All, I have been pondering--as I am sure many of you have, as well--what the impacts of the pandemic might tell us about a broader social strategy for moving toward a more sustainable civilization (I don't want to seem too opportunistic in all of this, but see below).
What we have known in the abstract is now being revealed in its materiality: the dependence of modern economies on consumer consumption (65-70%+) is significantly a means of recirculating (not redistributing) money from leisure-based activities from higher- to lower-income members of society. For example, the vast numbers of people employed in the food service industry (restaurants, cafes, etc.) are paid only by virtue of those who purchase food and drink in or from such establishments. Ultimately, as well, automation of both service and white-collar work (including educators) might well undermine this circle of (what?) compensation, as even higher-income classes are made "redundant" (polite British term for being laid off). This suggests it may be necessary to look more closely at basic income programs in the future, especially if consumption does not return to its pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, we have also seen a considerable reduction in various forms of pollution, auto traffic and other environmental impacts (although not as much as the IPCC tells use is required), which seems to confirm the hunch that responding to climate change will require significant reductions in consumption and economies (and "green growth" from a much lower baseline). There has been a considerable amount of commentary on capitalism and the coronavirus and, I imagine, a lot about sustainability and the environment after the pandemic. But, like this email, most of it is very much spur of the moment and not terribly analytical or deep. Since most of us are at home--and teaching, caring for children, etc.--this might also be an opportunity to collaborate on a book or series of publications about "lessons for the future." I'd suggest many articles of 2,500 words rather than fewer at 10,000. Might there be interest (and time) among you to propose and prepare a contribution to such a project? I hope you and your families are all well. Best, Ronnie Lipschutz -- Ronnie D. Lipschutz, Professor of Politics UC Santa Cruz,1156 High St. Santa Cruz, CA 95064 e-mail: [email protected]; <[email protected]>phone: 831-459-3275; web site: http://tinyurl.com/zeatctr Codirector, Sustainable Systems Research Foundation <http://sustainablesystemsfoundation.org> Host, "Sustainability Now!" every other Sunday on KSQD 90.7FM & KSQD.org (archived at: https://sustainablesystemsfoundation.org/sustainability-now-broadcasts-on-ksqd-90-7-fm-ksqd-org/ *"I have to die. If it is now, well, then, I die now; if later, then now I will take my lunch, since the hour for lunch has arrived — and dying I will tend to later.” * --Epictetus-- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "gep-ed" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/gep-ed/CAOGWZTU16z25if3zc59Hb-BVfk4Vt8HXVtV_D7Bi_MJ8jV8KUA%40mail.gmail.com.
