I'm not entirely sure this type of article is helpful. I'm not entirely clear what the point of the article is, to be truthful.
But on a general point, This Changes Everything, while making some good points and making you think, is not Klein at her best, not in the same way she nailed it with The Shock Doctrine. It needs a good (better) editor.
Klein might have gone further, asking: What is wrong with me?
She sort-of did; she just didn't answer the question fully.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
Yes indeed but what is your opinion Biff, after all you did start this thread.
Hefts comments, like the book are far too long and as they didn't seem to be conclusively saying anything my eyes just glazed over. One of the comments however did ring a bit of a bell.
"Ms. Klein, however, represents to me the unrealistic spectrum of Progressivism in a similar vein to the unrealistic views of the neoliberal economists and the Technologists. Whereas the neoliberal economists believe in and depend upon the impossible eternal economic and population growth and deregulation to give us trickle-down wealth distribution and the Technologists promise us Thorium reactors, cold fusion, and colonization of Mars to do the same, Ms. Klein talks of capitalism and excessive consumption as the cause of our climate future, rails against extractivism and yet asks for high speed rail and raised income for all humans on Earth and those yet to come. She shows no concern for the currently annual arrival of 80 million more human mouths to feed and house."
Overconfidence, not just expert overconfidence but general overconfidence,
is one of the most common illusions we experience. Stan Robinson
Well, we all find it easier to criticise than to praise. I'm not as keen on TCE as I am on her other stuff. And no single work can hope to provide a clear directive.
However, I do see it as part of an upswell in the much-needed examination of where we are, which in turn should encourage more participate in the discussion about where we want to go. If it does that, it's proved its worth.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
Potemkin Villager wrote:Yes indeed but what is your opinion Biff, after all you did start this thread.
Blimey, does my opinion count!
I got a bit bored with the long section on activism in Canada. That might be just because I'm not Canadian but I felt the need for the editors blue pencil at times. Loved the section on Richard Branson - confirmed my suspicions exactly. There are quite a few really good lines that should be noted, remembered and quoted at every opportunity and, basically, I think she's right. However, I and lots of others have now read it and the world is still spinning as usual so 'This Changes Everything' hasn't quite lived up to the title yet. I guess it's up to us now to change everything.
I haven't watched it yet but here's a long (1 hour 34 minutes) filmed lecture and interview with Naomi Klein a couple of weeks ago:
I agree about the blue pencil, Biff. It could have been a better read.
As for that shit Branson, isn't that precisely how the ruling classes work these days? Media especially. Say something that's not true and the perception sticks around, no matter how much of a lie it is subsequently unveiled to be. It's a constantly used and constantly effective trick.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
I am sure we all feel good when we have our suspicions confirmed exactly.
I actually found the section on Canada very interesting, not least because I am not Canadian, as she was writing from first hand experience. Before I had not appreciated just how extensive the tar sand disaster was and how extensive the degree of localised opposition.
Personally I am yet to detect any upswell in discussion by most people I come across about where we want to go, other than to someplace where we can expect to, somehow or other, continue doing pretty much what we are currently doing!
What is worrying about this sort of celebrity expose style book is that this is where the author seems to want to go to as well.
Overconfidence, not just expert overconfidence but general overconfidence,
is one of the most common illusions we experience. Stan Robinson
Potemkin Villager wrote:Personally I am yet to detect any upswell in discussion
In contrast, where I live the subject is never too far from general discussion and it's fairly safe to bring it up in conversation (I blame the pope): most I encounter are quite aware of the crisis but likewise feel powerless to do anything meaningful.
To Jones's interview with Klein: I haven't watched the total video yet - she talks about the book for twenty minutes, then Jones continues by asking her questions.
To be honest, her talk explained what the book was about far more forcefully (and concisely!) than the book does.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
He's saying, "Klein hasn't the answer - but there again, no-one does."
Both Klein and Marshall agree that the simplest way to proceed might be to impose a cap on fossil fuel extraction itself, rather than on the resulting emissions – something which, incredibly, has never been discussed at any of those global gatherings. But how to make that happen? Klein does a good job of exposing the corporate armlock which prevents the idea being discussed, but her rallying cry – ‘only mass social movements can save us now’ – can sound like another form of denial.
I experience pleasure and pains, and pursue goals in service of them, so I cannot reasonably deny the right of other sentient agents to do the same - Steven Pinker
The Guardian is embarking on a major series of articles on the climate crisis and how humanity can solve it.
In the first, an extract taken from the Introduction to THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING by Naomi Klein, the author argues that if we treat climate change as the crisis it is, we don’t just have the potential to avert disaster but could improve society in the process
We will never change anything significantly until we change the corporations' current ownership of the political system to taxpayer ownership. Taxpayer ownership would cut nearly all corporations out as they don't pay any ****ing taxes!!!
The second in a major series of articles on the climate crisis and how humanity can solve it.
In this extract taken from the Introduction to This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, the author calls the climate crisis a civilisational wake-up call to alter our economy, our lifestyles, now – before they get changed for us.
I'm not as keen on TCE as I am on her other stuff. And no single work can hope to provide a clear directive.
