Human Civilisation 'will collapse' Unless greed culture is stopped.

Can we continue on this paradigm of constant consumption coupled with constant economic growth. It seems we need to consume and produce more to get ourselves out of financial difficulties, but growth and consumption rely on using finite resources. Now every nation on the planet wants growth and their citizens want consumerable goods. But surely if we continue with this paradigm, we are doomed?

The world's population is burning through the planet's resources at such a reckless rate – about 28 per cent more last year - it will eventually cause environmental havoc, said the Worldwatch Institute, a US think-tank.
In its annual State of the World 2010 report, it warned any gains from government action on climate change could be wiped out by the cult of consumption and greed unless changes in our lifestyle were made.

The think tank found that over the past decade consumption of goods and services had risen by 28 per cent to $30.5 trillion (£19bn) - with the world digging up the equivalent of 112 Empire State Buildings of material every day.

www.telegraph.co.uk...

I dont need a think tank to tell me this. it seems pretty obvious to me that we are on the wrong path. i think a reset will be the only thing that saves the planet at this point. its pretty sad state our world is in at this point. S and F for posting the topic though.

Reckless progress is an inevitable part of human nature, we stive for more, to be rich, stronger, more technologically advanced. This is most probably the wrong path but it is the inevitable one. There are always more resouces on the horizon though, new lands to pillage or new technologies to exploit. If we survive our exploitation of the earth we will naturally spread out into the solar system and later the galaxy taking what resouces and knowledge we can along the way.

The only way to stop this would be to change human nature itself.

I am not a christian believer, but sometimes i study the bible texts (among other historic writings) since it is (true or not) part of our history and culture.

Yesterday i read the book of the prophet daniel:

Therefore, the King sends for Daniel, an exiled Israelite taken from Jerusalem, who had served in high office under Nebuchadnezzar. Rejecting offers of reward, Daniel warns the king of the folly of his arrogant blasphemy before reading the text. The meaning that Daniel decrypts from these words is based on passive verbs corresponding to the measure names. And this is the writing that was inscribed: mina, mina, shekel, half-mina. This is the interpretation of the matter: mina, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; shekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; half-mina, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.- Daniel 5:25–28

So translated to todays language: the days of your kindom are numbered nad brought to an end.
You have been weighted (judged) and found greedy. Your kingdom will be divided and given to the Persians.

Interesting that shekel could also be a reference to the israeli currency and the Persians today would equal Iran!

Who are the truly greedy ones we are talking about? Is it my friends and neighbors? Is it me or my family? I think not and point to the greediness of corporations.

If the corporation "person" was only one of our helpful friends and neighbors it wouldn't be like it is. They would understand the struggle we all have, feel our pain, and show true sympathy. Instead the corporate person is all about the profits and taking advantage any way they possibly can. Normally a real person that acted like this would be an outcast in most societies.

It reminds of that quote from the movie Wall Street, "Greed is Good". I just don't know who it could be good for. Greed is probably the worst thing for our species and the whole planet Add in corruption and you have a lethal mix.

reply to post by woodwardjnr


We humans will be the end of our own species by our own hands, nature will put the final touch to get rid of the vermin and parasite that we humans have become in this planet, we do not contribute to anything in nature and serve no purpose in natures and earth survival.

Greed is just part of the problem but no the entire problem.

I think about the things you said so much lately. I've mentioned it to others, and they said they are thinking about it too.

I joke about it to myself "Well, you are certainly gifted at making yourself comfortable, and providing convenience for yourself" I say. But it's not funny anymore. What is the perfect thread count on my sheets? What is the fastest speed I can get on my computer? My stove is still good, but I want a new one anyway.

I am getting on my own nerves.

I have been cutting back, and getting rid of a lot of things. Seems like the more I get rid of, the better I feel.

We have to begin with ourselves, and perhaps it will influence others to do the same.
As a whole, our country is shameful.

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by woodwardjnr

 

We humans will be the end of our own species by our own hands, nature will put the final touch to get rid of the vermin and parasite that we humans have become in this planet, we do not contribute to anything in nature and serve no purpose in natures and earth survival.

Greed is just part of the problem but no the entire problem.

Marg, I think you're probably right as gloomy as that is, however, I feel somewhat differently. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but there must be something our species has contributed to nature, something that is hard to understand. Humans certainly mix everything up on earth. Maybe we have helped nature by distributing species around that millions of years from now become extremely important. That's just one possibility my puny mind can come up with.

Another thing that bothers me is that we are a product of nature, a child of mother nature if you will. If there is anything wrong with human beings, then ultimately nature is to blame. I think she has some work to do on us and we will get better with time, something nature has a lot of.

reply to post by MichiganSwampBuck


Its ok to find justification of humans place on earth, religion has done a great job making us humans think that we are special and that have control over earth.

But the truth is that we are in the category of animals as part of the animal kingdom, while we have a brain we humans have done no much to use it the way our ancestors did to be in tune with our earth.

Modern man has the idea that we can control nature, that we can create new species and that we can tamper with natures orderly way of doing things.

That is just the way of thinking of those that wants to profit the most from nature.

At the end nature will always win, because while humans can create devastation, nature can do even better and get rid of us in no time at all.

We humans are nothing but an experiment of nature, just like other extinct species before us.

That is the part that most people can never understand because we have been told since birth by religion that we are special.

We are taking something beautiful like natures gifts and been turning that gift into crap.

We as humans have to get used to having less. I know it is an exact opposite of Capitalism's teachings but it has to be done. There are so many things wrong with the structure of our society to even start mentioning. We need to be taught starvation and Humility to learn a lesson. We need to relearn what our grandparents learned, they learned not to waste. they learned not to want things they did not need. I don't think people know how easy they have it or how spoiled they've become. I'm not speaking of the Elite, I'm talking of people of my kind, the common worker. In a proper society, no job is more important than another. Some of the jobs we call the best are actually unnecessary. Production of food is important and it's about time the farmer got paid what his labor was worth so they can grow nutritious food and make a good living. Not this production food that causes the problems in our health where all profits trickle up to the top and to those who create chemicals or biotech. This subject depresses me, I'll end my conversation here.

Modern man has the idea that we can control nature, that we can create new species and that we can tamper with natures orderly way of doing things.

That is just the way of thinking of those that wants to profit the most from nature.

Thanks for all the interesting replies. Makes me wonder if we had stuck to our pagan roots things might be a bit different.

The recognition of the divine in nature is at the heart of Pagan belief. Pagans are deeply aware of the natural world and see the power of the divine in the ongoing cycle of life and death. Most Pagans are eco-friendly, seeking to live in a way that minimises harm to the natural environment.

www.bbc.co.uk...

I actually think Christianity and the other abrahamic religions have a lot to answer for, giving us the belief that we are seperate from the other animals