Surviving Capitalism (Not) : If we need a war footing to rebuild the physical economy, why can't we talk about it?

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, January 12, 2013

If we need a war footing to rebuild the physical economy, why can't we talk about it?

Click here to access article by Philip Sutton from Climate Code Red (Australia).

Given the recent dire warnings and the occurrence of climate-related disasters, there is some controversy about how to proceed in combating further disasters.

At the end of last year a very useful discussion was opened up by a number of climate scientists in different parts of the world calling for climate change action to be put onto a war footing.

John Connor, CEO of the Climate Institute, questioned the desirability of pursuing this approach. But how valid was John's critique? And is there a better response to the call from the climate scientists to go onto a war footing.