Why be cynical? The long answer is in my message from last week, "What's the Mythology For, Anyway?"
The short answer is we are contending with two competing aphorisms here: "not letting perfection be the enemy of the good" and "bad money driving out good". What I am cynical about is the Music Man effect. Every good cause sprouts hucksters like dandelions and the hucksterism soon becomes the only show on the bill. The romantic/triumphant ending of the Music Man, recall, was fiction. On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 8:36 AM, michael gurstein <[email protected]>wrote: > ** > Tom, > > Why be cynical about something that is in large part a good news story... > > There is so much quite legitimate bad news and bad judgement and bad faith > around that any glimmer of light even if flawed, is worth cherishing IMHO. > > M > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Tom Walker > *Sent:* Friday, April 20, 2012 12:14 PM > *To:* RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION > *Subject:* Re: [Futurework] Being Green Then and Now > > By the way, what do people think of "Gross National Schadenfreude" as a > counterweight to the nauseatingly coy Gross National Happiness panacea with > their fairytale Bhutanese king? Where could OUR Bhutan be? Iceland? > > On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 8:09 AM, Tom Walker <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Just to be absolutely unambiguous, I'm as cynical as anyone about the >> sincerity of the greenwashing industry -- "if you can fake sincerity, >> you've got it made". My stuck-in-the-head quote these days is Orwell's "All >> left-wing parties in the highly industrialized countries are at bottom a >> sham, because they make it their business to fight against something which >> they do not really wish to destroy." But it doesn't follow that all >> right-wing parties are therefore NOT a sham. >> >> I think one of the functions of schadenfreude is to reward and reinforce >> cognitive dissonance. The ironic chuckle of "Being green then and now" is >> at bottom a schadenfreude experience, which, in true cognitive dissonance >> style, "absolves" the chuckler of his or her peccadilloes. >> >> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 7:54 AM, Tom Walker <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> Would you have in mind something along the lines of the aptly-named >>> "Titanic Eco-Spa"? Green buildings, spring water and towels and a "spa >>> traveler award". I kid you not. >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 7:39 AM, Arthur Cordell >>> <[email protected]>wrote: >>> >>>> Would also add to the cute message that oh so many greenies are >>>> recycling >>>> this and that and then without a thought jump on a jet to go off to >>>> this or >>>> that conference or vacation spot without a thought as to what these and >>>> a >>>> host of other personal activities are doing that run counter to the >>>> religion >>>> of being green. >>>> >>>> arthur >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: [email protected] >>>> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike >>>> Spencer >>>> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2012 10:49 PM >>>> To: [email protected] >>>> Subject: [Futurework] Re: Being Green Then and Now >>>> >>>> >>>> Tom Walker wrote: >>>> >>>> > Cute but false and misleading. >>>> > [snip] >>>> > "Cute" bullshit is still bullshit. >>>> >>>> Well, yeah. But not any greater or more tedious bullshit than many of >>>> the >>>> putatively "green" odds & sods that we're expected (or forced) to >>>> embrace >>>> today, many of which (IMHO) are ways of externalizing some large >>>> entity's >>>> cost onto the consumer or create a profit ex novo. >>>> >>>> Yes, the vast volumes of toxics and particulates fired up smokestacks, >>>> down >>>> drains and off tailings dumps before regulation outweigh, in global >>>> effect, >>>> plastic bags or gas lawn mowers. The point of the "cute" piece was to >>>> ridicule self-righteous Greenness among those who adopt and evangelize >>>> the >>>> Green Consumer Catechism without critical thought or meaningful >>>> knowledge. >>>> >>>> Or so I understood it. >>>> >>>> >>>> - Mike >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Michael Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada .~. >>>> /V\ >>>> [email protected] /( )\ >>>> http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/ ^^-^^ >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Futurework mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Futurework mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Cheers, >>> >>> Tom Walker (Sandwichman) >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Cheers, >> >> Tom Walker (Sandwichman) >> > > > > -- > Cheers, > > Tom Walker (Sandwichman) > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > -- Cheers, Tom Walker (Sandwichman)
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