THOUGHT EXPERIMENT: Some 70% of people, depends how you ask, accept the global emergency. Climate system destabilisation is one aspect, declining biodiversity and increasing pollution is another. I ask: what would actually *break* if humanity responded decisively? 1/

Climate: a decisive response = cap on fossil fuel extraction and planned phase out. Fewer private car journeys, less electricity. Nothing would *break*. We still live and eat. There are alternatives and we can all cut back and share more. So what are we afraid of breaking? 2/
Pollution: reducing the above helps all that, cracking down on pollution and biodiversity loss will reduce materials consumption but changing and sharing we can still live on the planet. What would break? 3/
Most pollution and resource consumption is done by rich people. Billions of poor people live and thrive so the rich can too. Nothing will *break* there? 4/
Of course, a rapid reduction in resource consumption, less of most things and enough of the essentials for everyone will *break*something. Economic growth for one thing. But if that broke, what would *break*with it? 5/
I guess the economic system would break. Stop working. Jobs would disappear. If jobs go, people's lives get broke. So if we respond to the emergency by cutting back we know what gets broke. But wait. 6/
Most jobs disappearing doesn't HAVE to *break*anything does it? As a society we could reorganise. Society existed before jobs - that is a man-made construction. There must be plenty of alternatives: set up a government agency and employ everyone. There is always plenty to do. 7/
So what this little thought experiment tells me is we are all afraid of losing our jobs. Take away that fear and we can get on with dealing the emergency. Suggestions please! Nothing will *break* if anyone replies to my tweets sometime. I might even smile!8/8

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It was a dark and stormy night...

(I’ve always wanted to tweet that) But seriously, there was a tropical storm when a group of people gathered in the woods.

If they were white, we’d call them “founding fathers” but they were slaves who were about to change the world

A thread


Voudou priestess Cecile Fatiman danced with a knife. Then she split a pig and everyone drank the pig’s blood from a wooden bowl while enslaved priest Cutty Boukman prayed:

“The god who created the earth; who created the sun that gives us light. The god who holds up the ocean;

who makes the thunder roar. Our god who has ears to hear. You who are hidden in the clouds, who watch us from where you are. You see all that the white has made us suffer. The white man’s god asks him to commit crimes. But the god within us wants to do good...

It’s He who will direct our arms and bring us the victory. It’s He who will assist us. We all should throw away the image of the white men’s god who is so pitiless. Listen to the voice for liberty that speaks in all our hearts.”

Then , the meeting adjourned & everyone went home.

A week later, on Aug. 21 1791, it began.

In one week, 1800 plantations on the Island of St. Domingue would be burned to the ground and 1,000 white enslavers would be dead.

The shit had finally hit the fan.

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