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A review by slightlyliterary
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
I've had 10 months together with this book, which has been long and tiresome, and yet so fulfilling and enriching.
Klein's writing is concise and impactful; she builds a case of complexity surrounding climate change, not just giving us what we already know but probing deeper into the mindsets many of us hold towards several sectors of society. This ranges from the current economy, politics, and future tech, to even billionaire philanthropists and pop culture, highlighting how our world-view of these areas are unconsciously and intrinsically linked to the way we treat the environment.
Moreover, Klein doesn't just criticise, but provides several case studies and viable solutions to limit the impact of climate change before it's too late. Truly, it's up to us to decide: are we willing to sacrifice millions of others, particularly those who have barely contributed to global warming, to keep the status quo?
This book is pretty intimidating, and I won't lie, reading this is emotionally exhausting. Not just because of its general academic content, but also because of the full spectrum of emotions you're bound to experience while reading. I’ve been greatly saddened and angry at times because of how much selfishness and greed is in the hearts of people, but I’ve been just as emboldened and encouraged by those I’ve read who are fighting back and making change, not just physically in their surroundings but also mentally in their mindset.
The road to change is long, and sometimes I can't even envision the end, but I think what always counts is taking that first step to learn/unlearn and then ask ourselves, what am I going to do about it? I definitely don't think I'm doing enough right now, so I hope to continue reading about the environment and continuously remind myself of what is at stake every time I choose to compartmentalize, every time I choose to be selfish.
Below are some quotes that I think are extremely meaningful and are snippets of what Klein wants us to recognise:
"But this persistent unwillingness to follow science to its conclusions also speaks to the power of the cultural narrative that tells us that humans are ultimately in control of the earth, and not the other way around. This is the same narrative that assures us that, however bad things get, we are going to be saved at the last minute—whether by the market, by philanthropic billionaires, or by technological wizards—or best of all, by all three at the same time. And while we wait, we keep digging." (pg 186-187)
"The idea that capitalism and only capitalism can save the world from a crisis created by capitalism is no longer an abstract theory; it's a hypothesis that has been tested and retested in the real world. We are now able to set theory aside and take a hard look at the results: at celebrities and media conglomerates that were supposed to model chic green lifestyles who have long since moved on to the next fad; at the green products that were shunted to the back of the supermarket shelves at the first signs of recession; at the venture capitalists who were supposed to bankroll a parade of innovation but have come up far short; at the fraud-infested, boom-and-bust carbon market that has failed miserably to lower emissions; at the natural gas sector that was supposed to be our bridge to renewables but ended up devouring much of their market instead. And most of all, at the parade of billionaires who were going to invent a new form of enlightened capitalism but decided that, on second thought, the old one was just too profitable to surrender." (pg 252)
"When we marvel at that blue marble in all its delicacy and frailty, and resolve to save the planet, we cast ourselves in a very specific role. That role is of a parent, the parent of the earth. But the opposite is the case. It is we humans who are fragile and vulnerable and the earth that is hearty and powerful, and holds us in its hands. In pragmatic terms, our challenge is less to save the earth from ourselves and more to save ourselves from an earth that, if pushed too far, has ample power to rock, burn, and shake us off completely. That knowledge should inform all we do—especially the decision about whether to gamble on geoengineering." (pg 285)
"We know that we are trapped within an economic system that has it backward; it behaves as if there is no end to what is actually finite (clean water, fossil fuels, and the atmospheric space to absorb their emissions) while insisting that there are strict and immovable limits to what is actually quite flexible: the financial resources that human institutions manufacture, and that, if imagined differently, could build the kind of caring society we need." (pg 347)
“Living nonextractively does not mean that extraction does not happen: all living things must take from nature in order to survive. But it does mean the end of the extractivist mindset—of taking without caretaking, of treating land and people as resources to deplete rather than as complex entities with rights to a dignified existence based on renewal and regeneration [...] But most of all, living nonextractively means relying overwhelmingly on resources that can be continuously regenerated: deriving our food from farming methods that protect soil fertility; our energy from methods that harness the ever-renewing strength of the sun, wind, and waves; our metals from recycled and reused sources.” (pg 447)
Klein's writing is concise and impactful; she builds a case of complexity surrounding climate change, not just giving us what we already know but probing deeper into the mindsets many of us hold towards several sectors of society. This ranges from the current economy, politics, and future tech, to even billionaire philanthropists and pop culture, highlighting how our world-view of these areas are unconsciously and intrinsically linked to the way we treat the environment.
Moreover, Klein doesn't just criticise, but provides several case studies and viable solutions to limit the impact of climate change before it's too late. Truly, it's up to us to decide: are we willing to sacrifice millions of others, particularly those who have barely contributed to global warming, to keep the status quo?
This book is pretty intimidating, and I won't lie, reading this is emotionally exhausting. Not just because of its general academic content, but also because of the full spectrum of emotions you're bound to experience while reading. I’ve been greatly saddened and angry at times because of how much selfishness and greed is in the hearts of people, but I’ve been just as emboldened and encouraged by those I’ve read who are fighting back and making change, not just physically in their surroundings but also mentally in their mindset.
The road to change is long, and sometimes I can't even envision the end, but I think what always counts is taking that first step to learn/unlearn and then ask ourselves, what am I going to do about it? I definitely don't think I'm doing enough right now, so I hope to continue reading about the environment and continuously remind myself of what is at stake every time I choose to compartmentalize, every time I choose to be selfish.
Below are some quotes that I think are extremely meaningful and are snippets of what Klein wants us to recognise:
"But this persistent unwillingness to follow science to its conclusions also speaks to the power of the cultural narrative that tells us that humans are ultimately in control of the earth, and not the other way around. This is the same narrative that assures us that, however bad things get, we are going to be saved at the last minute—whether by the market, by philanthropic billionaires, or by technological wizards—or best of all, by all three at the same time. And while we wait, we keep digging." (pg 186-187)
"The idea that capitalism and only capitalism can save the world from a crisis created by capitalism is no longer an abstract theory; it's a hypothesis that has been tested and retested in the real world. We are now able to set theory aside and take a hard look at the results: at celebrities and media conglomerates that were supposed to model chic green lifestyles who have long since moved on to the next fad; at the green products that were shunted to the back of the supermarket shelves at the first signs of recession; at the venture capitalists who were supposed to bankroll a parade of innovation but have come up far short; at the fraud-infested, boom-and-bust carbon market that has failed miserably to lower emissions; at the natural gas sector that was supposed to be our bridge to renewables but ended up devouring much of their market instead. And most of all, at the parade of billionaires who were going to invent a new form of enlightened capitalism but decided that, on second thought, the old one was just too profitable to surrender." (pg 252)
"When we marvel at that blue marble in all its delicacy and frailty, and resolve to save the planet, we cast ourselves in a very specific role. That role is of a parent, the parent of the earth. But the opposite is the case. It is we humans who are fragile and vulnerable and the earth that is hearty and powerful, and holds us in its hands. In pragmatic terms, our challenge is less to save the earth from ourselves and more to save ourselves from an earth that, if pushed too far, has ample power to rock, burn, and shake us off completely. That knowledge should inform all we do—especially the decision about whether to gamble on geoengineering." (pg 285)
"We know that we are trapped within an economic system that has it backward; it behaves as if there is no end to what is actually finite (clean water, fossil fuels, and the atmospheric space to absorb their emissions) while insisting that there are strict and immovable limits to what is actually quite flexible: the financial resources that human institutions manufacture, and that, if imagined differently, could build the kind of caring society we need." (pg 347)
“Living nonextractively does not mean that extraction does not happen: all living things must take from nature in order to survive. But it does mean the end of the extractivist mindset—of taking without caretaking, of treating land and people as resources to deplete rather than as complex entities with rights to a dignified existence based on renewal and regeneration [...] But most of all, living nonextractively means relying overwhelmingly on resources that can be continuously regenerated: deriving our food from farming methods that protect soil fertility; our energy from methods that harness the ever-renewing strength of the sun, wind, and waves; our metals from recycled and reused sources.” (pg 447)