Member-only story
Why ending the culture of petroleum and products should lead to a happier civilization.
Our species and our planet can have a glorious future — if ordinary people find the guts to take it. We are being told that fossil fuels and growth are necessary, and losing either or both will cause unprecedented suffering.
The exact opposite is the truth. Consumerism and petroleum is the source of our misery. We live in a culture and a system that lionizes money, stuff and animalistic competition — and devalues community and relations between humans. Our current values don’t even respect the Earth itself.
Our planet has been reduced to a bunch of resources to exploit. Our system is a system of ruthless worship of productivity and it almost ridicules every truly human quality — qualities like empathy, camaraderie and love — as impractical weaknesses.
Human life today isn’t even human. It’s merely transactional. You aren’t human. You are a human resource.
Joyful Meaningful Lives
We all know that joy comes from relationships with other human beings, with animals and with Nature. Unlike today’s shiny new product which, after the thrill of acquisition, is just a dull thing taking up space. The difference between…
