Eventually the anger that cannot be assuaged through policy will be turned outwards, towards other nations. Faced with a choice between hard truths and easy lies, politicians and their supporters in the media will discover that foreign aggression is among the few options for political survival. I now believe that we will see war between the major powers within my lifetime. Which ones it will involve, and on what apparent cause, remains far from clear. But something that once seemed remote now looks probable.
A complete reframing of economic life is needed not just to suppress the existential risk that climate change presents (a risk marked by a 20°C anomaly reported in the Arctic Ocean while I was writing this article), but other existential threats as well – including war. Today’s governments, whether they are run by Trump or Obama or May or Merkel, lack the courage and imagination even to open this conversation. It is left to others to conceive of a more plausible vision than trying to magic back the good old days. The task for all those who love this world and fear for our children is to imagine a different future rather than another past.
It’s because there won’t be any jobs you see. Thus anger, fighting!
As so often, Monbiot is just not getting the point that Matt Ridley does. There will be jobs for humans as long as there are unmet desires of humans. And if all human desires are being met then who gives a shit about jobs?
What’s worse, given the political proclivities of Monbiot and the likes of Paul Mason, they’ve managed to forget the most important part of Marx. Solving the scarcity problem is the precondition for the emergence of communism. You’re all supposed to be happy about the damn robots!
“Faced with a choice between hard truths and easy lies, politicians and their supporters in the media will discover that foreign aggression is among the few options for political survival.”
How’s that working out for you, Mr Blair….?
I now believe that we will see war between the major powers within my lifetime. Which ones it will involve, and on what apparent cause, remains far from clear.
Here’s my scenario:
1. Civil war breaks out in small European country between established citizens and new arrivals.
2. Larger neighbour intervenes to “restore order”, makes things worse.
3. Other large neighbour gets involved to “protect its interests”.
4. Two large neighbours, each with their own supporting nations, start going at it after some blunder.
5. Escalation.
a risk marked by a 20°C anomaly reported in the Arctic Ocean while I was writing this article
I think he’s saying he produces enough hot air to warm the Arctic. I can well believe him.
A complete reframing of economic life
So that will be Moonbat’s standard: “We* must all live in caves and eat dung to avoid the apocalypse!”
*you
A (non existent) temperature measurement in an ocean we don’t much use will lead to WW3.
Now we know he’s totally moonbatshit crazy.
I’m just happy he used the degree symbol.
I now believe that we will see war between the major powers within my lifetime.
I know it is an ungenerous thought, but if we all agreed with him and bemoaned the state of the world and its imminent demise – constantly, unrelentingly – do you think he would put us all out of our misery by sticking his head in the oven and putting an end to it all?
Is there any environmental problem that would not be improved by the gently decomposing body of Brasenose’s most annoying graduate?
I found it hard to believe that the Arctic Ocean is 20C warmer, that’s a massive change for a body of water. Turns out is air temperature, which may or may not be bad, but nothing like what he’s implying.
Interesting that this gets barely a mention elsewhere, including the BBC, which also makes me think it’s just another scare to try to keep the subject alive to put pressure on Trump as he moves in to the White House.
…we will see war between the major powers within my lifetime. Which ones it will involve, and on what apparent cause, remains far from clear.
Like Tim N, my eye was caught by this snippet. Unlike him, though, I think it’s an admission that the author has no idea what he’s on about – more a wish than a prediction.
Man who thinks war will break out over conflicts over scare resources wants to restructure economic life so that resources are manifestly scarcer.
Mad as a fucking junkie badger.
@SMFS My first ban from CiF came after I suggested – under an article in which Moonbat bemoaned the baleful influence of former public schoolboys – that, as a representative of the class, he ought do the decent thing and off himself.
The war in Europe will be caused by the collapse of the Euro. When it happens, civil war will break out in some dodgy Balkans country like Greece. The idiot French will be sucked in to support the Pro-European forces and the Russians will intervene on the side of their Orthodox brethren yearning to be free. Cue German involvement.
Some Euro wanker will claim that the collapse of the European project (caused by Brexit and Trump) will be responsible for the war, ignoring the reality that war was made inevitable by said European project. In some ways I’m beginning to think Le Pen winning would be a good thing.
The excess of males in the Chinese population, caused by the cultural preference for boys and the one child policy is a much more likely proximate cause.
And if all human desires are being met then who gives a shit about jobs?
It turns out that you can have a happier pet cat by issuing some proportion of its food via a challenge (hiding, puzzle toy, etc) rather than just dishing it out. Apparently, evolution honed the moggy to feel rewarded by hunting and foraging rather than scrounging.
I wonder what evolutionary traits will remain in humans as unmet desires, should material needs all be catered for by robot slaves. I suspect recreational gardening may not be enough.
‘Those pesky pollution laws, carbon caps and clean-power plans: swish them away and the golden age of blue-collar employment will return.’
50 years, and trillions of dollars, to fix pollution NEVER HAPPENED to Libtards. Obama proposes measures like it’s still 1965. Look up, George, the sky is NOT BROWN.
Monbiot is a dick. We already fixed it.
Surely the whole point of the European army is sending the Swedes to put down the uprising in Greece and vice versa ?
CU,
Interesting point. Although I’ll give the EU the benefit of the doubt in setting it up, I know not many would, that is a logical outcome.
“I now believe that we will see war between the major powers within my lifetime. Which ones it will involve, and on what apparent cause, remains far from clear.”
If you’re going to make a prediction, but you can’t show you’re working, you’re a bullshitter. You’re just throwing out a prediction that you hope one day happens just so you can point at what you said.
There isn’t going to be a war between major powers because war is about stealing land, and land isn’t really worth stealing any more.
“A complete reframing of economic life is needed…”
Does that mean anything? If so, what?
A return to peasant subsistence. For everybody except the commissars.