Tom wrote:
>It comes from man stepping away from biocentric diversity and
assuming a
kind of false sense of control over nature. Capitalism didn't invent
this,
but rather inherited it from a long succession of other systems, most
notably feudalism which perfected it via religion. Since this sense of
control is imbedded in our culture more deeply than even capitalism,
the
removal of capitalism does not solve the problem.<
I do agree with this.
I do think that to a larger extent than we realise, we are still in
the grip of a 'stageist' theory of history (whose chief authors,
funnily enough, were probably Frederick Engels and Vladimir Lenin, but
whose real origins go back to Rousseau). I am glad of the work of
Andre Gunder Frank and of Jim Blaut (a member of this List) and others
who have not only critiqued Eurocentric theories of history, but have
also (especially Frank) taught us to think again about the meaning and
nature of "capitalism", a supposedly-unique epoch and social formation
which was birthed in England in the late 18th century. Frank,
especially in his last book ReOrient, has challenged this
conceptualisation of capitalism as a discrete and unique formation, a
conceptualisation which is coterminous with capitalism and was born in
the work of Enlightenment savants after 1750. Indeed, the more you
look at the *continuities* that exist, the more doubtful it becomes
that there is anything unique about industrial capitalism at all,
other than the use of fossil fuel. Few of its institutions do not have
precedents in earlier societies, particularly in Asia and above all,
China.
I also highly recommend Jack Goldstone's essays, several of which are
on the CrashList website.
So yes, it is profoundly true that even after we get rid of industrial
capitalism, we shall not have solved the problem. That will require
replacing patterns of behaviour which do indeed have medieval
religious roots, in Christianity especially (but other world religions
also objectified Nature in a way which has permitted and legitimated
later human predation of the natural world, extending now even to the
plunder of our own DNA, the last of the great commons, and now in
process of privatisation).
Yes, we shall have to create new Institutes of Accord (as the great
Soviet environmentalist and physicist Nikita Moiseev put it), to
govern both inter-human relationships and relationships between homo
sapiens and the rest of nature.
BTW, I meant to say how grateful I am to Karl North for his posting of
the Bowes article.
Mark
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