Rethinking Economics
Most adults in the UK, and I guess the ‘developed’ world are aware of the economic recession that is in progress, along with some of the unprecedented actions that governments are taking to ease us out of this situation (but hopefully not back into the one that created the problem in the first place).
David Korten
David Korten, a psychologist, presents a different view on economics, specifically in relation to ‘Peak Oil’ (ie the fact that oil production has or is about to peak, and from this point onwards oil will become increasingly more expensive).
I watched a short film clip of Korten, taken from a new movie called Blind Spot (all about Peak Oil) and found his view interesting to say the least. Here’s a transcript of the excerpt:
There’s no way we’re going to fix this mess by adjustments at the margin.
This is about a fundamental rethinking of what it means to be human. A fundamental rethinking of our relationships with one another, our institutions, our culture.
And it means exposing and penetrating the stories of empire that keep us locked in to this system, that create a kind of cultural trance that say this is just, this is right, it’s the only way it can be.
So all our economic stories about economic growth, about you need wealthy investors to grow the economy, that you shouldn’t have welfare programs because they just coddle lazy people, all our stories about money – money is wealth, people who are making money are creating wealth so therefore they own it. This is all clouding the reality that economic growth is all about rich people expropriating the property of poor people and turning it into garbage to make money for rich people.
If you’re interested in the effect that consumption of goods has on the environment and other people, do check out Annie Leonard’s ‘Story of Stuff‘.
More information:
www.blindspotdoc.com
www.davidkorten.org
www.storyofstuff.com
Related posts:
- Peak Oil is almost here says Shell
- Food crisis will take hold before climate change, warns chief scientist
- Coal-Obsessed China Fuels Global Warming
