Good reminders. My only argument is with the poverty data. Yes, lots of people live in poverty. And many people will not have a meal tonight. (I hate the term "food insecure -- to imprecise.) But for the first time in human history, nearly all famine in the world is caused by poor governance or war. That's a huge improvement. Industrial capitalism provided the wealth and fossil fuels for people like Norman Borlaug to make it possible to feed 9B (and more) people. For all its faults, this is a huge benefit of said system.
"past societies were neither dumb, lazy and hopelessly violent; they were human"
The place I came to terms with this was Pompeii. Specifically the Cave Canem entryway mosaic. I stared at that thing for about 20 minutes gradually integrating a basic truth I had never really accepted: "these people were just like me."
When it comes to Industrial Capitalism, Jason Hickel explicitly makes the argument that most gains in reducing poverty in the last 50yrs were made by countries like China, that would not strictly conform to Western controlled growth models.
I do not want to question the benefits, but I want to ask what are the best ways to diminish the bad habits of Industrial Capitalism? Let us not forget that this is a system originally based on exploitation, and it still continues to be so in the 'Global South'. How do we make sure that fairer rules like in Europe can be achieved in the the Global South? Or, rather, how do we make sure that European and US companies or governments will play by fair rules in the South?
"these people were just like me."
Honestly, yes. That is a valuable insight. It may not lead towards a fairer global system, but it would lead towards a fairer appreciation of history.
Good reminders. My only argument is with the poverty data. Yes, lots of people live in poverty. And many people will not have a meal tonight. (I hate the term "food insecure -- to imprecise.) But for the first time in human history, nearly all famine in the world is caused by poor governance or war. That's a huge improvement. Industrial capitalism provided the wealth and fossil fuels for people like Norman Borlaug to make it possible to feed 9B (and more) people. For all its faults, this is a huge benefit of said system.
"past societies were neither dumb, lazy and hopelessly violent; they were human"
The place I came to terms with this was Pompeii. Specifically the Cave Canem entryway mosaic. I stared at that thing for about 20 minutes gradually integrating a basic truth I had never really accepted: "these people were just like me."
Hello,
Author here.
When it comes to Industrial Capitalism, Jason Hickel explicitly makes the argument that most gains in reducing poverty in the last 50yrs were made by countries like China, that would not strictly conform to Western controlled growth models.
I do not want to question the benefits, but I want to ask what are the best ways to diminish the bad habits of Industrial Capitalism? Let us not forget that this is a system originally based on exploitation, and it still continues to be so in the 'Global South'. How do we make sure that fairer rules like in Europe can be achieved in the the Global South? Or, rather, how do we make sure that European and US companies or governments will play by fair rules in the South?
"these people were just like me."
Honestly, yes. That is a valuable insight. It may not lead towards a fairer global system, but it would lead towards a fairer appreciation of history.