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https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-in-an-age-of-catastrophe-is-there-still-a-place-for-utopian-dreams-or-might-our-shared-vulnerability-be-the-key-199890>
As utopian oases dry up, a desert of banality, and bewilderment spreads …
– Jürgen Habermas (1986)
"The last few years have been truly catastrophic. One might easily argue that,
during “The COVID Years”, we have witnessed more dramatic social and political
change than at any time since 1939-1945. In terms of its scale and duration, we
should call this pandemic a catastrophe rather than merely a disaster in terms
of the loss of life and more mundane issues such as the reorganisation of work
and city life.
We have also grappled with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the increasing
possibility of nuclear catastrophe, the spread of monkey-pox, food shortages in
Africa, a drought across much of Europe, a potential Chinese invasion of
Taiwan, North Korean missile tests, rising authoritarianism in eastern Europe,
the threat of civil unrest in the United States, and the terrible earthquake in
Turkey and associated crisis in Syria. This has been a cascade of catastrophes.
If we believe we are “all doomed” (to quote a signature line from the TV Series
Dad’s Army) what should one do? Do any credible utopian dreams paint an
optimistic future? Or is the prospect of human happiness ruled out by the scale
of our contemporary problems?
A response to this challenge is to consider the various attempts to defend hope
and optimism in the face of previous catastrophes, and pessimistic
prescriptions. One modest way forward is the pursuit of intergenerational
justice with respect to climate change. What steps might we take to protect or
to improve the prospects of future generations?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
