilate themselves with a quick nuclear war, because people on either side had to press the button. The distress of that time was also mitigated somewhat, by a real growth in the economy, therefore full employment. In addition, we had the positive features of a slight increased fairness in the distribution of wealth, which ended with the first oil shock. That was the opportunity for the neocons to resuscitate economic system centred on a competitively controlled economy that has economic growth as its raison d'être. That has allowed an increasing power for the wealthy and the removal of our responsibilities for our actions on nature especially and crucially for living things, which has already effect many people and exterminated much life. That is, from late last century, as the competition intensifies, so the biosphere deteriorates. Nature could, in the main, repair itself before the 60’s the mess has accumulated increasingly faster than nature is able to renew, but the non-renewable could never be renew.
That’ because, our basic need for cooperative supports in our life as changed, to our involvement within a team to gain a competitive advantage over other groups, turning them from potential friends to rivals. Although competition may produce “cheaper” produce (mainly an accounting technique) but it’s at the expense of workers or / and the environment. It increases the hardship and creates uncertainties for all except the 1% of the world’s richest people.
The fear of a sudden death from a nuclear war was later superseded by the anxiety of losing one’s job and thereby leading to foreclosure of ones property. The worries have also swung to “terrorist attacks” and a general never ending wide range of violent conflicts, which satisfies the industrial-military combine and nationalist sentiments. It’s a slow grind of suffering for people due to the gross unfairness which is inflicted from all sides by fanatical believers. The neocons believe that it’s the wealthy motivated by greed that are the ones who grow the economy, flogged on by the banks’ created money to lend. Economist are so focused inwards that they don’t see the finite nature of our planet.
The harder we work the sooner we will die.
That need to keep up economic growth, with an increase in world population is gradually destroying our life-supports - nature. It would look as if we are planning to have the greatest possible number of people suffering the greatest distress as possible, in the longest agonizing deaths imaginable. We can achieve that because we have no need of any plans it’s not even our decision we have a system – capitalism controlled by competition, that’s steering us to our demise and most, if not all of life.
On the other hand, we don’t need to accept competition as a motivator; we can revert back to our social norm of cooperation for an easier and happier life and be able to fulfil our need to survive. The overriding difficulty is our competitive education that’s continued by the media, it has indoctrinated us to think and act competitively. Nevertheless our modus operandi is cooperation, it’s our nature it’s what give us joy and satisfaction when we partake in an endeavour. It’s our gens’ preferred way of living; it also enables us to maintain a social life, which withstood civilised harsh competitiveness for greed and power.
Our greatest asset is in our nature; it has been superbly tuned to live in social settings, without those social interactions we quickly suffer psychological damage. But it’s our flexible adaptability that has enable people to endure the unnatural nature of stratified civilisation and still socialise and cooperate, but, sadly, too often, and most notably in battle. Our history is punctuated with frequent violent conflicts, which makes up the bulk of our history. Furthermore, that history is held up as magnificent gradual social evolution, actually its more like ‘Social Darwinism’ as it fits in well with present socioeconomic of capitalism.
Civilisation’s greatest and worthwhile progress has been in our expanding knowledge, that’s either acknowledged or ignored, depending on expediency or interest and for some of us the maintenance of life. However, our nature is our greatest asset, particularly for our difficult years ahead, years of having to change our life style to be in harmony with our gens and fit in with nature. There’s nothing wrong with people, we are well equipped to deal with any social difficulties.
Nevertheless, we need to realise that it’s the education we have been getting throughout civilisation and now with capitalism, which counteracts our genetic makeup. It constraint our affinity for other people and nature, enabling societies to exploit nature and massacre one and other, as well, it fashioned the belief that maintains the levels of power in civilisation.
Ways to start our survival
We must become aware of our indoctrination as it’s to some degree part of every one upbringing. Pass attempts to establish fair societies have failed because nothing could have change our way of life from an unfair and unsustainable life, until something can give us a united front. And that has been with us all this century, which is, we get sustainable on a world scale or we all perish. There’s a multitude of unresolvable problems due especially to neoliberalism. The time has come for rich and poor to face the reality or no one will survive, definitely not the wealthy ones as there won’t be any wealth as they know it. It’s in everyone’s interest to cooperate in this, the greatest endeavour the planet has ever faced. The priority is to convince the powerful and influential people, once on-board we have a good chance of making it. Unfortunately there’s little time, we can’t afford to be side tracked on most and even important issues, for many of them can be easily resolved when we have a common interest.
Lionel Anet is a member of Sydney U3A University of the Third Age, of 20 years standing and now a life member
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