Stephen Barlow Profile picture
Oct 10 14 tweets 6 min read
I want to clarify this statement. I do not mean that everything humans do is natural, just that we are part of the natural world and totally reliant on it. I regard the whole pattern of our system at the moment, to be a mass delusion.
1/🧵
It should have been obvious from the very beginning, that "you cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet". For crying out loud, I can remember that exact phrase being repeated in environmentalist texts I read 50 years ago. #antigrowthcoalition
2/
In other words, it is not that no one was aware of the basic suicidal nature of our modern colonialist, extractivist, capitalist system. Because people saw the inherent problems right at the very beginning. The problem is, this was ignored.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extractiv…
3/
When I say mass delusion, the whole suicidal system is actually driven by a relative handful of people, who most benefit from this colonial extractivist madness, where our natural life supporting systems are just seen as commodities to be exploited for profit.
4/
It is, quite literally, just sawing off the branch we are sitting on. Really, it doesn't or shouldn't take rocket science to understand that if you keep shitting in your back yard, that eventually you will drown in your own shit - literally.
theguardian.com/environment/20…
5/
Whilst it is a relative handful of people driving this system, they happen to be the most powerful people on Earth, who own everything. Who have all the power, all the wealth, run every corporation, own and run the media etc etc.
6/
So this has become a mass delusion, because this relative handful of people set government policy, decide what people can know about in the media, control our legal systems, & every means people have of understanding the situation we are in, the climate and ecological crisis.
7/
In other words, humans are part of the natural world and are entirely reliant on it. However, this delusion that we can destroy our life support systems with impunity, through infinite and uncontrolled growth, is very unnatural. Mainly because it is a delusion.
8/
A delusion is a false belief, and self-evidently the idea that we can carry on with business as usual, without suffering the consequences, is just about as delusional as you can get. It is the biggest delusion ever.

9/
There is nothing natural about delusions. Natural organisms can't be delusional for long, because if they are, they die, and if the whole species is maladapted to life on Earth, that species becomes extinct. That is THE law of nature.
10/
It really is that simple. Our so called "leadership", actually a type of dictatorial rulership, that rules by force, is straight up batshit mad. #antigrowthcoalition
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Uncontrolled, continuous growth is malignant and terminal unless it is brought under control. It is planetary cancer, and in the case of our so-called leadership, a disease of the mind. I make no excuses for my language. There is a time and place for it, and that is now.
12/
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More from @SteB777

Oct 9
Liz Truss' demonization of what she is calling the #antigrowthcoalition seems to actually be identical to what now disgraced former Conservative MP, and former Environment minister Owen Paterson called, the "green blob".
theguardian.com/environment/20…
1/🧵
Here is Paterson's description of what he called "the green blob", which seems to be identical to what Truss is calling the #antigrowthcoaltion. This is highly significant, as both Truss and Paterson were former Environment Secretaries.
theguardian.com/politics/2014/…
2/
When Michael Gove was Education Secretary, he also claimed to be opposed by "the blob".
3/
Read 19 tweets
Oct 8
Billionaires, and their enablers are, in evolutionary terms, parasitoids. The difference between a parasitoid and a parasite, is a parasitoid always kills its host.

Discus?
1/🧵
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasitoid
The analogy is very close.

Typically, a parasitoid devours its host from the inside, leaving only an empty husk and then those parasitoids that emerge, fly off to find another host.
2/
Billionaires, with their growing their wealth obsession, growth, are aiming to devour all the Earth's natural resources to growth their wealth. Then, once they've sucked the Earth dry and killed it, they dream of flying to Mars, and starting all over again.
3/
Read 8 tweets
Oct 7
First of all, @KateRaworth did a great in countering the false arguments put to her by the presenter, in such a short time. However, I want to highlight the key flaw in the arguments put to Kate, in the thread below.
1/🧵
Before going on, I want to make it clear from what perspective my analysis is from. I'm not an economist and I'm a graduate in scientific ecology. My analysis is from that perspective, from a whole systems view using systems thinking, and as a naturalist.
2/
It was put to Kate that economic growth was necessary to fund the health service, medical and scientific research, and to essentially lift people out of poverty. I want to highlight how this whole argument is outright sophistry.
3/
Read 24 tweets
Oct 6
Truss' speech was not only her own political suicide note, but one for the whole Conservative Party. It won't end well for them.

Again, I cannot understand their rationale, at all. Are they just totally delusional?
theguardian.com/politics/2022/…
Lying isn't a very clever strategy, because time always reveals lies and false promises. Nothing Truss is promising is at all realistic. None of what she promises will happen. With hindsight, in only a few years, people will shake their heads in disbelief at her idiocy.
Does anyone look back on Cameron, as some great visionary, who achieved what he claimed. What happened to the big society and the end of Punch and Judy politics? Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Brexit. They all look pretty shabby and shit with hindsight.
Read 6 tweets
Oct 5
@ChrisGPackham Exactly, and I will say now, why the system is rigged only to give these gamekeepers convicted of persistent criminal offences against raptors, only fines. It is full system corruption.

If they were given prison sentences, they'd likely name who put them up to this.
1/🧵
@ChrisGPackham My subsequent comments are not specifically related to this case, but generally why those convicted of illegally persecuting raptors, generally get fines. However, I will make a couple of points about this case.
2/
@ChrisGPackham His defence representative claimed he was under pressure to do this, but it is not made clear from whom and what was the pressure. Secondly he had taken photos with his phone, presumably to prove to someone he had illegally killed these raptors.
3/
Read 18 tweets
Oct 5
I want to illustrate just how stupid the Daily Mail is i.e. the Mail online, and how they publish fake news. Look at this absurd story about a "panther feeding on a sheep". This is a typical Tory view of the natural world.
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1…
The animal is clearly a cow, licking itself. Before the camera zooms in, you see lots of carefree sheep sitting nearby. With a Leopard eating a sheep nearby. Just how stupid do these propagandists believe the public are.
Here's little bit of natural history for stupid Tory journalists. Black panthers are melanistic Leopards (or occasionally black Jaguars). They are rare colour mutations, not a different species, like this ignorant propaganda rag seems to believe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pan…
Read 5 tweets

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