One of the more sobering indicators of our time is the Doomsday Clock, which remains at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to complete calamity. In addition to the atomic scientists’ original concern about possible nuclear conflict, climate change and the possible dangers of Artificial Intelligence are now prominent parts of a potentially combustible mix.
In short, there is much to fret about for anyone paying attention. True, some might argue it was ever thus. One of the more widely known quotations from the Bible, after all, is that life is a vale of tears. To judge from the current state of the world, the author of this cheery maxim may have been on to something.
Although I’m an agnostic, I have some sympathy with the idea that human evolution was never likely to end in the proverbial stable and secure ‘good life’. Yet this idea still underpins the political rhetoric of many political leaders, especially in the wealthy West where the possibility of peace and plenty did seem within reach in some of the more privileged parts of the developed world like Australia.
But even if we are not as directly affected by old-fashioned and seemingly inescapable conflicts of a sort that continue to wreak havoc in Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and the almost comically misnamed Holy Lands, it is impossible to remain unaware of the immense suffering they inflict. Or it is if you are sensitive to the fate of those less fortunate than yourself, at least. Under such circumstances it is little wonder that so many young people in particular are anxious about the future.
Nor are our fears and misgivings confined to the traditional enemies of human well-being like war, pestilence and famine. As the Doomsday Clock reminds us, now we must contemplate a novel threat — at least in its scale and impact — to our chances of living in peace: environmental breakdown.
One of the more astounding features of this historical moment is that despite the overwhelming evidence provided by climate scientists and our own eyes, national political leaders seem incapable of acting or even thinking in ways that might make a difference as we hurtle toward what UN Secretary General António Gutteres describes as a civilization-threatening environmental disaster.
Little wonder that so many people, especially parents and young people, fret about their futures, or even the possibility that they may have one. No surprise either, that many try to shut out uncomfortable realities with drink, drugs and the equally addictive attractions of social media. Self-absorption and hedonism are not unreasonable responses to an overwhelming sense of powerlessness in the face of frightening and seemingly unstoppable forces beyond our collective, much less individual, control.
And yet you don’t need to be Immanuel Kant to think that the idea of perpetual peace is preferable to the alternative. Perhaps the defining geopolitical reality of our age is that wars a luxury we can no longer afford. Not only are they as futile as they ever were, but they are potentially world-ending in their destructive potential. Even more importantly, perhaps, they are a needless distraction from our main problem: collectively addressing the unprecedented challenge of global climate change.
'All of which really is a bit gloom-inducing, and makes it entirely unsurprising that so many choose to tune out as a consequence... Recognising what that encompasses may be an unavoidable first step in trying to create something different. Making it a call to action rather than apathy is the challenge.'
Being anxious and depressed about all this is entirely understandable, even commendable and rational. After all, it demonstrates that you are at least paying attention in a way that seems beyond the ability of our political leaders and the captains of planet-destroying industries. The challenge, as ever, is to translate individual angst into collective action.
Revolutions do happen, but they are fraught, uncertain and don’t always end well. We have no experience of anything approaching the global variety, which would seem a precondition for addressing an environmental crisis that doesn’t respect the arbitrarily demarcated political boundaries that largely determine the quality of our lives and the content of our world views.
Whether some form of transformational collective action is motivated by religious principles or political ideology may be less important than its ability to deliver the preconditions for collective survival. Either way, a change of consciousness, especially on the part of the powerful, would seem a prerequisite if anything meaningful is to happen.
It does all seem a bit unlikely when the United States may be on the verge of making a convicted felon, a megalomaniac, a delusional narcissist, a sexual predator and someone of stupendous ignorance the most powerful man in the world. Even if Trump loses, chaos is likely to ensue, inflicting a blow to American democracy that could yet prove fatal, and giving comfort to fellow authoritarians everywhere.
The wonder is that Trump enjoys the support of so many evangelical Christians. Some even see him as having been sent by God to put the country and the world to rights. Theology is not my strong suit, but his personal behaviour and record suggest he may be batting for the other team. Either way, he epitomises all of the human frailties and egoism that get in the way of collective action of a potentially constructive variety.
All of which really is a bit gloom-inducing, and makes it entirely unsurprising that so many choose to tune out as a consequence. But we are where we are. Recognising what that encompasses may be an unavoidable first step in trying to create something different. Making it a call to action rather than apathy is the challenge.
It’s important to remember that climate activists have alerted us to the dangers we collectively face and are having an impact on at least some profit-seeking private enterprises. Likewise, whatever you think of the politics of the Middle East, it’s hard not to admire the people protesting against innocent women and children being blown to pieces every day in Gaza. Being on the right side of the struggle with like-minded people is not nothing. Worriers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your isolation.
Mark Beeson is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University. His latest book is Environmental Anarchy? International Relations Theory and Practice in the Anthropocene (Bristol University Press: 2021) He has also written Environmental Populism: The Politics of Survival in the Anthropocene (Palgrave, 2019)