status quo vs radical
TRANSCRIPT
Comparing ‘status quo’ and ‘radical’ thinking on global challengesBridget McKenzie, October 2011Please note: I see the two positions as if on a spectrum. Many people are ambivalent on this spectrum. My concerns are that too many caring people believe either:a) it is possible to uphold the status quo while also hoping
that social justice will be served and ecological collapse will be averted
b) it is not possible to serve social justice and avert ecological collapse without upholding the status quo
The status quo: Unsustainable economy
...the economy (inhuman
power)
People...
Other living beings
Natural resources
Dynamic planet systems
...exploited for sake of
...sacrificed for the sake of
...extracted for the sake of
...ignored for the sake of
nurture
feedsustain
Stabilise planet for...
People
Living things
Natural resources
Dynamic planetary systems
The alternative: Circular economy
The status quo: Purpose of education is a job & to be ‘top of the tree’
A lucrative & powerful
jobA good job or job to make
goods
Failure, helped up by those with jobs
Co-operative & democratic
social structures
Shared resources e.g. Common land & knowledge
Skills to adapt & thrive
Jobs (to sustain life on planet)
Radical: The goal of education is the ‘means to thrive’
Sacrifice some land & resources
Exploit some people
Material prosperity as the goal. Trust in ‘trickle down’ to alleviate social exclusion & ecological damage
The status quo: Prosperity through growth, with some allowable damage
Radical: Prosperity by both ‘ecoinnovation’ & ‘degrowth’
Prosperity: survival and health as a
species, alongside others
Increase sustainable innovation
Reduce
damaging
growth