A system of values and beliefs that organize a society and result in various practices and artifacts that are associated with the general characteristics of that society.
We live in increasingly complex systems, more and more of them are of our own making, though not always of our own conscious design. There are two basic kinds, natural complex adaptive systems, such as the Earth System and its many subsystems, and human-made complex adaptive systems, such as social groups and corporations. It appears … More How to Control Complex Adaptive Systems to Survive
Here is a brief video that shows the nature and prospects for the global youth climate movement led by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg and others even younger, who realize that they will be the real victims of the accelerating climate chaos as the planet heats up. Sociologist, Dana R. Fisher adds some context on how the … More The Meaning of the Youth Climate Movement
As I watched Richard Engel’s “On Assignment” program last night, which focused on the unmitigated ruthlessness in the rise and fall of ISIS in the Middle East and beyond, once again the human capacity for violence and even the creation of a cult of death collided with my sense of how good and brave people … More Apocalypse Maybe? Risks of Chaos and Violence
If we can Save the Banks, We can Save the World. ~ Greta Thunberg During Elizabeth Warren’s segment on the CNN Climate Forum on Wednesday, September 4, 2019, Chris Cuomo asked her whether the government should dictate the kinds of light bulbs and straws we use. It was typical of mass-media-pundit questions, which so often … More Light Bulbs and Straws vs. Human Survival
Can we get there from here? That is an open question. It all depends on what we do, and if we do. So far, we have done almost nothing in comparison with what we must do to retain a livable world into the Anthropocene. Overwhelming evidence on global warming and its effects destabilizing the key … More Getting Real: How to Constrain Climate Chaos for a Livable World
For some time now, I have wondered what it is about the images of The Wall on the U.S. southern border that seems to disturb not only my political cognizance but also my aesthetic sensibility. Most of the images I have seen show it as what I would have to call a high steel fence … More Is “The Wall” Performance Art?
The idea of an Earth Manifesto reaches way beyond “normal politics.” The pressures that diverse interest groups place on democratic institutions drive politics. Right? Well, that is what the power elites that dominate political institutions have claimed for a long time. Nevertheless, politicians feel the power of great wealth and giant corporations every day. The … More Earth Manifesto, any time soon?
The debate over whether or not it is too late to “save the planet” from the human industrial-consumer juggernaut misunderstands the issue of the role of humanity and our future into the Anthropocene. An important flaw in the thinking of traditional “environmentalists” is that they partake in the errors of the culture they seek to … More To Live and Die in the Anthropocene
Sustainable This, Sustainable That; Green This, Green That. What exactly is the point? The “sustainability” meme seems to have gone culturally viral. Promoters use it to give any action or proposal at all a sheen of environmental respectability. But what does it actually mean? I am afraid that “sustainability” has come to mean nothing at … More The Sustainability Conundrum
~ Another entry in the Mad Jubilado series ~ Palpable fear, justified if misdirected anger, and xenophobic demagoguery have Trumped American democracy, even in its degraded form within the corporate state. With the powerful influence of the fossil-fuel industry, largely through Koch-brothers’ and similar front groups, neo-fascists and white supremacists have penetrated the U.S. politics and that of … More Overcoming Trumpery and the Technosphere
Robert MacNeil Christie, Author 