[D66] The Myth of Progress and the Collapse of Complex Societies

[R.O.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GotSNw6s6GE

The Myth of Progress and the Collapse of Complex Societies - Chris Hedges
120.998 weergaven
•13 dec. 2013
1K
102

Parkland Institute
927 abonnees
A presentation at FACTS, FICTIONS, AND THE POLITICS OF TRUTH

Parkland Institute 2013 Conference.

http://parklandinstitute.ca/
http://parklandinstitute.ca/fallconf2...

THE MYTH OF PROGRESS AND THE COLLAPSE OF COMPLEX SOCIETIES:
Fri, November 22, 2013 | 7:00  pm, CCIS, room 1-430

The naive belief in the myth of human progress, in endless material 
advancement and technological advancement, is a form of magical 
thinking. The very forces that allowed us to dominate nature, from the 
machine to the fossil fuel industry, are the same forces that, if left 
unchecked, will ensure our extinction. And yet, we cannot wrest 
ourselves away from our own creations as we ruthlessly exhaust and 
exploit a dying eco-system. This is how all civilizations vanish. The 
difference is that when we go down this time the whole planet will go 
with us. There will be no new lands to conquer, no new peoples to 
subjugate, no new resources to plunder. We must rise up in open revolt 
against the established systems of power that are herding us over the 
cliff or accept our death as a species.

CHRIS HEDGES: spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in 
Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He has 
reported from more than 50 countries and has worked for The Christian 
Science Monitor, National Public Radio, The Dallas Morning News and The 
New York Times, for which he was a foreign correspondent for 15 years. 
He left the Times after being issued a formal reprimand for denouncing 
the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq.