Here's a gratitude game I play with myself.
I pick a modern object and ruminate over how much history went into making it possible. Take this rig: the metal components come from tens of thousands of years of metal-craft. The paints and rubbers come from synthetic versions of natural dyes and fibres that cost hundreds of thousands of lives to industrialize. Then there's the engineering, and the distribution challenges...
We live on the shoulders of so many.
And we take *such* gifts for granted.
Relatedly, I quite loved the latest Past Present Future, which argues that "Anthropocene" is the wrong word for the era we're moving through, with which to confront its pressing challenges.
The problem isn't *humanity*; it's a form of human organization that's lately caused terrible outcomes. Drawing from Hobbes, the host proposes the "Leviacene" as a more fitting description of this moment.
An excellent reflection on differences between inherent & constructed crises.
https://pca.st/episode/2625f60c-ccb6-4706-aab2-256d2b630846
😆 That has a great ring to it! And also a sense of fatalism, so we'll definitely put that into practice once there's no turning back.
@MLClark I don't know if I agree. One of the greatest aspects of human power is their capacity to organize in these ways. I see the outline of the concept, but to at least my perspective, I cannot separate humanity from the patterns and organizations of community they naturally create which has been their blessing and curse throughout their history.
That unifies humanity in a way that doesn't reflect our many different ways of living with and in the world. We love to flatten humanity to certain modern industrial formulas, but even now that's not how all humans live with their world.
But I recommend the listen.
As it notes, the anthropocene covers much more ground than our current problems - so the word doesn't adequately address the acceleration in recent centuries. Conversely, the technocene foists too much onto our tech and ignores our agency.
Ergo the host proposing a word drawn from Hobbes' Leviathan, a term that depicts the body-politik and what *it* creates (via corporations, governments, etc.) above and beyond individual human choice.
@MLClark A most intriguing point! I shall give it a listen. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Sorry if my reply was a little formal - I'm doing the crossword with my street vendor friend right now, and sneaking in response time when he's serving customers.
Here's an apology-bee I just saved from my coffee. Silly bee! Caffeine for me, not for thee! 🤗🐝
@MLClark No apology needed! It fits with the topic of discussion, I feel. ^_^ Academia has its ways ^_^
All aside, his voice alone is absolutely epic for this.
@MLClark Wonderful talk. Yes, it does seem that states and corporate entities are the problem and need to be remade if we are to save ourselves.
Oh, I'm glad you found it so. Vocabulary can be quite powerful for articulating the challenges we face, and giving us a new way to move through them.
@MLClark Thinking of them as leviathans is a great way to change the conversation from, "We individuals humans need to change our nature in order to save our world" to "What we have created is no longer working for us. Let's change that creation and build something that does." It is actually a very hopeful idea.
@MLClark I propose "FUBARcene" ... 🙄