A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMMON GOOD OF ...

continue without us, we cannot. That is why we should give them the
respect they deserve, and we need to learn from them. This is not an
ecologically fantastic view. On contrary, it is a must if we want to keep
the life-supporting systems functional for our good and the good of all
forms of life.
What Houtart is calling for, is a step forward to a wider concept that includes
the good for all co-inhabitants of the planet. He briefly touched on
the “capacity of nature to regenerate itself “. This concept of “regenerative
capacity”, along with another related concept, i.e. the “carrying capa -
city of the ecosystems”, are both severely neglected by the majority of
people. That is not because people are bad, but because of the absence
of environmental education for school children and politicians alike.
The multiple facet-nature of the crisis, according to Houtart’s point of
view, includes four aspects: the financial and economic crisis, the food
crisis, the energy crisis, and the climate crisis. In fact we are not talking
about four crises. Rather, it is one global crisis with four aspects.
As part of the third world, Arab countries, rich and poor ones, suffer a lot
from the consequences of the financial and economic crisis. As exporters
of raw materials-oil, oars and some agricultural products- and importers
of high-tech products as well as food imports, Arab nations find themselves
as victims of unfair exchange between North and South.
In regards to what Houtart wrote on food crisis, I want to reflect briefly
on two subjects: the agrofuels and the monoculture. We should support
the energy generation using agricultural wastes and crop residues, not
food crops. Solving energy crisis should not be at the expense of food
production. Moreover, there are several promising sources of renewable
energy that are not explored or fully used yet. Solar, wind, sea tide, geothermal
energies are examples. Politicians should be educated about
the consequences of allocating agricultural and forest lands to energy
production.
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