Reviews

A thoughtful and well-considered primer for anyone wanting to move from environmentalism to eco socialism and activism. I personally didn't learn too much as I have read more on the subject already, but it still made me feel like picking up the activist torch again.

caitlinjoanne's review

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.25

danthehartman's review

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hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

Everyone should read this - then go and be part of the change!

kassiani's review

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4.25

GOAL: go at the root of the problem instead of focusing on tunnel vision of 'reducing emissions', going electric and individual consumer choice (greenwashing, green capitalism and white environmentalist solutions) = need to alter the system of exploitation rather than work inside it.
challenging the voting with your dollar approach’ and individualist perfectionism as the only viable solutions
ALTERNATIVE to capitalism: Indigenous ways of considering nature - eco-socialism with degrowth. transformation over preservation
SOLUTIONS: collective action and intersectional climate justice
- boycotts (fast fashion) - change behaviours to reduce energy consumption or demand
- capitalism is just a concept = change the narrative!
"What can you do on an individual level? Join a union; contribute to strike funds; help make general
happen; strikes allow yourself to imagine a multiplicity of futures and work out how to move towards
them. Advocate for climate debt to be addressed and for existing Global South debt to be cancelled so
that there can be a global transition away from imperialism. Get involved in work that is directed at tackling the producing class – the bosses and titans of industry – and work to take these corporations
down. Call out their greenwashing to take down their social licences. And importantly, build support and power in our communities and through our political systems so that the future we need can be won by the masses. We must build widespread support for an eco-socialist, post-growth future."

INTERSECTIONAL: linking global heath, racial inequalities, the cost of living crisis, poverty, gender inequalities to climate justice

Assemble reading list from the bibliography (see climate narratives reading challenge):
Emma Dabiri in What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition
Naomi Klein This Changes everything
Ruth Wilson-Gilmore
Study: "‘Providing decent living with minimum energy: A global scenario" by Joel Millward-Hopkins, Julia K. Steinberger, Narasimha D. Rao and Yannick Oswald = global reduction of energy consumption by 60% is possible (accounting for climate justice/responsability between nations) while guaranteeing good living conditions
PLANS: Tricontinental’s A Plan To Save The Planet and the People’s Green New Deal which are working on how to move us away from capitalism, exploitation, unfettered growth and planetary destruction and towards an economy that really works for everyone. These plans are people- and, vitally, planet-focused rather than profit-focused
Angela Davis in her lecture 'How Does Change Happen?’
Amy Weestervelt. Drilled: A True Crime Podcast About Climate Change, hosted and created by Weestervelt
The Puropose of Power - Garza
Taiwo
emergent strategy - adrienne maree brown

& organisations writing reports / coalitions: A Just Transition

Really liked chapter 7 'you don't know what you don't know'

Audiobook and ebook versions (see highlighted passages)

QUOTES:

"The thought of this impending and approaching doom is scary. Either we avoid thinking about it because it feels inevitable and overwhelming, or we leap towards isolationism and individualism in anticipation of the day when we must abandon our connections to each other because ‘everyone is out for themselves’ as we fight our neighbours for food and water. This is the idea we have been sold of disaster; one of separation. We need to tell another story, one of coming together. One of a better world that is possible. In order to tell that new story – and make it a reality – we must challenge absolutely everything which leads us to an apocalyptic conclusion. We have to challenge capitalism."
liberation is not a commodity
capitalism -> needs/thrives on hierarchy and systems of oppression - some people are disposable in the name of 'profit-making' EX: fast fashion, prison industrial complex
Narratives of "Presenting the situation we are in as being a battle of ‘jobs versus the environment’ has hindered progress from both sides", pitting the social classes against each other and preventing coalitions for the climate

Sci-fi author Ursula Le Guin challenges this notion, saying:
‘We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human
power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words." !!!!

One of the big debates in the environmental movement asks whether we should be focused on individual lifestyle changes or systemic change. I believe this is a false debate; what we really need is for both to take place. Making our climate action reliant on incremental, individual lifestyle changes ignores the reality of the fact that many of the biggest contributions to climate change from lifestyles are things that individuals simply cannot 'opt out' from.
The individualisation of responsibility – as we have touched on in the previous chapters – misallocates blame and assumes a level of agency that is not always possible for people.

The "misdirection of resources that capitalism creates artificial scarcity." = POWER OF NARRATIVE -> depictions of apocalyptic futures fighting for scarce resources, facilitation exploitation by deeming some people's lives less worthy (of resources, support and compassion)
benefitting the wealthier EX: tax breaks for bankers, massive rise in shareholder payouts and bosses' pay in the UK

"All of our lives would be improved if we no longer had to rely on buying things to attend to our emotional health, and rather prioritised an economy that exists to centre human need, connection to each other and experiences" = inherently decolonial project, as a climate-just economy would see the struggle for better living conditions as a global, anti-imperial project

PRACTICAL IMPROVEMENTS: "we could instead have more: warmer homes, better healthcare, more free time and shorter work weeks, accessible and healthier food, universal basic income,
lower energy bills. Things like the insulation of homes, heat pumps, cycle lanes, and better and cheaper public transport are all provisions that would reduce our overall consumption of energy but that would actually provide more in the sense of well-being for all of us"
NEED political decision apparatus changes: require "government intervention to decentralise our energy system out of the control of capitalist companies and into the hands of local communities, giving the decision-making power to them and implementing the large-scale infrastructure changes needed"
= DEGROWTH movement

"don’t let go of the fight for human rights and dignity for all in our struggle for a climate-compatible economy, it’s simultaneously vital that we don’t leave behind climate demands in the call for a more equitable economy"
NEED "a combination of eco-socialism with degrowth instead; an economy that does not require exploitation of the planet or the many, whilst also meeting the needs of all people on this Earth."
attempt at eco-socialism can be seen by Evo Morales’s first MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) = redistribution of Bolivia’s wealth from a huge tax on private fossil-fuel companies to the people, in the form of direct payments and social programmes, and enshrining protection of Pachamama (Mother Nature) into law

A Plan To Save The Planet: debt cancellation to advancing a people’s vaccine for COVID and from redistributing land to working to eliminate violence against women and LGBTQ+ people, the Plan recognises that to tackle capitalism in pursuit of a liveable future is to also tackle the oppressive systems from which our multiplicity of crises arise

Angela Davis said so well in her lecture ‘How Does Change Happen?’, is the following: ‘We must not attribute any permanency to that which is, simply because it is.'
It can seem like the only options available to us are capitalism or communism --> Thatcher's "there is not alternative" doctrine
"Rather than fighting for that better world, they choose to protect the right of the 1 per cent to exploit and overconsume, just in case there is an opportunity to one day step into that world"
propaganda: "truly feeling that this is the only choice that will offer protection and stability."
NEED CHANGE OF NARRATIVE "away from the aspirational meritocracy of being able to one day go from oppressed to oppressor"
= class struggle central to climate struggle
ROLE of IMAGINATION: "rather than one solution, or one system to replace capitalism, we need a multiplicity of systems and futures to fit differen contexts. And – this is really important – we need to open our minds up to imagine the vast possibilities out there."

Fear isn’t a great motivator – it can lead us into isolationist and oppressive, separatist politics. The
right loves it. More than that, it doesn’t work for the long term. As Octavia E. Butler wrote in her novel The Parable of The Sower,‘ It’s harder to scare them a second time, harder to teach them, harder to win back their trust.’
Bombarding people with information isn’t enough – it’s far too easy to get desensitised and not
everyone has the time or ability to understand the complexities of climate science or economic theory. Guilt can lead to a blame game and giving up.
NEED motivation and hope and imagination

overton window of defining public perception of what's possible : the norm

Our imaginations will be clouded, shaped and restricted by the current systems, which will limit how far we are able to imagine and what is believed to be possible. Challenging each other and untangling our imaginations and perspectives from the status quo is part of this necessary work.

Abolition is a process. Angela Davis encapsulates it perfectly in the title of her first book on the topic:
Are Prisons Obsolete? Abolition is not about shutting these harmful institutions down overnight. Rather,
it’s about transforming the world so that these institutions – policing, prisons and the fossil-fuel industry – become obsolete. Abolition is about love and care. It’s not only about phasing out and taking down the institutions that cause harm and incite violence, but it’s also about building a new and better world; a world in which we tackle the things that force people into crime: poverty, insecurity, the patriarchy, and more, rather than just resorting to state violence and incarceration to ‘solve’ the problem
‘Non-reformist reform’ is a term coined by Austrian–French theorist André Gorz that challenges the
binary debate between abolition, revolution and reform as tactics for ushering in a liberated and
transformed world. Unlike the pragmatism or reform that maintains the existing status quo, non
reformist reform refers to the gradual and more immediate wins that must be made on the path to a fully transformed and liberated society. Gorz states that ‘a non-reformist reform is determined not in terms of what can be, but what should be'

!!! So much of our action and success hinges on storytelling and on rewriting the narrative we have been told. Some of it depends on redefining language, some of it on being willing to let language go when it’s no longer working. But to change this story, all of us need to start telling a new one. We need to push that Overton Window over !!!

If you are someone who has been told they are ‘too much’ or ‘too radical’ for wanting a world where we are all safe and loved, remember that that desire – for dignity, for safety and for everyone to be OK
– comes from the softest part of your soul. To be moved to take an action that builds something better from the horrors of this world is the most human thing you can do. It is the reasonable response. Hold onto your soft heart. Remember the love that pushes you forward and don’t let go of it.

A new world is utterly reliant on us being able to see the humanity in all people, even if those people can’t see our humanity.
Rather than completely rejecting people for not holding the same political beliefs or being in the
same place on their journey, it’s vital that we hold space to understand why they believe what they do, and share the reasoning behind our own beliefs. We will get a lot further in this work if we approach each other from a place of seeing each other’s shared humanity, rather than falling into binaries of good and bad.
we find it very difficult to see that people are multifaceted and nuanced, rather than objectively
good or bad. If we accept and acknowledge this multiplicity, then we have to come to terms with and
start working through the bad parts of ourselves: our own biases and the harm we might be causing = cancel culture and dehumanization

Choosing to see no stranger transformed my life. The concept states that we must view every single
human as our kin, our family, as someone we love. We are all human, and all connected in some way, and therefore none of us are truly strangers. To see no stranger is to open one’s heart to empathy; to try and see every person as a nuanced, messy person = shared humanity

The good or bad binary doesn’t just get in our way of seeing the reality of the world; it also has an
impact on allowing power to go unquestioned and for those without power to be dehumanised and made into characters that are only capable of acting in a certain way. When we define someone as fully evil, we remove their humanity. They become separate from us – unable to be understood.
This binary happens because a simplification of the world is easier for our brains – we want to choose
the path of least resistance. We don’t want to have to challenge our own biases and therefore we assume that those who have them are significantly different and far away from our own humanity. Whilst this can happen to people in power, it can also be used by the ruling classes to dehumanise those on the margins of society. This simplification also occurs because it benefits those who have power to retain it. Simplification of the world stops us from challenging the reasons why those who hold power have it. It stops people from challenging anything.

We stick to what we know and rarely challenge ourselves because of this fear: because we have made our worth contingent on the success markers of these systems.
= giving grace to fragility, bolstering inherent safe worth outside of existing value system

Common Ground (taiwo): many people act in certain ways and uphold oppressive systems not because they deeply believe in them, but instead, it seems far more likely that they act the way they do because they are afraid of the consequences for not staying within the proverbial lines of these systems = not just about individual learning/growth
We have to share our knowledge, talk to each other, challenge the systems that dictate the common ground and make ideas and actions based in justice for all – such as joining a union and being involved with organising – common sense
essential for us to create an environment where people are able to challenge their beliefs, change and still be able to be part of a community in some form to prevent The fear of rejection, the fear of isolation, the fear of cancellation (fear of constant policing)
Cancel culture thrives on the good/bad binary. There is no allowance for nuance or – dare I say it – humanity.
KEY: Normalise changing your opinion when presented with new information
BUT still have accountability

learning to be comfortable with discomfort // cold water swimming in Loch Lomond
Change in many ways starts with us. We are society. If we want it to change, we will also have to
change. Discomfort is a necessary part of change. Discomfort is necessary in a white-supremacist, hetero cis-normative, ableist patriarchy. The type of discomfort necessary is one that challenges the norms you’ve.been taught about this world. It works out and examines the impact of these norms on people’s lives.

identity politics weaponised to uphold the status quo and existing power structures, rather than challenging them => shallow 'inclusion politics' that simply pursues inclusion or surface-level representation of different identities in different fields or the media. Rather than ripping up the roots of oppressive systems, this version simply makes cosmetic amendments to allow the same system to adapt

the well-meaning intention of simply switching out those currently in power with racially minoritised people, it severely misunderstands the systemic nature of oppression
oppression is in the foundations of many of the systems that exist today and therefore simply changing who is at the top does not fix the fact that the system itself requires there to be people at the bottom.
ethical washing by brands (ex: fast fashion)
we don’t want diversity in who gets to be the oppressor. We want oppression to be gone
INTERCONNECTION between people (oppressors and oppressed)
dangers of tokenism: "‘Diversifying’ a system without changing anything about the structural oppression of it simply allows this harmful system to adapt for longer, to appear improved, seem more relevant and evade necessary criticism"

belief that empathy is our default response as humans. Our default as people is to connect with and love each other. It is the oppressive systems around us that have worked to separate us and chipped away at our innate ability to experience empathy.
The kind of diversity we want is one where no one’s struggle is too big, no one is a distraction, none of
us are forced to permanently leave our own liberation behind to fight for someone else’s, but rather we
recognise the interconnectedness of all of our liberations, in order to expand our visions and fight for
more

AGAINST individual hero narratives and obsession with individualism: For any action or change to happen, the work of thousands of ordinary people is going on behind the scenes. There are people who write press releases; people who do research; people who provide well-being support and make cups of tea; people who give legal advice and manage social media; people who sort out logistics and organise finance = entire movements.
empowerment in community! negative impact of neoliberal ideology on the collective imagination (competition, divide & conquer rather than union) // Hadestown
‘The elasticity of emotional labour as a concept means you can apply it to anything you feel is
emotionally taxing, boring, or personally disruptive - self-care is warfare (Sarkar) => The reality of this world is that all of our lives are interconnected with each other and with nature, and therefore we have to have a responsibility to each other. Given that whatever we have or don’t have in this world is dependent on the actions of other people, we do all owe each other so much. NOT 'not my problem' responses.

problems of pedestals : do not see the fullness of people's humanity and the movement behind. us/them narrative
pedestalling is a comforting thing for those doing it. The existence of superhuman people, of miraculous leaders bringing about change, lets the majority of us off the hook, right? If someone else will come and save us, then we have less to worry about and less to do ourselves. If only superheroes existed. If only someone would fly down from above and fix all of our problems
visibility is misleading
critical connection over critical mass (without toning down)
CHANGE: We see change as the result of short bursts of action, but what we are seeing in those times are just tipping points => What we don’t see is that the sustained, long and often quiet work from millions of ordinary people over generations – many of whom might never have seen the impact of their actions – is what composted the ground to be fertile for these apparent‘ miracles’. This generational work builds strong, unseen networks like mycelium do, to allow for the mushroom that is the miracle to grow on the surface == sustained consistent organizing over the long term!

Individualism tells us that we are alone, that our joy and freedom is separate from the joy and freedom of others. Individualism tells us that we must only look out for our own interests and not the interests of others. Individuality is instead the reality that we are all distinct people; we are all shaped by our experiences to make us unique
need decentralization of power and grassroots organization with local leadership
‘Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day I can hear her breathing' - Arundhati Roy
adrienne maree brown in Emergent Strategy: 'The future is not an escapist place to occupy. All of it is the inevitable result of what we do today, and the more we take it in our hands, imagine it as a place of justice and pleasure, the more the future knows we want it, and that we aren’t letting go'

PB of fearmongering! not just anger and fear, need to be also bolstered by HOPE
My hope is based on evidence. It’s based on history. It’s based on how change has happened before; how worlds have been transformed before, and how they can be again. It’s based on the change that millions of ordinary wonderful, loving people have caused through movements like the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, the Zapatista movement in Mexico, the Black Liberation movements in the US and so many more.
what breaks your heart and what vision of the future mends it? It’s there that you’ll find your fight
pleasure activism - To find joy is to affirm your own humanity. To find joy is to fill your soul, feed your imagination and navigate a way out of the darkness that surrounds us. To find joy is a powerful, essential tool for sustained resistance
An important part of our hope is our ability to imagine. As I’ve mentioned a few times before, our radical imaginations are so deeply powerful. To have active hope, we need to be able to envisage what it is that we are running towards, as well as what we are running away from. We have to imagine what this new world will look like

interrobang_1's review

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hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.75

catrionabruce's review against another edition

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informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

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