"We
do need hope. Of course we do. But the one thing we need more than
hope is action. Once we start to act, hope is everywhere."
- Greta Thunberg
We
face an environmental emergency unprecedented in human history. The
climate crisis is already responsible for suffering and misery. It is
clear that the environmental crisis affects everybody, and threatens
the survival of many communities across all parts of the globe. If
current trends continue, civilisation as we know it is at risk. This
is not the result of bad lifestyle choices made by individuals, but
of how society is organised.
Many
people place the blame on the World
having too many people. The
problem is not that there are too many people. The problem is society
as it is run today.
The real blame for the environmental crisis isn't because of people
it is the wasteful system of production for profit that is
unsustainable. The real blame for the environmental crisis must be
laid at the door of capitalism, governments, and the society that
these forces have created. Businesses maximise profits when they do
not have to worry about the environment, while governments encourage
investment when they do not try to impose strict regulations.
Capitalism
is
a wasteful system of production, organised for market competition and
profit. capitalism is incompatible with a livable human future and it
has undermined people’s connections to each other and with the
nature that surrounds us. For
businesses to survive this competition, they profits must be
maximised. And to maximise profits, costs must be kept low. So just
as paying workers is a cost that needs to be minimised, so is the
cost of protecting the environment and disposing of waste safely.
Things don’t have to be this way. Instead of fossil fuels,
renewable sources of energy can be used. Petro-chemical plastics
which are not biodegradable can be replaced by materials which can
safely disintegrate.
Capitalism
is an inherently destructive system and the only real way to stop
the environmental destruction and begin to heal the planet is to
create a new society based on human need rather than profit, not
based on the relentless drive for profit but on fulfilling human
needs; including that of a clean and healthy environment. We will
have to use our collective strength to build a new world. Change is
coming one way or another, whether we like it or not. The choice is
do we let the vested interests of the powers that be determine our
future or will we try to shape it for the benefit of all
The
world we're living in today, is a capitalist world. It's not a system
of society that's been designed to give the human race the means to
enjoy a fair, fantastic, bountiful, beautiful life. Capitalism,
sometimes referred to as the money system, sees a tiny number of
people own and control the Earth's resources. They don't organise the
production and distribution of the things we want and need to satisfy
humans' well-being. The interest of the one percent – the owning
class – is to make monetary profit above all else, to the detriment
of Earth, and all who sail on her. That gives them a life of luxury,
privilege, and power. People need to understand that the common
ownership and democratic control of the Earth's resources, by all,
for all, is the only way to stop the damage being done to the Earth.
We can all make a difference to the Earth's well-being, to
humankind's well-being if we try. The only way to fail is not to try.
The people of the world need to have a revolution. A revolution to
change the world for the best. They need to make a conscious decision
to implement a system of society that works in the best interest of
mankind. Everyone who can intervene, and doesn't, will be guilty of
the crime of allowing the environment to be irretrievably broken. The
docility of the world population has contributed greatly to keeping
intact the increasingly unequal, barbaric and rapacious society that
is global capitalism.
Because people believe there is no alternative
to capitalism, it keeps on existing. Politicians are incompetent to
deal with the problem. The real powers of action are with the great
majority of people. This will be when we decide to create a society
in which we will be free to co-operate and to use all our great
reserves of energy and ingenuity for our needs. If the environmental
crisis is to be solved, this system must go. What is required is
political action - political action aimed at replacing this system by
a new and different one. There can be no justification, on any
grounds whatsoever, for wanting to retain an exploitative system
which puts privileged class interests and profit before the needs of
the community, which plunders nature of its resources and destroys
the natural systems on which all our lives depend.
A
WORLD TO SHARE, A PLANET TO SPARE,
A WORLD TO WIN, A
PLANET TO SAVE
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