Thread by @SteB777

I'd just like to say, that I do understand, and appreciate, why mainstream politicians, classical economists, the profited minded etc, have so much difficulty with the climate and ecological crisis.
1/

It is about incommensurable world views. Those wrapped up in the economic growth mindset, have a view of the world inherited from the beginning of industrial capitalism, where natural systems, are just seen as stores of commodities, to be exploited for profit.
2/

The economic growth mindset, presupposes that we live in a world of infinite resources, which can be exploited in a growing way, indefinitely. This world view, never once considered that you can't have infinite growth in a finite world.
3/

It's difficult to believe, but inescapably true, that our modern system, is wholly premised on such a childish fallacy, and error, but it is clear, that it is true.

If you acknowledge the ecological view of the world, this simple error, becomes impossible to avoid.
4/

So quite incredibly, our leadership, has dealt with this basic inherent problem outlook, in an incredibly childish way, of telling lies. Like a young child caught red-handed doing something, whilst ridiculously denying what they are obviously doing.
5/

From the first 1972 UN Environment Conference, our leadership has dealt with this serious flaw in their world view, by promising to take action, then doing nothing, except for a few token gestures, that changed nothing.

6/un.org/en/conferences…

If our leadership actually acknowledged the ecological world view, of how natural systems operate, and we are totally reliant on these natural systems, whilst unsustainably over-exploiting them to a level where they will no longer sustain our society. They'd have a problem.
7/

It's that simple, because the whole industrial capitalist, economic growth system, was wholly premised, and founded upon such a basic childish fallacy and error.

A lot of problems in our world are of that nature. We look to complex explanations, when they're basic errors.
8/

It is possible for very sophisticated edifices, to be founded upon, an incredibly simple and stupid error. I insult children by calling it childish, because most reasonably aware children, would have spotted the problem straight away.
9/

It's amazing, how pure greed, and the possibility of making vast amounts of money, blinded those who built the modern industrial capitalist system, reliant on continuous, maximum economic growth, to such a degree, but it self-evidently did.
10/

We imagine, that billionaires, our leaders and states people, with all their grandiose and unrealistic sense of their self-worth, could not possibly have made such a basic error, but self-evidently they did.
11/

They have absolutely no response at all, to the grand system they built and maintained, running into the limits of the planetary boundaries, simply because they initially made such a basic error.

12/stockholmresilience.org/research/resea…

This is what we are up against, trying to convince our leadership, that they must embrace the ecological view of the world, with finite limits, which @jrockstrom and others have mapped out in the elegant planetary boundaries concept.

13/theguardian.com/environment/20…

Coming back to my original point. Our leadership, the corporate entities, the oligarchs, the billionaires, cannot accept the ecological planetary boundaries of our world, without also concomitantly and tacitly admitting the whole system they run is fatally flawed.
14/

There is also a much deeper problem. The power and wealth of these people, at the top, is wholly premised on them knowing best. However, if they acknowledge they never understood this basic ecological flaw, and have no answers, why do they have all the power and money?
15/

If the powerful, admit they know nothing about this situation, then why have they got all the power and money, when they have no idea at all of how to run the system, and any knowledge and expertise they have, is irrelevant and redundant.
16/

The result is, the whole of humanity is being taking over a cliff edge of climate, ecological and biodiversity catastrophe, by a tiny clique of egotistical people, drunk on money and power, who actually have no idea of what they're doing.
17/

In other words, they are refusing to acknowledge the reality of the climate and ecological crisis, because if they do, they will become surplus to requirements, and there is no justification for them holding onto all their power and wealth.
18/

This is the basic problem, the dilemma that confronts us. Our leadership, being in deep denial of reality, because acknowledging ecological reality, will mean the end of their power, status, and wealth trip.
19/

@threadreaderapp unroll