Sinking Deeply into Chronic Disaster

This blog is mostly about ecosystem collapse and more specifically, trees dying from ozone.  Other sorts of collapse (and they are myriad) are well-covered elsewhere.  But a couple of purely economic items seemed worthy of noting here, because the innately rapacious system of profit-driven capitalism is in many ways driving our relentless pollution, destruction, and extraction of resources.

In Island, Aldous Huxley wrote:  “Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence - those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster.”

So, I invite you to read a chilling undercover accounting that imparts a visceral impression of what it's like to be a wage-slave in modern America, at Mother Jones.  It's a wonderful companion to pair with this brief but pointed TED talk, which has been censored.  The transcript is here.  There's been a lot of discussion about why TED refused to post this talk on their site.  Their curator, Anderson, who has scrambled for plausible explanations offered this one in an email:

"...But even if the talk was rated a home run, we couldn't release it, because it would be unquestionably regarded as out and out political. We're in the middle of an election year in the US. Your argument comes down firmly on the side of one party. And you even reference that at the start of the talk. TED is nonpartisan and is fighting a constant battle with TEDx organizers to respect that principle...."

That seems like a thin excuse, because the speaker, Hanauer, takes a broad swipe at both parties.  Personally, I think it's simply his painfully cynical and apt observation that it's no coincidence that "job creator" is only one word away from "The Creator", with all the irreverence for BOTH types that implies.  For an American audience that's a giant No-No.