Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
-
Upload
frank-a-sicoli -
Category
Documents
-
view
223 -
download
0
Transcript of Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
1/20
Consumption Junction: Too Much is Never
Enough
We are have seen weird Times in this country before, but the year[2005] is beginning to look super weird. This time there really is nobodyflying the plane We are living in dangerously weird times now. Smartpeople just shrug and admit theyre dazed and confused. The only onesleft with any confidence at all are the New Dumb. It is the beginning ofthe end of our world as we knew it. Doom is the operative ethic.
Hunter S. Thompson
Fear. Thats exactly what I feel on this rotten night. Its 8:55 PM
on Thursday and the President just finished up his long overdue press
conference. Forty-eight minutes of nonsense spouting out of that
brainless toad; couldve gone the full hour but didnt want to take up
television time from the sponsors for the sake of the economy.
Todays topics were rising oil prices and Social Security reform. He
spent four minutes discussing oil prices, claimed we need to address
the root causes that are driving up gas prices, and concluded that we
need to maximize oil production to meet the growing demand for
fossil fuels. Then he spent the rest of the time drilling home the Social
Security plan with the same old stump speech he has been kicking
around for the last sixty days. Social Security worked fine over the last
century, but the math has changed Dubya knows about math?
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
2/20
You ask, What the hell does this have to do with Hans Jonas The
Imperative of Responsibility? To which I reply, What doesnt this
have to do with The Imperative of Responsibility? Allow me to
explain: The underlying message of President Bushs speech exemplifies
everything that is wrong and evil with America and moreover the
Administrations failure to address the root of our problems.
Shortsightedness and utter disregard for the quality of life on earth is an
ominous position for any citizen to take in this wretched year, 2005.
[Authors Note] I planned on taking a different approach to Jonas,
but I never expected the Presidents speech to be the catalyst. The
timing worked out perfectly. After several times over, I realized that
The Imperative of Responsibility dovetails perfectly with the current
condition of planet earth and his words scream off the page now more
than ever. Therefore, Jonas philosophy of responsibility is much too
poignant, prescient, and crucial for life on this planet to bastardize with
complex and esoteric philosophical jargon. Of course, this is always an
option. But, I find a down-to-earth approach more conducive to
unlocking the message in this wonderful and prophetic text. Keep in
mind that Jonas wrote this text as a warning to people about the
dangers of neglecting to take responsibility for generations to come
and for sustaining the quality of life. The warning call was eventually
taken up by the increasingly popular fields of environmental ethics, eco-
philosophy, and deep-ecology. Unfortunately, some scientists think
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
3/20
they were too late. Planet Earth stands on the cusp of disaster and
people should no longer take it for granted that their children and
grandchildren will survive in the environmentally degraded world of the
21st century.1 This is not alarmist propaganda it was reported by
1,300 scientists in 95 countries. We are doomed.
President Bush made the case that we must maximize oil
production to meet growing demand because it is the most effective
way to lower gas prices, and moreover, less intrusive to the economy
than the environmentally sound alternatives. There is a red thread that
runs throughout the administrations global strategy: The Bush
Corporation is more concerned with meeting demand and maximizing
output, instead of reducing consumption. At this very moment,
population numbers are spinning out of control. This in turn is causing
an unprecedented rise in consumption. Between 1960 and 2000, the
world population doubled from three billion to six billion. At the same
time, the global economy increased more than six-fold and the
production of food and the supply of drinking water more than doubled,
with the consumption of timber products increasing by more than half.
Planet Earth can only bring forth a limited amount of natural resources
without eventually leading to a complete global environmental attack.
The failure to perceive earth as something finite and vulnerable is
one of the key problems that developed from all previous ethics. In this
regard, Kant is one of Jonas favorite victims. Jonas felt that an
1 Steve Connor. The Independent, 30 March 2005.
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
4/20
individualistic ethics necessarily leads one to assume a position of
independence from nature. No matter what, the balance between man
and nature always remained in tact. From this point of view, human
action was considered not to have any crucial effect on Nature. This is
where technology comes into play.
Modern technology has taken mankind to a level where his actions
are directly intrusive to nature, changing her every step of the way. We
now know - Nature is no longer impermeable to our raping and looting.
The range of our action has swelled in size and now man is in a position
of dominance in nature. There is no longer any balance. What could
have led to the ideology that nature is in a position of complete power,
immutable, and unchangeable? After all, the earliest of civilizations
treated Nature as a sanctuary, a place of worship. There are many
guilty parties to blame for this crime against nature. Poets and
philosophers are just two of the guilty parties. Nature was treated like
an idea, rather than a home, or a sanctuary. What went wrong? How
did this cataract upon our vision transform the way we live in the world?
Some say capitalism or imperialism. Jonas says, the city.
Early on, man viewed his intrusions into nature as harmless and
superfluous to the grand scheme of things. The space created by these
intrusions was called the city. Jonas claims that the city was originally
intended to enclose rather than expand the nature of things. This
upset the natural order and lead to a new balance within the whole.
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
5/20
The city created a buffer zone that separated man from nature. The
separation from nature also created a division between human actions
and its effect on the universe. City life remained contained within the
city walls. The city as an artificial construct was permeable to change;
history is marked with the rise and fall of prominent cities. Throughout
the rise and fall of cities, one thing remained the same human action.
Humanity was marked as impotent, with little or any control of nature.
Natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions
were considered acts of divine intervention. Mans reach was relatively
small and the consequences of his actions remained confined within the
city walls. The link to nature was severed. Outside the city walls, the
world of nature maintained stable despite the actions within the city
walls. Humans were divorced from nature and so were their ethical
concerns.
This schism created the impression that anything part of the non-
human world is ethically neutral. Jonas says:
All dealing with the non-human world, that is, the whole realm of
techne, was ethically neutral - in respect both of the object and the
subject of such action: in respect of the object, because it is impinged
but little on the self-sustaining nature of things, and thus raised no
question of permanent injury to the integrity of its object, the natural
order as a whole; and in respect of the agent subject it was ethically
neutral because techne as an activity conceived itself as an activity
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
6/20
conceived itself as a determinate tribute to necessity and not as an
indefinite, self-validating advance to mankinds major goal, claiming in
its pursuit mans ultimate effort and concern.
The non-human world took on a supplementary role in relation to
nature. Lets examine the role shelter has taken throughout our
history. Primitive man was content with pitching a tent. The materials
were simple: sticks (quantity depended on the size of the tent) and
animal skins... Now, compare this to a $16,000,000 home. The
materials are not as simple to list: Steel, clay, sand, limestone, gravel, a
forests worth of timber, fiberglass, plastic, glass (ash, sand, water)
The list goes on and on. Imagine both of these constructs and compare
the effect they each have on their design space. The tent was
harmless, and conservative. The mansion, on the other hand, is made
possible through massive amounts of energy consumption and an
exorbitant amount of natural and synthetic resources. Its safe to say
that the earliest forms of residential housing were practically harmless
to nature. The modern home, on the other hand, violates and perverts
nature along every step of the way. Dont forget; corporations and
businesses need homes. I wont even begin to list the materials used to
construct a skyscraper. Skyscrapers are generally considered phallic
symbols of potency and fecundity. There is a lot of truth to this claim
and the metaphor is more accurate than most people care to admit. If it
is a phallic symbol, then by the very nature of anatomy, the land it sits
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
7/20
upon is a companion to the skyscraper and represents the real source of
fecundity. Earth. Design space is no longer neutral
This is just one way that Jonas characterized previous ethics. The
neutrality of techne led man to exclude the non-human realm from any
ethical responsibility. Ethics was and still is anthropocentric. In the
simplest of terms, Man has a moral obligation to other people, but not to
anything else. Even this watered down version of ethics has its
problems. Jonas states, Ethical significance belonged to the direct
dealing of man with man, including dealing with himself: all tradition
ethics is anthropocentric. This shortsightedness led to a narrowing
down of ethics to the present and near future. The range of action
was seen in the here and now. In traditional ethics, long-range
consequences were not demanded in the moral decision-making
process.
However, modern technology broadened the range of human
actions. The narrow scope of traditional ethics is rendered virtually
impotent in the modern world. Our reach transcends space. Satellite
technology immediately comes to mind. The technological advances in
this field make it possible for some square-head Pentagoon in
Washington to launch a missile across space to intercept another
missile. Sounds logical, right a missile whizzing across space could
prevent a nuclear attack. Thats if everything works according to plan.
We are beginning to learn that SMART weapons are not so smart.
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
8/20
What happens if the space-based missile fails to intercept the incoming
target? Would we send another missile to intercept the missile that
went awry, and then another missile to intercept the original incoming
missile? And if so, which missile would we send first the one intended
to intercept the failed missile or the incoming missile? Do we save an
innocent country from getting blasted because of the failed attempt or
do we save our own asses? Wellthis poses a problem. Jonas was
aware of this technology and I am sure that he wouldnt be surprised to
learn that the Bush Administration signed a bill giving the U.S. Missile
Defense Agency the green light for a test run of the space-based kinetic
energy kill vehicles (KKVs) in 2008. The implications of this weaponry
are disastrous.
The advances of modern technology have bequeathed upon man
a new realm of responsibility. The effects of human action are no longer
limited to the present moment. The lines dividing the doer, deed, and
effect are blurred. Oil consumption is a perfect example of the shift
from an individualistic to collective dynamic. While walking along 6th
avenue the other day, I noticed a bumper-sticker on this huge S.U.V MY
S.U.VISDESTROYINGTHEENVIRONMENT needless to say, I wanted to wait and see
what type of viscous beast owned this land-yacht. This person is
obviously wrapped up in their own world and fails to see the collective
side to fossil fuel emission. For argument sake, this one particular truck
is not changing the environment. However, the millions of other
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
9/20
vehicles, thousands of ships streaming across the ocean, thousands of
planes whizzing around, and the thousands of commercial trucks
operating on a daily basis are destroying the environment. Some
people still believe that Nature is free from our wraith. Ecologists dont
feel this way. In fact, they are keenly aware of the stranglehold man
has on nature.
On of the first signs marking the departure from the traditional
viewpoint was the realization that despite what the popular majority
says Nature is not infinitely sustainable and impervious to human
action. This discovery, Jonas states, whose shock led to the nascent
science of ecology, alters the very concept of ourselves as a causal
agency in the larger scheme of things. It brings to light, through the
effects, that the nature of human action has de facto changed and that
an object of an entirely new order no less than the biosphere of the
planet has been added to what we must be responsible for because of
our power of it. The range of our moral responsibility has expanded so
as to include nature.
How are things different in a technological world? In Jonas
language, technology has eliminated containment of nearness and
contemporaneity. More importantly, according to traditional
philosophical thought, the cause of an action was seen to be equal to
the effect. This is no longer the case. The people of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki are still getting over the effects of the atom bomb. Another
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
10/20
angle from which to view the transition is that technology is continually
growing more and more advanced so as to form an interconnected web
of effects. One particular event could ignite a host of effects dispersed
across the globe. For instance, the effects caused by greenhouse gas
emissions are not limited to one isolated zone.
The new role of responsibility in turn introduced knowledge into
ethics. Its up to us to use our knowledge to the best of our ability to
examine the effects our actions have on the delicate structure of life on
this earth. In fact, it is our duty to examine the effects. Unfortunately,
this doesnt appear to be the direction that society is going in. Theory
and practice are two different things. Whats the point of deep-ecology
and environmental ethics if the administration running the show is
seemingly blind to the effects of actions? Back to the Presidents speech
Rising oil prices are commonplace to the news media. News networks
are always mentioning gas prices: where to find cheap gas, how high
are prices going to go, will they come back down They neglect to ask
the most important question: Why are prices so high? Two words: Peak
Oil. Years ago, Marion King Hubbert devised a formula to measure oil
depletion: Hubbert Peak-Oil Curve. The formula represents the bell-
curve of oil production. The Bush Administration and the media seem
blind to Hubberts formula and so therefore, Peak Oil is disregarded as
posing a serious threat. The Presidents most recent speech exemplifies
this intentional oversight. The reality of the situation is that the world
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
11/20
has used more than half of all the hydrocarbons created over millions of
years all in the matter of 100 years.
The Middle East has more than half of the worlds reserves,
followed by Eurasia, and Latin America. Saudi Arabia leads the Middle
East in reserves, with Iraq and Iran running a close second. However,
Saudi Arabia is currently at peak production. This means that
production is reaching the downward part of the curve. The reality of
peak oil is compounded by increasing oil consumption, not just in
America, but on a global level. This is why China poses such a threat to
the United States. So, when the President talks about getting to the
root of this problem I get a bit skeptical of his plan to boost production
rather than curb consumption. Moreover, how could he talk about oil-
prices without mentioning overpopulation? Consumption and
overpopulation go hand-in-hand.
Are we using our knowledge to peer into the future and foresee
the effects of our actions? Absolutely. The EPA, Sierra Club, and the
rapidly growing field of eco-philosophy are but three examples of how
some people are using knowledge to peer into the future.
Unfortunately, knowledge is not enough; we need action. Its hard to
get any sort of footing when the administration controlling the fate of
America and the world is directly opposed to anything that might
jeopardize the economy. There is a direct conflict between those people
that put the environment first and those that put the economy first. In
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
12/20
short, the gap between the ability to foresee future effects and the
power to act creates a moral problem. Despite all the uncertainty, one
thing remains clear: technological advances have introduced a host of
problems.
These problems have shattered the traditional anthropocentric
vision of ethics. Our responsibility extends beyond anthropocentric
confinement and into the biosphere as a whole and in its parts. We
need to examine the extent of our actions against the backdrop of
nature. These domains are now subject to our power thus becoming
a human trust, which has a moral claim on us not only for our ulterior
sake but for its own and in its own right. In opposition to my claim,
Jonas assumes that science has done a lousy job in preparing us for this
expanding role of responsibility by deeming nature as something
subordinate to man. Science has neutralized nature and consequently
mankind.
How did we get in this precarious position? Technology was
originally used as a means to provide and guarantee the necessities to
sustain the quality of life, a means with a finite measure of adequacy
to well-defined proximate ends. This is no longer the case.
Technology is now used to dominate and control the natural order. The
goal to dominate has resulted in the dwarfing of the natural world by a
continually growing artificial environment. Consequently, man now is
evermore the maker of what he has made and the doer of what he can
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
13/20
do, and most of all the preparer of what he will be able to do next. This
quote gets to the heart of the matter. Nature is not invulnerable to our
technological rampage. We must take a position of stewardship in our
intrusions into nature. Jonas makes the case clear that stewardship is
not a matter of individual action, but rather a call upon the impersonal
massification of humanity, as a collective whole. How does this
massification of humanity hold up against the political world?
Jonas reply to this question is that any distinction between the
social/economic order and the political world is unjustified. He defines
politics as making art. The very nature of political art is to produce and
create, whether it is a new law or agency. Society and politics are
inextricably linked. Technology has even shaped the political realm.
Politicians are responsible for guaranteeing the quality of life in the
future despite the faceless and nameless nature of the future
generations. Its tough to get a vote from someone that doesnt even
exist. This led Jonas to believe that political action could not be based
upon contractual lines because one of the parties will always remain
impotent and unable to act. Action is the key that turns all the locks.
Yet, our actions should be shaped by their potential effects. The main
obstacle in using the future, as the backdrop to test our actions is the
basic uncertainty in performing an act in regards to something that has
not yet happened.
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
14/20
Jonas figured there ought to be two constants maintained
throughout existence: 1. A world fit for human habitation 2. The world
should be inhabited by humankind worthy of the human name. It is our
responsibility to make sure that these two themes are not violated.
Previous forms of ethics took for granted the sustainability of nature and
failed to factor in the possibility of finitude. Keep in mind that Nature
was viewed as impenetrable. Jonas reformulates Kants imperative:
Do not compromise the conditions for an indefinite continuation of
humanity on earth. In your present choices, include the future
wholeness of Humanity among the objects of your will. This change
allows for an individual to incorporate the future generations into their
ethical system. In short, the present quality of life should never
jeopardize the quality of life in the future. Todays weal should never
compensate for tomorrows woe.
Where does Jonas imperative draw its power to shape and control
human action? The nonreciprocity of our duty to the future generations
goes against the grain of most if not all of the previous ethical systems.
One cannot help but to question the motivating factor underlying this
new form of ethics. Jonas expected reluctance to take his word at face
value. At the outset it must be realized that what we require of our
principle is not supplied by the traditional idea of rights and duties the
idea grounded upon reciprocity, according to which my duty is the
counterpart of anothers right, which in turn is seen as the like of my
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
15/20
own right: once certain rights of another are established, then my
corresponding duty to respect them and where possible to future them
is also established. The very fact of existing is enough of a demand to
put man in a position of responsibility. The claim to existence begins
only with existence. The circle of life cancels out any questions
regarding the purpose and meaning underlying our duty to prosperity.
Jonas describes what he considers a paradigm model of this
nonreciprocal duty: a parents obligation to care for a newborn baby.
The world would be a different place if only we could apply this
unconditional dedication to all aspects of our life. Imagine living in a
world where everyone treats nature with the same love they share with
a newborn baby. Jonas states, This is the only class of fully selfless
behavior supplied by nature; and indeed, it is in this one-way
relationship to dependent progeny, given with the biological facts of
procreation, and not in the mutual relationship between independent
adultsthat one should look for the origin of the idea of responsibility in
general; and its constantly demanding sphere of action is the original
site of its practice. More importantly, [this] is the archetype of all
responsible action, which fortunately requires no deduction from a
principle, because it is powerfully implanted in us by nature I cant
help but to think about the metaphor, Mother Nature. This implies
that nature is in a position to take care of humanity, whereas the
viewpoint Jonas presents reserves the nurturing role for humanity.
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
16/20
Jonas drills the message home that we must expand our ethics to
include care for the future. However, what factors lead one to designate
care for nature into their ethical system. From a certain angle, it
appears that nature is merely a tool to procure future generations and
therefore regulating care for nature to secondary importance. This is
not the case. For Jonas, nature shouldnt be cared for merely in relation
to the future generations. Nature should be cared for in itself. To care
for nature means to promote self-actualization and the fulfillment of
purpose. Anything that impedes against the fulfillment of purpose goes
against the grain of the natural order. I imagine natural-selection
played an important role in shaping this portion of Jonas philosophy. I
just hope he didnt lose sight of the fact that evolution by natural-
selection is a blind, mechanical, and algorithmic process. Discussion of
purpose in relationship to evolution is a tricky business. This is Daniel
Dennetts department, not mine. Regardless of the confusion
surrounding this subject matter, there is one thing that remains
completely clear: human beings should never obstruct the fulfillment of
purpose. I can find no argument with this claim and Im inclined to
believe that the environment would be in better shape if we listened to
his message. The failure to allow for fulfillment of purpose has led to six
tipping points that could lead to disaster. First, population growth and
the rising cost of real estate cause man to move their living space into
the forest. This retreat into the forest brings a number of problems such
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
17/20
as epidemics, and new diseases, i.e., Sars, and bird flu. Diseases that
were limited to animals are now being transferred to humans. Second,
ecosystems are being destroyed by invasive species. Zebra mussels
introduced into North America led to the extinction of native clams and
the comb jellyfish caused havoc in 26 major species in the Black Sea.
Three, the accumulation of man-made nutrients alters the point when
algae blooms. These man-made nutrients destroy the oxygen and
create toxic substances in the drinking water. Four, coral reefs are
being taken over by algae which in turn alters nutrient levels. Five, over
fishing is causing the fishing industry to approach a complete and total
collapse. There are too few adults to maintain the fish population. Six,
temperatures are rising at an unprecedented rate. This causes
fluctuations of rainfall, which in turn changes both vegetation and land
cover.
Allowing for the fulfillment of purpose doesnt sound like a bad
idea after all. However, Jonas foundation of responsibility is not without
criticism. Discourse ethics poses a straightforward problem. How does
Jonas deal without someone who can care less about nature? Are the
bonds of responsibility strong enough to control and bridle human
action? Proponents of discourse ethics assume that Jonas failed to
address this problem. But they have an answer to the problem: use
community as a forum to discuss the foundations of responsibility, in
this case, Jonas example of the newborn baby. If this foundation gets
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
18/20
approved by the popular consensus, then as a result, an individual
would feel an obligation to act according to responsibility. Any choice to
renege on the deal would be contradictory to both the community and
person. This contradiction is apparently enough proof to urge man to
act responsibly. Im more inclined to side with Jonas. Discourse ethics
tries to substitute intuition with communication. First of all, I dont
understand why intuition and communication have to be separated.
Are there any other factors aside from responsibility that could
shape and control human action? Certainly. One of the most effective
forces that shapes human action is fear or as Jonas describes it,
heuristics of fear. From this point of view, fear is powerful enough to
control human action. To prove this point Jonas refers to the atom
bomb. The decision to use an atom bomb is based on arbitrary
choice. Certain acts of certain actors can bring about the catastrophe
but they could also remain undone. Fear is one of the factors shaping
the decision to refrain from such a catastrophe. Of course, this is not
completely foolproof and it depends on a certain amount of luck. As
the opening quote might have suggested, I have a different outlook on
the heuristics of fear. I look at apocalyptic fear as an important tool
used by the current to administration to brainwash American citizens
into buying into the War on Terror. Fear was the major selling point
used to rube the American people into accepting the notion that the
preemptive strike and the Patriot Act are tactics to secure our
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
19/20
freedom. Moreover, fear is more likely to cause an attack rather than
prevent an attack. The Administrations primer on Fear is outlined in
the mission statement for the Washington based think-tank, The Project
for the New American Century (PNAC). The world changed after
September 11th Fear is not an option; its the norm the President will
do anything to maintain this level of fear. Fear is no longer a deterrent,
but rather, its an excuse for mass-murder.
There is one particular aspect of Jonas heuristics of fear that I
feel captures the climate of the times. His main fear was not sudden
nuclear attack but rather the slow and irreversible changes caused by
over-population. As I previously stated, overpopulation is one of the
most dangerous threats facing the world at this moment. Therefore,
with all respect for the threat of sudden destruction by the atom bomb, I
put the threat of the slow incremental opposite, overpopulation and all
the other too much in the forefront of my fears. Warnings such as
this cause Jonas message to scream across generations.
What could we do to heed his call? Its very difficult to follow
Jonas lead when the country is being run as a business, instead of a
democracy. Economists and Oil tycoons dont usually dally with long-
term projections. The real power in America is held by a fast-emerging
new Oligarchy of pimps and preachers who see no need for Democracy
or fairness or even trees, except maybe the ones in their own yards, and
they dont mind admitting it. They worship money and power and
-
8/3/2019 Consumption Junction - Too Much is Never Enough
20/20
death. Their ideal solution to all the nations problems would be another
100 Year War. This accounts for the desire to meet demand instead of
cutting back on consumption. Lets drill in the Arctic regardless of the
long-term effects nobody lives there anyway. Lets build bigger trucks
with more horsepower its not like theres an oil crisis. Lets keep
having babies without any means to support them after all, all these
extra people will come in handy for the Draft. Lets continue to rape
and loot nature after all, this is the Consumption Junction.