We Can Be Certain of This By wkchild on February 18, 2014 Just as the addict feels “I can’t live any other way,” so we continue clinging to a way of living that is equally self-destructive because we too see no other way to live. Yesterday I discussed the intrinsic uncertainties in complex systems. (Certainty, Complex Systems, and Unintended Consequences). Amidst this sea of uncertainty we can be certain of this: humans will continue down an unsustainable path that inevitably leads to a tragic end until they succeed in destroying themselves or they reach a point of no return and abruptly change course. That process of clinging to the present arrangement “because I can’t live any other way” until that arrangement collapses is the primary narrative of our era. It is truly remarkable how humans will cling to a visibly self-destructive, no-exit arrangement because they see no alternative, and then after the present arrangement crumbles and the wreckage is cleared, we somehow manage to find some other arrangement. Sadly, we only rouse ourselves to change when there is no other choice, that is, after we’ve destroyed the previous arrangement. Take the seas, for example: we’re losing the oceans. The scale of our destruction of this resource is unprecedented and easily visible to all. The Consequences of Oceanic Destruction (Foreign Affairs) Over the last several decades, human activities have so altered the basic chemistry of the seas that they are now experiencing evolution in reverse: a return to the barren primeval waters of hundreds of millions of years ago. … And so we continue clinging to the present arrangement, certain there is no other way and that we are powerless to change our circumstances, until the current arrangement collapses beneath us, and we have no other choice but to make another arrangement. This is the second great narrative of our era. Our job is to describe and discuss another arrangement, a sustainable, non-addictive one that isn’t doomed to collapse from the start, so all those currently clinging to the path of self-destruction will have an alternative when the Status Quo comes apart and the smack they “need” to continue living is no longer available, or no longer available in sufficient quantity or quality. There is no point in trying to take the needle from the addict when he is certain there is no other way to live; for him, there is no other way to live. The only point of change lies ahead, when he reaches the cliff edge and must decide to plunge to his death, clinging to the present arrangement to the end, or he stumbles away from the edge and musters the courage to seek some alternative arrangement that doesn’t lead to the abyss.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 02:34:34 +0000