A return to basics

Those goods that are necessary for the survival of a political community, and without which all other considerations become moot.


The 'dark matter' of American politics
by Kurt Cobb

In addition, soil erosion and fertility, the depletion of major fisheries, the destruction of forests, and the skyrocketing prices of raw materials such as copper, nickel and steel are all nonstarters for political candidates. It's as if the basics of civilization--stable climate, fresh water, fertile soil, minerals, and energy supplies--were afterthoughts or at most a problem of location as in the case of oil.

While one may dispute the author's judgment about the earth's carrying capacity or the causes of global warming, he is right in pointing out that very few politicians have addressed the most basic questions that need to be asked for the sake of keeping a community in existence. We no longer care about local self-sufficiency, believing that "a free market" is the best mechanism for meeting the needs of all. (When really, it is the best mechanism to benefit the oligarchs.)

Heavy military expenditures, increasing public and private debt, and threats to our democratic institutions are all related to the stressed condition of the biosphere. A detailed list of the symptoms that result from that stress--the stress of living beyond the earth's carrying capacity--is provided in the latest edition of Limits to Growth. That list reads like a summary of the causes of American political disputes over the past 30 years. Unfortunately, many of these symptoms have been cast in ideological terms instead of ecological terms. This has led people to believe that addressing the symptoms is merely a question of electing the right politicians rather than reworking our way of life.