Message-ID: <32D16294.48C1@mind.net> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 1997 20:37:40 +0000 From: "B. Diamond" <mailto:bdiamond@MIND.NET> Subject: Why capitalism is NOT sustainable To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
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---------------------- Original Message Follows mailto:----------------------EUNSteve@aol.com wrote:
> First: many of the world's indigenous culures were ruthlessly
> antienvironmental, slashing and burning and abandoning. You are telling a
> story that is a romantic fiction.
I'd suggest you read beyond the wise-use rhetoric regarding swidden horticulture. "slashing and burning and abandoning" is actually clearing, nutrient cycling, and fallow period. Swidden horticulturalists supported millions of people for thousands of years because they had (have) an intimate, first-hand knowledge of the ecosystems that they utilize for food. They know when to burn, where to burn, and how long a fallow period is needed to replenish the soil. The real damage is not done by the subsistance farmers, but by multinational venture-capitalists that figure it's worth it to clear 5,000 acres of rain forest for pasture, graze cattle on it for 3-5 years, and then abandon it because the soil has turned to hardpan that will not support any vegetation again for at least 90-100 years. Then, they buy another 5,000 acres and do the same thing because they are good little capitalists who only consider the short-term economic gains to themselves. I'd suggest you read "Humans as Componants of Ecosystems," and "Through Amazonian Eyes: The Human Ecology of Amazonian Populations" by Dr. Emilio Moran, world-renowned human ecologist.
> Second, the problem is not learning from them. You have learned from them, I
> presume: but you continue to pollute with your automobile and capitalist
> devices. As you yourself have pointed out, you will not live in a sod hut:
> indeed, you will not even give up your car for a bicycle. You have learned
> from the world's indigenus; you choose not to practice what you have learned.
You know absolutely nothing about my personal consumption habits--as usual, your argument is speculatory and arbitrary.
> We don't force capitalism down their throats: that is your construal of
> reality.
We make loans that must be repaid, we thus force cultures beyond subsistance and into generating a surplus.
>The truth is much worse, Brett: as soon as they learn about
> capitalism they choose it. The only ones who prefer that they remain
> untouched by the market are Western intellectuals like you and their
> indigenous allies, usually indigenous intellectuals.
Now here's an intersting argument, "indigenous intellectuals." I would assume by "intellectual" that you mean educated, and perhaps once educated, these "indigenous intellectuals" are able to see through the smoke and mirrors of capitalism and realize that the long-term consequences of such capitalism will ultimately destroy their culutre, not enhance it as promised by the "preachers." Don't you just hate it when people become smart enough to realize that the emperor really isn't wearing any clothes?
> You'd like them to show us that caring for the good of the community is
> superior, etc. After they have taught you, Brett, that lesson, how have you
> changed your lifestyle as a result of it?
again, you know nothing about my lifestyle--though the attempts at personal attacks are amusing.
> I suggest we agree on this: any culture that wants to remain as it is,
> without literacy, or double entry bookkeeping, or computers, or radios, or a
> market economy, should be allowed to remain untouched by capitalist hands.
>
> If you find those happy cultures in place now, Brett, why don't you just
> leave them alone? Why do they need you or other "developers"?
I'm glad you asked that question Steve. They need me, and others like me, to tell them the whole story of capitalism--not just what they see on T.V. They need us to give them all of the facts, not just the propaganda that "you too can be rich if you'll just educate yourself, abandon your culture, your community, and (most important) your morals, and place the value of your net worth over all else." In short, they need people like me to protect them from people like you. To quote R. F. Dasmann, "those wishing to exploit the land for their own private benefit will never cease their political efforts. Those who would protect the natural world, cannot afford to do less. Because most native peoples remain unconcerned with amassing private wealth, the last unspoiled places in the world are inhabited by native peoples. But their continued existance is threatened daily by venture capitalists who can't wait to get their hands on the valuable timber, gold, and other resources controlled by native peoples--resources that they see as being "wasted" by "ignorant natives" that don't understand the value of money.
B. Diamond