This could be considered as part 2 of 2 articles which he devotes to Paul Hawken's latest book and more generally his strong influence in liberal environmental circles. I suggest first reading Barker's earlier article entitled, "Paul Hawken's Spiritual Business".
Hawken has written numerous books and articles, spoken at many environmental events, and is connected with many liberal environmental non-profit organizations. But, has his influence been constructive? There are contra-indications.
For example, he has credited the Gates foundation with helping feed 3rd world countries, but in reality the Gates Foundation is working with Monsanto. That is hardly helpful to the starving people of the world who must use GMO seeds that require Round-Up and other pesticides.
He is well connected with some prominent capitalists and their propagandists, and many are fond of him and his views. For example, Bill Clinton called Paul Hawken's last book, Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution one of the five most important books in the world today.
His views are rooted in his earlier embrace of mystical New Age thinking of the 1960s, and are loaded with inspiration rhetoric. His influence over environmental issues in the US has been powerful, but it has never challenged the system which drives environmental destruction. In fact, he has served to encourage the belief that we can have the system and thrive--you know, like "having your cake and eating it, too".
[The two articles trace] out some of the ties between Paul Hawken's greening of corporate power and the diverse circle of New Age environmental activists closely associated with the magical Findhorn community, which as observed at the start of this winding article was the topic of celebration in Paul's first book. However, from a critical perspective it is obvious that neither magical thinking, nor its equally irrational counterpart, green capitalism, are going to provide any useful solutions to the serious problems facing human civilization. By outlining the overlapping nature of some of the groups that Paul presently works with that inevitably help mystify the true extent of capitalism's inherent destructiveness, it is hoped that more concerned individuals will begin to explore the necessity of adopting truly radical solutions that address the root causes of our societies problems. The primary problem being capitalism, and with one prominent alternative being socialism.
