eco-optimism

Charles Brown CharlesB at CNCL.ci.detroit.mi.us
Wed Aug 8 11:55:39 PDT 2001



>>> seamus2001 at home.com 08/08/01 01:42PM >>>


> ((((((((
>
> CB: Howabout good ole alienation from living under capitalism as
the cause rather than psychedelics ? Unhappiness from living in capitalist social relations of dog-eat-dog and the rat race.

======= Well it's all of a piece; multicausal/overdetermination and all that. I do think several million people ingesting hallucinogens during the sixties did have a lot do with 'boomers' concerns over the environment the death/narcissism dyad and the anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-violence anti-war ethos, the schizoid attitude towards science and it's appropriation by capital etc.

((((((((((

CB: But don't you think most of the "boomers" are not concerned about the environment, and have ended up pro-racist, pro-sexist, pro-violence, pro-war, pro-business or at least capitulating to these ? There is a dearth of social concern and activism. The U.S. ,anway ,has reversed and gone the opposite way of the 60's political rebellion. Clinton is the to right of Nixon , and all that. Reaganism is triumphant. The 90's was like a return to the 50's.

"Dog-eat-dog" and "rat race" are figures of speech for the war of all against all, the reign of ruthless and narrow self-interestedness, the dominance of anti-communist values, money grubbing and moneymadness

(((((((((

I certainly don't want to romanticize any of that era [I was just a little brat back then], but there is something to be said for taking 200 mics of Albert Hoffman's brew on a beautiful day in an ecology that hasn't been overrun by the logic of metropoles and 'burbs to get a different perspective. Never seen or heard of dogs eating dogs and people have only seen rats race because some humans have created the spectacle-commodity. Race is a silly and tragic concept in more than one sense, it seems.

Ian



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